Harry and Meghan Back in UK Without Police Protection as MPs Demand End to Security Row

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and their two children are back in the UK after six years of living in California. Reports suggest that they arrived at the airport and their new home without police protection.

This issue has quickly drawn political attention. MPs across party lines are questioning whether the Duke of Sussex should receive taxpayer-funded security, given his status as the the King's son and the continuing public scrutiny surrounding the couple.

MPs Call for Clarity on Security

Michael Adrian Tapp, Labour MP for Dover and Deal, said the security issue must be sorted out. 'Prince Harry has landed in the UK, apparently with no police protection. Has a decision been made not to provide security? And does that decision stand up to scrutiny? Because if something happens to him or his family, it will need to,' he said on social media.

Paul Holmes, Conservative MP for Hamble Valley, agreed with Tapp on the need to provide security for Prince Harry and his family: 'He's the son of the King and didn't choose his birth. I hope all security assessments are being looked at seriously; threats happen and he has a young family. If protection needs giving, we should give it.'

Media reported Harry and Meghan's arrival back in the UK and posted on social media. This visibility has fuelled arguments that the family remains a target and needs security.

'"They were given no police protection." Yep, tell everyone they are unprotected,' said one social media user.

Another posted: 'Whatever you think of Harry or the British monarchy. It's a scandal that he doesn't get the security he and his family surely need. Like any other public figure who is under constant threats.'

Public Resistance To Funding Protection

Not all voices support taxpayer-funded protection. Critics argue that the couple relinquished entitlement when they chose to step down as working royals in 2020.

Kent County Councillor for Folkestone West John Baker, for example, does not want part of his tax money paying for the security of the Sussexes. He told Tapp: 'Maybe you or the Royal Family could chip in, because we're skint?'

Foreign policy commentator Lee Cohen also replied to Mike Tapp: 'You betray the British people by demanding they pay for the security of a couple that clearly despise them.'

In commenting about security for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Tapp said it is based on his previous experience as an intelligence staff member of the National Crime Agency. He explained that people's opinion of the couple should not matter because the main consideration is the 'level of threat.'

'Decisions about protective security should be based on a clear-eyed assessment of the threat and impact they face. I don't presume to know what the outcome should be for Prince Harry; that is not for politicians... Those responsible should of course make their assessment based on evidence, intelligence and risk—not headlines, politics or public opinion.'

The Sussex family is said to be in an extended stay in the Cotswolds. Reports also said that children Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, have already been enrolled in a private school, ready for the start of the school year in September.