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Anne Sacoolas no longer has diplomatic immunity, says Foreign Office Anne Sacoolas no longer has diplomatic immunity, says Foreign Office
(32 minutes later)
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has reportedly said US woman Anne Sacoolas does not have diplomatic immunity over the road crash that killed 19-year-old Harry Dunn. Anne Sacoolas no longer has diplomatic immunity over the road crash that killed 19-year-old Harry Dunn, the Foreign Office has said.
Dunn died when his motorbike and a car collided outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on 27 August. The woman believed to be driving the car, 42-year-old Sacoolas – who is reportedly married to a US intelligence official – left the UK following the crash citing diplomatic immunity. Sacoolas, 42, the wife of a US diplomat, left the UK shortly after the collision between Dunn’s motorbike and a car outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on 27 August.
Now the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has written to Dunn’s family about Sacoolas and, according to the BBC and Sky News, has said: “The US have now informed us that they too consider that immunity is no longer pertinent. She is believed to have been driving the car but while she met with Northamptonshire police no investigation followed after the force was advised by the UK government that she had the protective status granted to foreign diplomats.
“We have pressed strongly for a waiver of immunity, so that justice can be done … Whilst the US government has steadfastly declined to give that waiver, that is not the end of the matter,” the BBC quoted Raab’s letter saying. But after days of controversy surrounding the case, a letter from Dominic Raab to Dunn’s family seen by the BBC has suggested that her return to the US has rendered that status irrelevant.
“We have looked at this very carefully … the UK government’s position is that immunity, and therefore any question of waiver, is no longer relevant in Mrs Sacoolas’ case, because she has returned home.” “The US have now informed us that they too consider that immunity is no longer pertinent,” the foreign secretary’s letter says.
An FCO spokesman told the Press Association that the office “would not be commenting further on the content of the letter”. “We have pressed strongly for a waiver of immunity, so that justice can be done … Whilst the US government has steadfastly declined to give that waiver, that is not the end of the matter.”
Meanwhile Sacoolas has been left “devastated” by the crash, her lawyer has said.
Sacoolas’s legal representative, Amy Jeffress, said: “Anne is devastated by this tragic accident. No loss compares to the death of a child and Anne extends her deepest sympathy to Harry Dunn’s family.”
Dunn’s parents Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn have said they are flying to the US to “put pressure on the US administration to do the right thing”.
For both the Ratcliffes and Dunns, justice remains cruelly out of reach | Barbara Ellen
Radd Seiger, who is representing Dunn’s family, told ITV News he had spoken to Sacoolas’s legal team “very briefly” over the phone after arriving in the US on Saturday.
He said: “We have agreed to meet each other at the earliest possibility as soon as we can coordinate our diaries.”
It is the first contact between both parties since Sacoolas left the UK. Sacoolas’s lawyer said: “Anne would like to meet with Mr Dunn’s parents so that she can express her deepest sympathies and apologies for this tragic accident. We have been in contact with the family’s attorneys and look forward to hearing from them.”
Jeffress said Sacoolas spoke with “authorities” at the scene of the crash and met Northampton police at her home the following day. “She will continue to cooperate with the investigation,” the lawyer said.
On Friday, Boris Johnson said America was “absolutely ruthless” in its safeguarding of the diplomatic immunity of people like Sacoolas.
A fatal crash and the problem of diplomatic immunity – podcastA fatal crash and the problem of diplomatic immunity – podcast
The prime minister said that although Donald Trump was sympathetic towards Dunn’s family’s views on the use of diplomatic immunity, the US was “very reluctant” to allow citizens to be tried abroad. It added: “We have looked at this very carefully … the UK government’s position is that immunity, and therefore any question of waiver, is no longer relevant in Mrs Sacoolas’ case, because she has returned home.”
Speaking of taking their campaign to the US, Dunn’s family said in a statement that they “continue to live in a nightmare” and have so far been unable to grieve after his death. The family are due to fly to the US on Sunday, ITV News has reported. Amid questions over the initial advice to Northamptonshire police, the home secretary told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday that the government was committed to ensuring “justice is done”.
A statement released on behalf of the family said: “As if losing Harry was not enough, they now find themselves having to expend enormous time and energy, which they can ill afford, generating sufficient publicity to garner public support to persuade the US government to help achieve closure and return the driver Mrs Sacoolas to England to face the consequences of her actions.” “It very much seems that the lady in question wants to start cooperating with the discussions and the investigations and I think we should support that,” said Priti Patel.
“We need to ensure that justice is done. This is a terribly tragic case. The family needs to have the assurance obviously that the investigation will be thorough, will take place and that cooperation will also take place. That’s what we are committed to working to achieve.”
The family’s lawyer, Mark Stephens, said on Sky News on Sunday morning: “She wasn’t entitled to diplomatic immunity in the first place.”
Calling Sacoolas “a fugitive from British justice”, he suggested that the family could take legal action against her in a US court.
“Even if she were entitled to diplomatic immunity it only applies in the host country, so the UK. It does not apply in your home country …
“That means the Dunn family can sue her in the United States for the explanation that they need to psychologically get closure on the first part of their grieving process and move on with the grieving process.”
Sacoolas, whose husband worked at the Air Force station, had only been in the country for three weeks at the time of the incident and she is said to have been “devastated” by it.
A statement issued on her behalf by legal representative Amy Jeffress said: “Anne is devastated by this tragic accident. No loss compares to the death of a child and Anne extends her deepest sympathy to Harry Dunn’s family.”
“She spoke with authorities at the scene of the accident and met with the Northampton police at her home the following day. She will continue to co-operate with the investigation,” it continued.
Jeffress also said that Anne would like to meet Dunn’s parents, Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, to “express her deepest sympathies and apologies for this tragic incident”.
For both the Ratcliffes and Dunns, justice remains cruelly out of reach | Barbara Ellen
The couple are scheduled to fly to the United States on Sunday ahead of visits to both New York and Washington DC.
Radd Seiger, who is representing the family, said their aim was to “put pressure on the US administration to do the right thing”.
He said he had spoken “very briefly” to Sacoolas’s legal team over the phone after arriving in the country on Saturday. “We have agreed to meet each other at the earliest possibility as soon as we can coordinate our diaries,” Seiger added.
The contact is the first between both parties since Sacoolas left the UK over a month ago.
On Friday, Boris Johnson said the US had been “absolutely ruthless” in its safeguarding of Sacoolas from facing investigation.
The prime minister said that although Donald Trump expressed sympathy towards Dunn’s family’s views the use of diplomatic immunity, America was “very reluctant” to allow citizens to be tried abroad.
His comments followed the revelation that Sacoolas would not return to the UK after briefing notes held by Trump were photographed at a White House news conference.
UK newsUK news
Foreign policyForeign policy
Dominic Raab
Priti Patel
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