Harry will not serve in Iraq

Prince Harry will not serve in Iraq because of "a degree of risk" that has become "unacceptable", General Sir Richard Dannatt has said.

The 22-year-old graduated from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst last year and he was scheduled to travel to southern Iraq later this month to begin a six-month tour of duty, leading 12 men from A Squadron of the Household Cavalry Regiment in four Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicles.

Sir Richard said that he had reached the decision following a wide round of consultation including a visit which he made to Iraq at the end of last week.

"There have been a number of specific threats - some reported and some not reported - which relate directly to Prince Harry as an individual," he said.

"These threats expose not only him but also those around him to a degree of risk that I now deem unacceptable."

He said that having taken this decision the risks to his battle group would be no different to those faced by any other service personnel in Iraq. He also refused to rule in or rule out the possibility that the Prince could at some stage still go out to Iraq

He added: "I have to add that a contributing factor to this increase in threat to Prince Harry has been the widespread knowledge and discussion of his deployment.

"It is a fact that this close scrutiny has exacerbated the situation and this is something that I wish to avoid in future."

Clarence House issued a statement saying: "Prince Harry is very disappointed that he will not be able to go to Iraq with his troop on this deployment as he had hoped.

"He fully understands and accepts General Dannatt's difficult decision and remains committed to his Army career. Prince Harry's thoughts are with his troop and the rest of the battle group in Iraq."

Asked if Harry would quit the Army, a spokesman replied: "Absolutely not."

It had been claimed Harry could quit the Army if he was not allowed to serve with his colleagues.

In an interview to mark his 21st birthday, he said: "There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country."

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