More than 90 per cent say taxpayers should not have to pay Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s £20m security bill, Good Morning Britain poll finds
- Good Morning Britain conducted a poll for followers of the show on Twitter
- Since it surfaced yesterday, 90.6 per cent said taxpayers shouldn’t fun security
- On the show today, Diana’s ex-protection officer suggested Queen pay the bill
- Ken Wharfe warned that farming it out to the private sector would be a ‘disaster’
More than nine out of 10 Good Morning Britain viewers say that taxpayers should not have to pay Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s £20million security bill.
The show’s poll to followers on Twitter garnered responses from more than 14,000 social media users to the question: ‘Should UK taxypayers foot the bill for Harry, Meghan and Archie’s protection?’
A massive 90.6 per cent responded ‘no’, leaving just 9.4 per cent answering ‘yes’ since the poll surfaced yesterday.
Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid revealed the results on this morning’s programme as they discussed the row over who should fund the Sussexes since they stepped down as senior Royals and the duties the roles entail.
Princess Diana’s former protection officer Ken Wharfe suggested that the Queen should pay the security bill for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle because there is a ‘real risk’ of someone trying to kidnap Archie.
Mr Wharfe said that the biggest threat facing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is that someone may snatch their son.
‘Archie is probably the biggest threat to the family, more than the parents, there’s a real risk of a kidnap given all the publicity,’ he told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid.
He also suggested that Diana’s car crash death in 1997 was in part down to the fact that she had not used proper royal protection officers on the night in question as he warned that Harry and Meghan’s security shouldn’t be farmed out to private firms.
‘We know what happened to Diana in 1997 because of the inefficient security afforded to her at that time,’ he said.
Ken Wharfe (right) told Piers Morgan( left) that the Queen and Prince Charles should foot the bill
Mr Wharfe suggested that rather than the taxpayer footing the bill or risking putting it out to the private sector, the Queen and Prince Charles could pay.
He pointed out that Her Majesty already subsidises the security for Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, the daughters of Prince Andrew.
‘This might be unprecedented but given that the queen subsidizes the security to Beatrice and Eugenie, if not to just appease British taxpayer, it might be that the Queen herself should look at sub the security bill,’ he said.
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson also fund the team of former Met officers who protect their daughters.
Princess Diana paid for her own security costs on the night of her death, although many experts say her decision to abandon Scotland Yard professionals may have contributed to her death in a car chauffeured by a drunk driver.
Appearing on GMB alongside Mr Wharfe, journalist Ateh Jewel said it was the taxpayer’s duty to continue funding Harry and Meghan’s security despite them stepping down from senior Royal duties.
‘He’s still sixth in line to the throne,’ she said. ‘I think it’s our duty as British taxpayers to take care of them not throw them to the wolves.’
She told Piers Morgan that the British public ‘owed’ the Sussexes as he questioned why they should received funding from ordinary people when they stand to make a fortune privately.
Ms Jewel said: ‘Whether you like it or not he’s a prince of the realm he’s one of us
‘He did not have a choice to be born into the role and whether you step aside or not you are still a public figure.
‘As his people we need to protect him.’