MP’S joke about Harry ‘taken the wrong way’

A Labour MP who reportedly mocked Prince Harry’s military career has said her “joke” was “taken the wrong way”.

Kensington MP Emma Dent Coad, who was said to have questioned the royal’s ability to fly a helicopter, released a statement on Twitter which asks “can we look at the real issues facing us now?”.

In it, she highlights the plight of survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire and says she is “ashamed of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s status as the most unequal borough in Britain”. Ms Dent Coad then contrasts the millions spent on supporting the royal family and refurbishing Buckingham Palace with Grenfell survivors being “abandoned in pokey hotel rooms”.

The statement reads: “On Monday night I made a joke. It has been taken the wrong way. Can we look at the real issues facing us now?” Ms Dent Coad was addressing a fringe meeting of Labour’s Brighton conference called Reigning in The Monarchy.

Prince Harry served in Afghanistan during a tenyear full-time military career.