Prince Harry’s war friend who fought in Afghanistan has demanded an apology from US Vice President JD Vance after he made a comment that is believed to have been a swipe at Britain. Speaking on Fox News, Vance said that a US stake in Ukraine’s economy was a “better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”.
Although he did not name Britain, the comment was believed to be aimed at the nation as it came after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK would be willing to put troops on the ground in Ukraine as part of a peace deal, along with France.Vance quickly backed down, but has still received a furious backlash number of people including Harry’s war friend Ben McBean, who lost two limbs in Afghanistan. Ben, 37, from Plymouth, lost an arm and a leg after stepping on a landmine while patrolling in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province in February 2008.
Speaking to MailOnline, Commando Ben – who was called a “hero” by Harry – said: “He (JD Vance) owes us an apology. We lost more than 600 men.
“There were over a 1,000 injured. And this muppet is just going out there and insulting all of them, saying it never happened.
“Don’t pretend 600 dead bodies from war didn’t happen. He’s a keyboard warrior.”
After outrage in Britain, Vance has taken to social media this week to argue that his comment was not aimed at Britain or France.
Mr Vance wrote on X: “This is absurdly dishonest.
“I don’t even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond.
“But let’s be direct: there are many countries who are volunteering (privately or publicly) support who have neither the battlefield experience nor the military equipment to do anything meaningful.”
Prince Harry, who also served in Afghanistan as a young royal, has not commented on JD Vance’s comments.