A DECORATED former army commander has criticised Prince Harry for likening the killing of 25 Taliban fighters to 'chess pieces being taken off the board'.

In his memoir Spare, which has been leaked to media outlets, Prince Harry describes his time serving in the armed forces, which included undertaking two tours of Afghanistan.

But Colonel Richard Kemp CBE, who was educated at Colchester Royal Grammar School before serving for 30 years in the British Army, said his main concern regarding Prince Harry’s revelations was that it wrongly implied the British Army treated the enemy as sub-human.

Col Kemp told the Gazette: "The problem with what he’s written is his suggestion that British soldiers are seen to see the enemy as less than human – that’s wrong and it’s not the way the British Army is trained.

"If that’s how they are trained then that’s not right."

Col Kemp went on to explain the enemy has to be treated in a specific way if they have been wounded or captured.

"If you kill people in Afghanistan, then their corpses have to he handled properly in accordance to their religious practises – that includes handing them over to the appropriate authorities.

"If you wound a member of the forces in battle and capture them, you have to give them battlefield first aid and get them to a field hospital if necessary.

"As far as prisoners are concerned, they have to be fed properly, not be tortured, and have to be living in humane conditions – these things wouldn’t happen if you told your soldiers the enemy is sub-human.

"It’s very misguided of Prince Harry to suggested [the enemy is treated like pieces on a chess board] – the Army isn’t trained to act like that, which is the implication of what Harry is saying."

Col Kemp added Prince Harry has risked his own security by talking openly about how many Taliban fighters he killed on the battlefield.

"Prince Harry is already under threat from Jihadists, including the Taliban, but this heightens that threat – I feel from that perspective it’s an own goal."