Harry speaks of lack of strong leadership in country during youth club visit

Prince Harry has spoken out about "a lack of strong leadership" in the nation suggesting more needs to be done to support youth centres helping disadvantaged young people.

Harry highlighted the issue when he visited a youth centre in a London borough with a notorious reputation for gang trouble, that is providing a safe space for teenagers.

His visit to the Roundwood centre in Harlesden was staged to support the national Fit and Fed Campaign - which provides children with sporting activities and a nutritional meal - and is being run locally by the charity Sport at the Heart.

Nary Wijeratne, founder of Sport at the Heart, said after hosting Harry's visit to the London borough of Brent: "I feel like he understood, he got it, he got what communities need these days and he said 'there's a lack of strong leadership in this country'."

Although his remarks appeared to be a complaint about a lack of resources for young people rather than a political attack on the Government, she added: "He said that we have 'not a strong government'."

Ms Wijeratne added: "He also said that buildings like this are very important in the community, because they're places that children, young people and adults ... can come together. And what's happened recently is that there has been sweeping closures to these types of buildings.

"For example in Brent this is the last youth club there is, for a whole borough there is one youth club."

During the visit when Harry was told by staff from the Roundwood centre their young people were local and from further afield he asked "no conflict?", in an apparent reference to the gang trouble, and was told it was a space of "mutual respect".