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Reid urges media to respect Prince Harry's privacy
LONDON (AFP) - Defence Secretary John Reid backed the news media serving as a watchdog at Sandhurst military barracks but urged them to respect Prince Harry's privacy as he trains as an army officer.
Reid last week ordered an investigation into a breach of security after a reporter carrying a "fake bomb" penetrated the grounds of the military academy at Sandhurst, where the third in line to the throne is training.
Harry, the younger son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, deserved privacy, Reid said on ITV1 television.
"The security of all soldiers, sailors, air men and women, irrespective of their families and their background, people are entitled to ask me to make sure the security is what we would expect of a service man and woman," he said.
"But there's another issue and that is the entitlement to some degree of privacy of a young man, in this case Harry, who's undergoing his education and training," he said.
"I would plead with the press not to give up their watch on security at all our barracks," Reid said.
"But give this young man the same degree of privacy, which his brother was given and which every other young person is entitled during their education," he said.
The Sun newspaper last Thursday claimed Harry was at Sandhurst while its reporter spent seven hours wandering the grounds and corridors carrying a fake explosive.
At the beginning of last month, Harry began a tough 44 weeks of intensive training as an army officer at Sandhurst in Berkshire.
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