Army head: Harry "credit to the nation"

Defence chiefs are discussing Prince Harry's future in Afghanistan with operational commanders, amid speculation the royal will have to be pulled out of Helmand province.

Head of the British Army General Sir Richard Dannatt confirmed Prince Harry's continued presence was under review after a media embargo on his deployment was breached by a US website.

Sir Richard said he was "disappointed" that the Drudge Report had broken the story without consulting the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and said this "starkly contrasted" with the "highly responsible" attitude shown by British media.

It has now emerged that editors from all major British media organisations decided not to report Prince Harry's deployment until his safe return, following "lengthy discussions" with the MoD.

Sir Richard thanked editors for their compliance and appealed to the media to return to the previous agreement and not report Prince Harry's every move.

The general said Prince Harry had been a "credit to the nation" and the past two months showed it could be possible for the prince to serve as a normal army officer.

Sir Richard said: "His conduct on operations in Afghanistan has been exemplary. He has been fully involved in operations and has run the same risks as everyone else in his Battlegroup.

"In common with all of his generation in the Army today, he is a credit to the nation. In deciding to deploy him to Afghanistan, it was my judgment that with an understanding with the media not to broadcast his whereabouts, the risk in doing was manageable."