Despite apology, criticism of Prince Harry continues

LONDON (AP) — Lawmakers, Muslim groups and the Pakistani public criticized Prince Harry on Sunday after a British newspaper published video footage of him using offensive and racist language.

Harry, third in line to the British throne and an army lieutenant, issued an apology Saturday after the News of The World reported that he had used offensive terms to refer to people from Pakistan and people of Arab descent.

Britain’s opposition Conservative Party leader, David Cameron, said Harry’s comments undermined work to root out racism from the country’s armed forces.

The paper reported that Harry made the remarks in 2006 during a visit to Cyprus to carry out training exercises with fellow military cadets. In part of the video apparently filmed by Harry himself, he refers to one colleague as “our little paki friend” — using a derogatory term for people of Pakistani origin.

Iftikhar Raja told the BBC the cadet was his nephew Ahmed Raza Khan, who he said is now a captain in Pakistan’s army.

In a second video clip, Harry calls another cadet — who is wearing a headscarf — a “raghead.” The newspaper said that the video was filmed by other cadets and supplied to the newspaper.

A St. James’s Palace spokesman said that Harry had used the offensive term to refer to either the Taliban or Iraqi insurgents.