Prince Harry has put British troops’ lives in danger by boasting about his 25 Taliban kills, say ex-military chiefs

WAR heroes and retired military chiefs say Prince Harry has put British troops’ lives in danger by boasting about his 25 Taliban kills.

He was also warned the comments in his book could incite attacks inside the UK and was accused of plunging the Royal Family into a fresh security nightmare.

Harry, 38, writes in his book Spare that killing 25 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan was like “chess pieces taken off the board”.

The former Apache pilot, who served two tours of Afghanistan, claimed he did not see the enemy as people and did not feel pride or shame over his kill tally.

But SAS hero Andy McNab last night warned Harry’s account will put “people in danger” and royal security will now be reviewed.

Former British Army Commander Colonel Richard Kemp said it “will rekindle jihadist animosity against him and incite some who want to take revenge”.

Senior royals including the King and Queen Consort and the Prince and Princess of Wales are set to embark on tours around the world following the Coronation.

Insiders say Harry’s confession has significantly heightened security concerns for the entire Royal Family.

Col Kemp said: “His accusation that the British Army trains its soldiers to see their enemies as chess pieces to be swept off the board, in other words dehumanising them, will also feed into jihadist propaganda, potentially encouraging wider attacks within the UK.

“It undermines his personal security. He has shot himself in the foot.

“This will incite some ­people to attempt an attack on British soldiers anywhere in the world. The impact on his own personal security is even greater.”

Former Royal Marine commando Ben McBean — an old pal of Harry’s — said: “He’s already got a big target on his back and maybe it’s grown a bit more. 

“But he’s in America, he’s got security. Here in the UK they could think ‘we can’t get to Harry but we could go to his old barracks’. You’re always a target anyway, but I just think flaring things up and bringing numbers out doesn’t really help.”

The revelation came on the same day Harry claimed his brother Prince William attacked him. 

Harry said William grabbed him by the collar, ripped his necklace and knocked him to the floor.

But former SAS soldier McNab said: “One minute he is saying he dropped 25 Taliban and then he is getting upset about his necklace getting broken? Come on.

“It is like EastEnders on speed. It is all designed to make him look good.”

He warned Harry’s account of killing 25 insurgents would put royal security at risk. 

McNab added: “It’s the protection officers and bodyguards who Harry is putting at risk.

“Royal security will be reassessed and more people will be put in danger to protect Harry and his family because of something he has said. He is putting more people in danger.”

Ex-SAS legend “Big Phil” Campion, 53, said Harry desperately needs a friend to tell him to pack it in.

He added: “It reeks of someone who needs his best mate to put his arm around him and say stop. There is no humility about him, he seems to have lost the plot a bit. 

“A mate can say when you are being an idiot. They can tell you things when other people can’t.”

Former Defence Secretary Lord John Hutton said Harry’s comments were “a very serious mistake on his part”.

He added: “I think it’s just inappropriate and wrong, and there’s a sense of bravado about it, which I think most people who have served in the armed forces will recoil from.

“It’s just not what should be said, it’s just wrong, on every level.”

The Taliban called Harry barbaric and demanded he face the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.

Senior leader Anas Haqqani tweeted: “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.

“I don’t expect that the ICC will summon you or the human rights activists will condemn you, because they are deaf and blind for you. 

“But hopefully these atrocities will be remembered in the history of humanity.”