‘They were not chess pieces’: Senior Taliban leader hits out at Prince Harry over ’25 kills’
A senior Taliban leader has told Prince Harry that the militants he killed in Afghanistan were “not chess pieces, they were humans”.
Responding to revelations in Harry’s forthcoming memoir that he killed 25 Taliban fighters, Anas Haqqani, a senior aide to the interior minister, tweeted: “Mr Harry! The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans; they had families who were waiting for their return.
“Among the killers of Afghans, not many have your decency to reveal their conscience and confess to their war crimes.”
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Another Taliban official, Bilal Karimi, the deputy spokesman, said Harry’s admission showed that “such crimes were not limited to just anyone” and added that “every occupier has a history of such crimes.”
Harry writes about his two tours of duty in Afghanistan in his highly anticipated book, Spare, a copy of which Sky News obtained before its release next week.
In it, the prince reveals that he killed 25 fighters and says he did not think of them as “people”, but instead as “chess pieces” that had been taken off the board.
He adds: “It was not something that filled me with satisfaction, but I was not ashamed either.”
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‘Harry’s claims may incite attacks’
Shortly before Mr Haqqani tweeted, a former senior army officer told Sky News that Harry’s comments were “ill-judged” and could incite an attack on British soldiers.
Colonel Richard Kemp, who took command of British forces in Afghanistan in 2003 before his retirement, said the prince’s suggestion that British soldiers are trained to see their enemies as “less than human” was particularly dangerous.
He said Harry’s remarks “were probably ill-judged for two reasons. One is his suggestion that he killed 25 people will have reincited those people who wish him harm.”
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Col Kemp, who retired in 2006, added: “The other problem I found with his comments was that he characterised the British Army basically as having trained him and other soldiers to see his enemy as less than human, just as chess pieces on a board to be swiped off, which is not the case. It’s the opposite of the case.”
He said it was these comments in particular that could “incite some people to attempt an attack on British soldiers anywhere in the world”.
Col Kemp also said people who support the Taliban may now be “motivated to kill Harry” because of memories that have been “resurrected” by his comments.
He added: “Let’s hope they don’t succeed and I’m sure he’s got pretty good security, but that’s one problem.”
Analysis
‘Sharing’ may seem a good idea to whatever therapists Harry has been seeing but not in the minds of his former military mates and commanders.
There are very good reasons his friends and other veterans have expressed disappointment and concern and urged him to stop.
Not least because the revelations about the number of Taliban fighter he has killed will make life potentially more dangerous for his family and other British veterans.
Harry was the grandson of Britain’s then head of state, the Queen, when he served in her armed forces and killed what he says were 25 Taliban fighters.
The fact that he has described doing so, so dispassionately is a propaganda and recruitment godsend to the country’s enemies, something borne out by the reaction on Taliban and other extremist social media.
Whether he likes it or not, as a member of the Royal Family Harry’s role is political and has geopolitical and diplomatic consequences.
He does not seem to have thought that through.
He certainly did not seek authorisation from His Majesty’s Government prior to publication for details that could have a direct consequence on British subjects and interests.
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Lord Darroch, a former national security adviser, said if he were guiding Prince Harry he would have “advised against the kind of detail that he goes into”.
“But it’s out there now,” he said.
“In terms of the detail I personally wouldn’t have gone there, but it’s done now.”
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Prince Harry: ‘I saw red mist in William’
Harry’s book also includes an explosive claim he was physically attacked by his brother William during a row over his marriage to Meghan Markle.
He also writes about the moment he was woken up by his father to be told his mother had been in a car accident.
The duke also admits to having taken cocaine and says he asked his father not to marry Camilla.
In a new trailer for an interview with ITV to promote the book, the duke says he saw a “red mist” in William during an argument between them.
He claims his brother “wanted me to hit him back, but I chose not to”.
A British couple have been found dead in Spain after being caught in the floods last week, their daughters have said.
At least 217 people have died after heavy rain in eastern Spain caused flash floods, with thousands of cars left wrecked in the streets and an unknown number still missing.
Ruth O’Loughlin and Renee Turner told Sky News their parents Don, 78, and 74-year-old Terry Turner, from Pedralba, about 20 miles (33km) west of central Valencia, went missing during the floods – only for their bodies to be found in their car days later.
An FCDO spokesperson said it is “supporting the family” and is “in contact with the local authorities”.
It comes as a red alert warning of “extreme danger” from torrential rain has been issued for Barcelona today, with 180mm of rain set to fall in 12 hours according to the national weather agency Aemet.
Speaking to Sky News, Ms O’Loughlin said she last spoke to her mother on Monday last week, and a day later saw her messages to Mr Turner were not delivering on WhatsApp.
After seeing reports of the floods, she tried to contact her father and again received no response, before her nephew rang on Thursday to say her parents were reported as missing.
Despite social media campaigning and calls to the British Consulate, Renee Turner said it was Saturday when they found out Mr and Mrs Turner had died.
“My sister and I both got a phone call to say that they’d been found in their car, and unfortunately they had died,” she said.
Don Turner with his daughter Ruth O’Loughlin (right)
Ms O’Loughlin added: “We’d got told they’d nipped out for gas, as they do.
“Obviously, they weren’t aware of how bad the area was, and their friend said they were aware [the couple went out] as they used to talk all the time.
“And then they didn’t come home.”
The daughters said ‘everybody knew’ Terry – pictured here with her daughter Ruth (left)
Renee Turner insisted both Mr and Mrs Turner would have “without a doubt” heeded flood warnings, but told Sky News “there was no alert”.
