Sussexes condemn photographers after school security scare as police protection review continues

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have condemned what they called the extraordinary recklessness of photographers after two men were seen around the perimeter of the school attended by Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet on Monday morning.

The couple's spokesperson said the decision by photographers to conduct themselves in this way around a school was 'extraordinarily reckless'. They added: 'There is a world of difference between legitimate media activity and photographers walking the perimeter of a school, stopping to look into the grounds and monitoring children as they go about their day.'

Reports described two men wearing backpacks who were seen separately and together near the school. School staff and the Sussexes' private security team spotted the activity. The men walked around the perimeter, stopped at several points, looked into the grounds and then returned to a white van. Police later confirmed the van was a rental vehicle.

Police investigating the reports concluded that at least one of the men was an international photographer working for a European press agency. One account said both men were international photographers for a European agency. Officers traced the van's registration plate and the driver's licence used to hire it, which led them to a photographer from a known European press organisation. The school has not been named publicly.

The incident happened after Archie and Lilibet moved schools at the start of term. Their previous school arrangement became untenable because of security concerns about the school run. The children had been at the current school for about two weeks. Meghan has posted video of the children recently, but their faces have not been shown.

Harry and Meghan are now living in the UK as full-time residents. They have private security, but they do not have publicly funded police protection. British authorities have provided only the phone number of a police liaison officer, which Harry has described as zero protection. The Home Office committee that oversees royal and VIP security, known as RAVEC, is reviewing their claim for police protection. The school incident has been passed to RAVEC and will form part of that assessment.

The incident also came days after arrests over a suspected terror plot near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. It is understood the two men had been doing reconnaissance on the school for a number of hours. The school is also attended by a number of American children whose families work at or near a nearby US military base.

The security scare has renewed debate about the Sussexes' protection. A former personal protection officer to King Charles said the incident was worrying and reckless. He said foreign journalists are not bound by the same UK press code as British journalists, and that once children can be identified, it creates risks around their routes and where the family lives. He also said private security officers lack access to police intelligence and cannot carry firearms in the UK.

Other contributors argued that decisions on state-funded protection should be based on risk, not popularity, and that the state has a duty to protect its citizens. The review by RAVEC is continuing.