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CANADA HAS SAID it will stop providing protection for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the coming weeks when they step down as working royals.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have spent much of the past three months living in Canada and plan to make it their base when they quit royalty and become financially independent from 31 March.
But there has been speculation about who will pay the bill for keeping the couple and their baby son Archie safe, with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau facing questions about the issue in recent weeks.
Former Home Office minister Norman Baker called for the Met Police to cap the annual expenditure on security for Harry and Meghan to its 2019 level, with any extra costs met by the couple or the Queen and Prince of Wales.
In a statement Canada’s Office of the Minister of Public Safety said: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex choosing to relocate to Canada on a part-time basis presented our government with a unique and unprecedented set of circumstances.
“The RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) has been engaged with officials in the UK from the very beginning regarding security considerations.
“As the Duke and Duchess are currently recognised as Internationally Protected Persons, Canada has an obligation to provide security assistance on an as-needed basis.
“At the request of the Metropolitan Police, the RCMP has been providing assistance to the Met since the arrival of the Duke and Duchess to Canada intermittently since November 2019.
“The assistance will cease in the coming weeks, in keeping with their change in status.”
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the development as did Scotland Yard with a spokeswoman saying “we don’t discuss matters of security”.
The couple’s new website has a question and answer section for visitors, and in response to the posed question: “Does their future financial autonomy extend to covering the costs of security?”
It states: “The provision of armed security by the Metropolitan Police is mandated by the Home Office, a ministerial department of Her Majesty’s Government, responsible for security and law & order.”
In an update to the website published last week, the portal adds: “It is agreed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will continue to require effective security to protect them and their son.
“This is based on the Duke’s public profile by virtue of being born into the royal family, his military service, the duchess’ own independent profile, and the shared threat and risk level documented specifically over the last few years.
“No further details can be shared as this is classified information for safety reasons.”
Baker, a former Liberal Democrat MP, said: “For the Met to have to provide full security abroad will significantly impact on their ability to look after London and Londoners.
“Do we want the Met’s budget devoted to tackling terrorism, knife crime, assaults and burglary in the capital, or do we want them flying around the US and Canada, accompanying Harry and Meghan as they enrich themselves through their commercial activities?”
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Casey No.1 – for those of us who make our lunches the night before work and get up at the crack of dawn to pay for those who can stay in bed all day watching day time TV.
@George McCarthy: Dawn is yet to crack this morning so I presume you’re still in bed? Does that mean I’m paying for you?
@George McCarthy: Wrong thread.
@George McCarthy: You forgot to add the job for his wife, he doesn’t pay tax here or live here.
Dublin bus users are in for an absolute nightmare time when the new routes come into play. I live in New Zealand and the guy that is after designing the new routes has also designed the ones for Wellington. All you need to do is google it, you’ll see how bad it has been in a much smaller city than Dublin & still a nightmare months after the changeover.
@Brian Stafford: fact check: Walker was an employee for the consultancy that designed Wellington plan. They changed his design beyond recognition and completely botched the execution of an already botched plan. Do you speak from authority because you live in the same country? Do you live in Wellington itself?
@Oisín O’Connor: This is just an excuse to stop buses going into council housing estates. another attack on the poor by FG.
@Sean Conway: irrelevant to the strawman on Wellington, but I’ll take your bait anyway. I already live in a housing estate with no bus. Nearest bus to town is 20 mins walk away. No useful transfers. I grew up 10 minutes walk from the closest bus into town. The housing estates with buses have been the privileged few til now. Wouldn’t vote FFG if you paid me but their ineptitude and contempt for the working poor has nothing to do with BusConnects.
@Sean Conway: Leo wants to save ya couple hundred €€€ on gym membership
@Brian Stafford: It’s good that we look critically at his past work, but it’s also important to be honest about it.
Yes, was slightly involved in the Wellington plan at the start, but didn’t do much after an initial plan. He has said that it was significantly changed from his initial work.
The other plan he worked on far more extensively was Auckland, which has been well received.
@Oisín O’Connor: The plan failed and he said here that it was all or nothing and half of it has been thrown out. I have spoken to people in Wellington about this and it is a total disaster. The same as here. No idea about the city or its people. I have spoken to experts here as well and they say the same thing. It is also disabled unfriendly excluding as well
@Kevin Cannon: He designed the plan and it was changed same has happened here. Bus Connects is not going to work and this has been shown in various places across the city.