“My parents would not have been out,” she added. “We are so angry at the slackness of the Spanish authorities in that respect.
“Not just our mum and dad [have died], there’s hundreds of people, hundreds, and they have to be held accountable for that.”
Ruth O’Loughlin (L) and Renee Turner
In their hometown of Burntwood, Staffordshire, Ms O’Loughlin said “everybody knows my mum and dad”. As kids, she recalled how people would come over when Ruth was baking.
She added that Mr Turner “was the clown – everyone loved Dad… he made our childhood absolutely wonderful,” before saying that when they moved to Spain, “everyone knew them there”.
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Terry Turner
Terry volunteered at a local dog rescue centre and adopted two kittens, Ms O’Loughlin said, which are currently being looked after by the couple’s friends in the area.
“We sort of knew [they were dead] because we knew that our mum would have done anything to get back to those pets,” Ms O’Loughlin added.
Both Renee Turner and Ms O’Loughlin had wanted to move their parents back to England, and the couple had been expected to return home permanently soon.
“We had plans,” Ms O’Loughlin said. “Mum was desperate to come back. She’s a shopper, she missed Morrisons.
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“We were looking at maybe getting a bigger house and moving mum and dad in with us. We could keep our eye on them, we could make sure they were okay.
“The thought of that: My mum said to me that ‘that’s more than I could ever wish for’.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy expressed the UK’s condolences on X, saying: “The UK government expresses its heartfelt condolences to those affected by the tragic floods across Spain – our thoughts are with those that have lost their lives, their families and all those affected. I have offered the UK’s full support to my friend @jmalbares.”
Don Turner
Meanwhile, the local government in Catalonia warned of “continuous and torrential” rain in two regions today, saying people should avoid travel and stay away from streams and ravines.
Authorities told those nearby the “extreme danger” warning issued for the Barcelona region: “Do not travel unless strictly necessary.”
Authorities have also suspended train services in northeast Catalonia on request from civil protection officials.
University tuition fees in England will increase for the first time in eight years, the education secretary has announced.
Fees have been frozen at an annual level of £9,250 since the 2017/18 academic year.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the maximum cap will now rise in line with inflation from April 2025.
That will increase the cost of tuition to £9,535 next year – a rise of £285.
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Ms Phillipson also announced a rise in maximum maintenance loans so they will now increase in line with inflation, giving an increase of £414 a year to help students with living costs.
The education secretary tried to ward off any panic from students as she said: “I want to reassure students already at university when you start repaying your loan, you will not see higher monthly repayments as a result of these changes to fee and maintenance loans.
“That’s because student loans are not like consumer loans, monthly repayments depend on earnings, not simply the amount borrowed or interest rates – and the end of any long term, any outstanding loan balance, including interest built up, will be written off.”
She said the decision had not been easy but added: “It is no use keeping tuition fees down for future students if the universities are not there for them to attend, nor if students can’t afford to support themselves while they study.”
Sir Keir Starmer had pledged to abolish tuition fees when he stood to be Labour leader in 2020.
However, the prime minister rowed back on that promise early last year, saying it was no longer affordable because of the “different financial situation” the country was in, and he was choosing to prioritise the NHS.
He said Labour would set out a “fairer solution” for students if they won the election – which they did with a landslide in July.
Bridget Phillipson announced tuition fees will rise up to £9,535 in England next year. Pic: Reuters
The change comes as universities have been dealing with a funding crisis, largely driven by a huge drop in overseas students.
Rules brought in by Rishi Sunak’s government made it harder for international students, who pay higher fees than British ones, to bring their families with them to the UK.
Universities have been pleading for more investment, but Ms Phillipson said recently institutes should seek to manage their own budgets before hoping for a bailout from the taxpayer.
When she was in opposition, she also touted the idea of reducing the monthly repayments “for every single graduate” by changing how the loan is paid back.
Writing in The Times in June 2023, she said: “Reworking the present system gives scope for a month-on-month tax cut for graduates, putting money back in people’s pockets when they most need it.”
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However, the idea did not make it into Labour’s 2024 manifesto, which only says that “the current higher education funding settlement does not work for the taxpayer, universities, staff, or students”.
It adds: “Labour will act to create a secure future for higher education and the opportunities it creates across the UK.”
Independent MP Zarah Sultana, who lost the Labour whip after rebelling over the two-child benefit cap, called the latest development “wrong”.
“It’s time to abolish tuition fees and cancel student debt because education is a public good, not a commodity,” she posted on X.
‘Maintenance loans bigger issue’
Money saving expert Martin Lewis earlier explained how higher fees will not necessarily lead to students facing higher yearly repayments, as that “solely depends on what you earn not on what you borrow”.
In a thread on X, he said a more damaging policy was the Tories’ decision last year to drop the salary threshold at which repayments must be made – from £27,000 to £25,000 – and increase the time to clear the loan before it is written off, from 30 to 40 years.
He said: “Increasing tuition fees will only see those who clear the loan in full over the 40yrs pay more. That is generally mid-high to higher earning university leavers only, so the cost of increasing them will generally be born by the more affluent.”
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University fees of £1,000 per year were first introduced by the Labour government in 1998, going up to £3,000 in 2006.
The coalition government then tripled the amount to £9,000 in 2012, sparking a huge backlash, particularly against the Lib Dems who had vowed to scrap fees in the 2010 general election campaign.
Since then, there have been further changes to student finance such as the abolition of maintenance grants and NHS bursaries, moving student support increasingly away from non-repayable grants and towards loans.
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