Prince Harry believes Sgt Alexander Blackman sentence is ludicrous. The Prince reportedly says he is frustrated he cannot lend support to a high profile campaign to review Sgt Alexander Blackman’s conviction
Prince Harry has reportedly told friends he is appalled at the “ludicrous” sentence handed to a Royal Marine sergeant convicted of murdering a Taliban captive.
The Prince is frustrated that his royal position means he cannot joined a high profile campaign pushing for a review of Sgt Alexander Blackman’s life sentence.
The reports emerged as the Prince welcomed a group of wounded Afghanistan veterans to Buckingham Palace at the end of a 1,000 mile charity trek around the country. They included Kirstie Ennis, 24, who gave him a dog tag in memory of a 21-year-old colleague killed in a Taliban blast.
Ms Ennis, who was badly injured while serving in Afghanistan, made 25 replica dog tags in memory of comrades to leave along the route of the three month hike. But instead of leaving the last one at Buckingham Palace as planned, she gave it to the Prince, who He had joined the party for a 17-mile stretch of their walk through Shropshire in September.
A close friend of the Prince told the Mail on Sunday : “Harry is frustrated that he can’t get behind Blackman and his wife, Claire, because “Royal Harry”, as he referred to himself, is not allowed to publicly have an opinion.
“But “Army Harry” – as he calls the military side of himself – is totally opposed to the current situation surrounding the jailed Royal Marine and finds it all ludicrous.
“Harry would like to be part of that but he can’t speak out. He realises that is just the way things are. That’s his life and his responsibilities.”
Kensington Palace declined to comment on Sunday.
Blackman was given a life sentence and told he must serve at least eight years in prison for the 2011 shooting of a prone, badly wounded Taliban fighter during a Helmand patrol. The killing was captured on a marine’s helmet camera, and the film showed Blackman admitting he had broken the Geneva Convention.
He told his court martial he thought the fighter was already dead when he pulled the trigger. His supporters say his trial did not take account of the combat stress he was suffering, or command failings that had led to his unit being effectively abandoned in a Taliban stronghold.
Last week around 500 former Royal Marines rallied outside Parliament to show support for the 41-year-old, while supporters are trying to get the Criminal Case Review Commission to look at his case again.
The Walk of Britain was designed to raise awareness of the work of the charity Walking With The Wounded (WWTW), which supports injured members of the armed forces back into independence through employment.
As the walkers arrived at Buckingham Palace on Sunday morning, the Prince hugged them and on hearing they had missed the Rugby World Cup final, joked: “If you’re going to finish the day after the Rugby World Cup you may as well have watched it.”
As the walkers arrived at Buckingham Palace on Sunday morning, the Prince hugged them and on hearing they had missed the Rugby World Cup final, joked: “If you’re going to finish the day after the Rugby World Cup you may as well have watched it.”
Matt Fisher, 30, who was shot in the foot on Boxing Day in 2009, praised Harry’s support of the walk as “amazing”.
He added: “He is the man for the armed forces, he gets involved. And what a place to finish.”