By MARK NICHOL

Last updated at 00:51 13 May 2007

Defence chiefs are planning to let a camera crew follow Prince Harry during his tour of duty in Iraq.





The Ministry of Defence crew will film him while on operations, with footage being released to television channels and on the internet.

Harry's commanders hope the film, being dubbed Desert Prince, will inflict a propaganda defeat upon insurgent groups which have been using videos of hostages and wreckages of British aircraft to publicise their causes.

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The MoD will scrutinise its coverage for any information which could be used by insurgents to locate Prince Harry - one group has already threatened to kidnap him and cut off his ears.

News of the film follows the delay of Prince Harry's deployment to Iraq. The Prince, 22, was held back from the recent handover between units as it was feared his arrival would be too disruptive.

Most members of his Household Cavalry Regiment are already in Basra on a six-month tour of duty.

The Prince is now expected to be given a role in Iraq which would rarely involve him leaving the confines of British bases.

He is no longer going to be utilised as a reconnaissance troop commander - the job he trained for - as this is now considered too dangerous.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "We need to consider how we are going to handle the huge interest in Prince Harry. Operational security remains of paramount importance."

The former Conservative Homeland Security spokesman, Patrick Mercer, said: "They will have to be very careful not to give away Prince Harry's general location. If this goes wrong, it will come back to haunt them.

"That said, it's a bold move and a very positive piece of propaganda."