Online Journalism News

Drudge Report breaks news blackout on Prince Harry's Afghan war deployment

Posted: 29/02/08 By: Oliver Luft

Email this story | Comments

UPDATE: Harry to be withdrawn from active service and flown home after Drudge Report leak.

The Drudge Report, the popular US political news blog, has broken the media blackout agreed between the Ministry of Defence and UK news outlets about Prince Harry's secret deployment in Afghanistan.

Prince Harry was deployed to fight the Taliban on December 14, after the MoD agreed with the UK media to a news blackout on the deployment.

The MoD and the media struck a deal that meant extended access to the third-in-line to the throne during his time in Helmand Province in exchange for news of his deployment to be held until after his tour had been completed.

The UK media had agreed to hold its stories unless a foreign news publisher made the news public first.

That agreement was punctured yesterday when the Drudge Report ran the story about his deployment. The UK media then flooded its stories on an unsuspecting public.

British Army chief of general staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt, made a statement yesterday expressing his annoyance at the leak.

"I am very disappointed that foreign websites have decided to run this story without consulting us," he said.

"This is in stark contrast to the highly responsible attitude that the whole of the UK print and broadcast media, along with a small number of overseas, who have entered into an understanding with us over the coverage of Prince Harry on operations."

Not all parts of the UK media were happy with the imposed news blackout. Channel 4 News anchor, Jon Snow, wrote on his blog:

"I never thought I'd find myself saying thank God for Drudge. The infamous US blogger has broken the best kept editorial secret of recent times…One wonders whether viewers, readers and listeners will ever want to trust media bosses again."

The Drudge Report - which was under no obligation to the British Army - came to public notoriety in the 1990s for breaking the Monica Lewinsky scandal. It is believed it found out about the deployment from an article earlier in the year that appeared on a small Australian women's magazine website, New Idea.

General Dannatt added that he would now take advice from operational commanders about whether Prince Harry’s deployment, which is now front page of all but one national newspaper in the UK, can continue.

Got a story? Email our news team: Laura Oliver; Judith Townend or telephone +44 (0)1273 384290. You can also follow us on Twitter: @journalismnews / @LauraOliver / @JTownend.