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| Prince Harry not to serve in Iraq | Prince Harry not to serve in Iraq |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Prince Harry will not be sent to Iraq, the head of the British Army has said. | Prince Harry will not be sent to Iraq, the head of the British Army has said. |
| The Prince had previously stated that he wanted to be involved in active service with his unit. | The Prince had previously stated that he wanted to be involved in active service with his unit. |
| But the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt, has confirmed the Prince will not go with his regiment, the Blues and Royals. | But the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt, has confirmed the Prince will not go with his regiment, the Blues and Royals. |
| BBC defence correspondent Paul Adams said the MoD would have taken account of reports the insurgents in Iraq planned to target the Prince. | BBC defence correspondent Paul Adams said the MoD would have taken account of reports the insurgents in Iraq planned to target the Prince. |
| 'Extremely disappointed' | |
| The move represents a U-turn by the MoD, which said as recently as last month that the Prince would be heading to the Gulf as an armed reconnaissance officer. | |
| In a statement, the General said: "Following a visit to Iraq last week I discovered a number of threats relating directly to Prince Harry and those around him and I am not prepared to export those risks. | In a statement, the General said: "Following a visit to Iraq last week I discovered a number of threats relating directly to Prince Harry and those around him and I am not prepared to export those risks. |
| "I know Prince Harry will be extremely disappointed and his soldiers will miss his presence in Iraq. | "I know Prince Harry will be extremely disappointed and his soldiers will miss his presence in Iraq. |
| "I've asked his commanding officer to develop his future career but I won't speculate on that. | "I've asked his commanding officer to develop his future career but I won't speculate on that. |
| "One of the contributing factors to my decision has been the knowledge and discussion of the Prince's deployments in the media." | "One of the contributing factors to my decision has been the knowledge and discussion of the Prince's deployments in the media." |
| He added that some of the risks faced by Prince Harry had not been reported. | |
| The former British Army, Commander Colonel Bob Stewart, told BBC News 24 the decision would have been taken very reluctantly. | |
| He said "The point is the Chief of the General Staff, as the professional head of the Army and with responsibility for everyone in the Army, has responsibility for not just the Prince but every soldier and everyone, as we all know, is fundamentally equal. | |
| "The Chief of the General Staff has actually made such a decision with extreme reluctance; I know that, he's a personal friend and I know exactly the way he's feeling." |