Betrayal In The Sands

The suggestion that Prince Harry became a bullet magnet the moment it was divulged he was in Afghanistan is a rather specious argument. Any member of the British armed forces is a bullet magnet by virtue of being there. It assumes an arrogance that Prince Harry is a more deserving target for a bullet than a 'non-royal'.

The whole story has the makings of a crudely constructed stunt to make the royal appear something special. A soldier who has spent any time in a war zone cannot 'come home' unaffected. Real soldiers display a truly remarkable courage and commitment. To go partying when comrades remain in that war zone is absolutely unbelievable. Contemptuous. The behaviour pattern on his return reveals the PR sham of the whole affair, knowingly complicit or not (a political pawn would not necessarily be privy to the engineering).

Ridiculously riding around on a motorcycle as though playing in the sands. It's a wonder a bucket and spade were not on hand to mess around in the dunes. And now gone to Botswana on holiday. Even more incredible. At least crocodiles can present a genuine hazard. The pantomime gets tackier. If Prince Harry ever expected to win true praise then everything has been wrecked. Courage shines with a brilliance of its own and this affair is so dull it is pathetic. The alleged way the press said nothing is remarkable in itself. The press that valiantly campaigns for truth. Clearly they had been warned off with a D-notice.

• A censorship notice in the UK issued by the Department of Defence to the media to prohibit the publication of information on matters alleged to be of national security. The system dates from 1922.

For 10 weeks he had not been clubbing or partying. The press hounds must have been baying to join the hunt to locate him. Almost certainly, the whereabouts were either known or strongly suspected, but the press can be easily silenced. The denouncement of this individual is likely to have been instigated by the British government.

A similar story is alleged to have happened to George Bush and he avoided action in Vietnam by never getting there. President Richard Nixon at the time had ramped up the US air strikes so making the whole of Vietnam a much more dangerous place than it ever was. Bush never saw action. Action in Afghanistan will inevitably be ramped up.