Harry 'used as propaganda by MoD'

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Anthony Philippson, whose son James died in a firefight with Taliban troops in 2006, criticised the publicity surrounding Prince Harry's deployment and said he was "very cynical" about the MoD's objectives.

Captain James Philippson, 29, of 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, died in a firefight with Taliban troops on June 11, 2006 in which British forces were "totally out-gunned".

Last month Oxfordshire assistant coroner Andrew Walker accused the Ministry of Defence of an unforgivable breach of soldiers' trust over his death.

Mr Walker and Wiltshire coroner David Masters criticised the Government after hearing that the deaths of Capt Philippson and two other British soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq could have been prevented if they were better equipped.

Mr Philippson, of St Albans, Herts, told GMTV: "He (Prince Harry) went to Sandhurst, so it was inevitable he had to go out there because otherwise he would have resigned from the Army, understandably.

"What's gone wrong, in my view, is the tremendous publicity behind what's happened. What it's effectively done, all this publicity over the last few days, is every corner of the world knows what's happened, including all our enemies.

"How can he (Prince Harry) ever go out there again? He's only got to go missing in a nightclub in London and they'll all know where he's gone."

Asked if he agreed that Prince Harry's deployment had raised the profile of the war, and therefore the MoD's responsibilities, he said: "I do accept that since the tragedy with James - it was 18 months ago - the Army has been properly equipped. I entirely accept that. It would be criminal if they weren't so equipped.

"I'm afraid I'm very cynical about the objectives of the Ministry of Defence. I think they have just used Harry as propaganda to promote and glorify a war which, in the end, is going to be found to be a terrible mistake."