Prince Harry “should be treated like everybody else” with regards to his past drug use, Margaret Thatcher’s former aide has claimed.
The Heritage Foundation lodged an appeal calling for the Duke of Sussex’s visa application to be made public after he documented past drug use in his memoir, Spare.
Past drug use can be grounds to deny a visa application for the US.
Lawyers acting on behalf of the United States Department of Homeland Security have said Harry’s visa answers about historical drug use should remain “private”.
This is despite the Duke referencing taking cocaine, marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms in his memoir.
Speaking on GB News, Gardiner said Harry should not be above the law.
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PA“It matters to the American public whether people lie or not on their visa applications”, he said.
“I do think that no one should receive preferential treatment because of their celebrity status.
“At the Heritage Foundation, we believe in the full enforcement of the rule of law, and Prince Harry should receive the same scrutiny as everyone else.
“This argument that it should be treated as a private matter is complete nonsense. He should be held to account as a public figure.”
Lawyers suggested the Heritage Foundation “have not demonstrated possible government misconduct or any other public interest that would overcome Prince Harry’s privacy interest in these records”.
They also said despite the Duke being a “public official” in the UK, he is not at the same level in the US.
In his controversial memoir which saw him lash out at several royal figures, the Duke opened up on his past drug use where he said cocaine “didn’t do anything for me”.
He added: “Marijuana is different, that actually really did help me.”
The Heritage Foundation’s lawsuit argues that US law “generally renders such a person inadmissible for entry” to the country.
They added: “Much like health, financial, or employment information, a person’s immigration information is private personal information.”