Does the services need to be changed of course they do but this system is just plain stupid. Blanchardstown SC as a Hub. Yeah that will work. The plan is flawed from start to finish
These consultations must be a great growth industry, zilch comes from them so they just get rehashed again and again.
@Austin Rock: great industry for the local union and career-protest politicians trying to squeeze some personal gain by being against it.
@Oisín O’Connor: a quango or Blueshirt administration proposed a bus plan that’s totally flawed and will never work and when people object they are criticized. Roll on GE19
@Oisín O’Connor: Or by people pushing their own hidden agenda. I am up front and honest as a disability activist that this plan is bad for people with disabilities and other vulnerable passengers.
We have people who do not use public transport singing its prases as it suits their own agendas
The fact of the matter is, if the CEO of the NTA had a clue what she is supposed to do, we wouldn’t have the likes of Jarrett Walker getting huge fees for making a messed up system worse. The city is choking every day with single occupied cars and until we sort that out, any overground public transport system will fail to deliver a frequent rapid service. Either build a metro, or apply a congestion charge for single occupied cars.
@Paul Linehan: you cant push people out of cars until we have a functioning transport system, moronic idea
@Ian McNally: He said single occupancy cars. There could definitely be more intuitive to car pool.
@Paul Linehan: no, you can’t hold up progress because we need X before Y. I want congestion charges for all cars between the canals. A car with 5 people in it gets nowhere near to the efficiency and carrying capacity of a bus.
@Ian McNally: yes you can. Only a small % of people drive into Dublin city centre but they take up a huge amount of space. Slap congestion charges on, put high commercial rates on all car park spaces, including at govt offices. Less cars = buses move faster.
@Ian McNally: The overall number of people commuting to work increased from 1.70 million in 2011 to 1.88 million in 2016, an increase of 10.7 per cent. The number of people driving to work increased by 85,180 to 1,152,631 and was the largest increase of all categories.
Car passengers increased by a smaller amount to 77,335 in 2016 from 69,164 in 2011 (source, census 2016). With an added increase in employment since then. An average increase of 3% can be expected in all areas of transport useage. Yes we need a transport system that is reliable and frequent. But we need to utilise the small city centre road space better, with more priority for public transport and restrictions for single occupied cars so that this is achieved.
@Paul Linehan: Free travel for school children on public transport would, as is the case in London, alleviate traffic problems during terms with less school runs. Just gauge your commute against next week, when the schools are on mid term, and you’ll see how small steps can become giant strides to resolving the issue.
@Ciarān: car pool, do all your neighbours and friends leave for and work near you. It’s cars and bikes in bus lanes slowing buses up which is the current problem. Broken bus lanes do not work. London has cameras for fining cars in bus lanes start with that
Huge thanks to all the opportunistic politicians & bus drivers’ union for spreading lies & misinformation about this. And for being the greatest hurlers the ditch ever knew. In positions to do something about it for years and nada. A better solution comes along & they’re sulking for not getting any glory in it. Irish Times with their click bait. Article after article with flat out lies. Some solutions:
1. Areas that need estate-level transport, minibuses that go every hour & hospital-appointment mini-buses. The double deckers are needed to bring people to work.
2. If there’s any more public consultation, ask the people standing in the cold watching the 3rd full bus go by.
3. Congestion pricing & rates charged on all city parking spaces to fund the extra services the protest brigade want.
@Oisín O’Connor: It is what it is, Oisin. Once again, can kicked down the road for another year. Irish people need to get their heads out of the mindset that bus services are some kind of personal, my front gate, my estate, door-to-door taxi service. That’s not what a public bus service is anywhere in Europe. The problem is historically generations have grown up with suburban-to-city buses in dense housing estates, particularly in large cities, when they developed.
@Oisín O’Connor: bus connects is doomed to fail due to the NTA & it’s CEO not being qualified to exercise their remit beyond photo opportunities & exercises in dodging questions but also due to external factors namely the complete lack of enforcement of road traffic laws, bus lanes blocked by parked vehicles delivering i.e. Rathmines road any particular evening, taxis clogging up the college green bus gate whenever they see fit, the shambles that is the luas cross city, the use of bus lanes by regular traffic throughout the suburbs without consequences etc. The list of examples goes on & isn’t exhaustive. Until such issues are addressed watch any bus connects type plan fail. The whole indicators flashing & ‘I’ll only be a minute’ spiel isn’t acceptable.
@Mick Rooney (TIPM): I saw someone say they were against the plan because Irish people don’t like change. So basically people whinge about the bus service for years then someone comes along with plan and then they whinge that it doesn’t suit them. I think it’s a great idea, before I had to go into town to get pretty much anywhere now I’ll be able to use the “spines” and just change bus without going through town
@Lou Sypher: those things grateful with me too. Matters for the Gardai who do nothing about it (separate issue) not the NTA. I couldn’t give a fig how full of fluff the NTA CEO is, I’ve run through the Bus Connects plan and I think it would be great for the city. The photo ops from the objectors are what’s more worrrying. Especially as they’ve no plan themselves (NBRU the bus drivers’ union promised to release their Bus Connects submission but have not).
@Oisín O’Connor: the only people spreading lies were Jarrett Walker and the NTA
@Oisín O’Connor: if is was a better solution it would be implemented. It’s not and the NTA found that out on their roadshows. It’s not the spinal routes it’s the artery routes. So back to the drawing board for you
@Oisín O’Connor: It is not a plan you can run through as it is a very complicated plan. For you as one person it may suit but look at the bigger picture and not just your area.
They say busses will be every so many minutes and have no idea about traffic in the area. One of the routes was supposed to use a double decker and it had a low bridge another went into a well known bottleneck. Drawn on maps with no knowledge of the actual road system
Please be in the first few weeks of January. The buses are an absolute shambles right now. Bus Connects will be a huge improvement.
@Darren Bates: You must use the 75A bus.
@Darren Bates: It wont be there and it will be a shambles if the NTA get their way. The 75A might improve but a large portion of the service will fail miserably
Noel Rock has spoken, enough said ,pardon me while I get sick,the man is not fit for low office.
@Paul Mc: study the plan. Forget who supports it.
This is everything wrong with Ireland right now.
92% vs 8%. everything that’s wrong with Ireland
@Awfulireland: It is nor 92% nor nowhere even close. Iwas at numerous meeting across the city to gauge the feel of support for it and there was very little par certain core groups.
The Fingal County Council came out against it as did politicians from all parties after being contacted by their constituents
I wish they had a bus service that last bus was at midnight. Then a night link service 1am, 2am and 4am all week, give me that and ill be happy.
@Lisa Byrne: its starting in January
@Alan Earls: what is?? The review or the bus times??
@Alan Earls: I cant find it anywhere? :/
@Lisa Byrne: 24 hour services ask any driver they will tell u
@Alan Earls: No it is not read the article the review will be around March
There is no point changing bus routes until the infrastructure is there. You can have as many busses as you like on the main routes but they will still sit in traffic as they do now
@Colm Sheehan: I’ve studied the proposals a lot and I’m not convinced. Yes infrastructure is poor, but the proposed network redesign is about diverting more people around the city, not through it. The current network is from the 50s, and a redesign is massively needed. If we wait for infrastructure, we’ll be waiting forever.
So I’ll wait till then for the bus ,,,
The 40D bus route is an utter failure of a route at rush hour. It has been for well over a year. Dublin Bus is aware of this and knows that the unacceptable performance of this route is endangering people’s livelihoods.
So I guess nothing will change now.
@mursim: I grew up in Finglas in the 80s and 90s it was just as bad back then nothing has changed.. they used to take me an hour and 10 minutes to get into the city centre at rush hour for school.
@mursim: The NTA allow or refuse changes not Dublin Bus. Thats the mistake most people make. Dublin Bus must ask to make changes
There should be a public vote on Busconnect
Sometime next year, after the election !
I have asked experts in public transport about this system to confirm my own opinion that it is terrible. The design is favoured by one school of route design and it works in certain types of cities.
Dublin is not one of them. When you have a nice block system of buildings it is great. We have a Georgian and Victorian designed city so it will not work.
People with disabilities and other vulnerable passengers who are not able to hop on and off numerous modes of transport will be further isolated.
Of course that does not matter to I am all right jack mentality of a lot of people
have your say