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3 months ago
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The family of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn are 'shocked and upset' after finding out just days before his inquest that their son's killer would not be giving live evidence.
Northamptonshire coroner Anne Pember issued a request to US government employee Anne Sacoolas last year in which she invited her to attend remotely today.
But the proposed witness list for the inquest, seen by the PA news agency, now shows Sacoolas will have her evidence read to the court.
The Dunn family's spokesman Radd Seiger said the 19-year-old's parents were informed about the proposed plan on Thursday, describing the situation as 'yet another kick to the stomach'.
Sacoolas's lawyer, Ben Cooper KC, told a pre-inquest review hearing in November that the US citizen was 'keen to assist the inquest'.
The family of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn are 'shocked and upset' after finding out just days before his inquest that their son's killer would not be giving live evidence
US government employee Anne Sacoolas was invited to attend remotely, but it has been revealed she will have her evidence read to the court. Pictured: Sacoolas appearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court, London, via videolink previously
The Dunn family's spokesman said the 19-year-old's parents were informed about the proposed plan on Thursday, describing the situation as 'yet another kick to the stomach'. Pictured: Harry's mother and stepfather, Charlotte Charles and Bruce Charles at court on September 29, 2022
According to the proposed witness list, Sacoolas's evidence is set to include a 'significant statement' from her, sections of her police interview in October 2019 and her witness statement penned in December last year.
Sacoolas was driving a Volvo on the wrong side of the road outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on August 27 2019 before she crashed into the teenager's bike.
The US State Department asserted diplomatic immunity on behalf of Sacoolas and she was able to leave the UK 19 days after the fatal collision.
The 45-year-old appeared before a High Court judge at the Old Bailey via video-link in December 2022, where she pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving.
Sacoolas was advised against attending her sentencing hearing by her employer, which prompted the family to say they were 'horrified' that the US Government was 'actively interfering in our criminal justice system'.
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb handed Sacoolas an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.
Anne Sacoolas (pictured) was driving the car that killed Mr Dunn. She was then a member of the US Intelligence Community and the wife of a CIA operative
Drive on left arrows on the road outside RAF Croughton on October 2019
Harry Dunn's father Tim Dunn alongside his wife Tracey Dunn holding tissues after his second funeral in March 2024
Harry Dunn's mother Charlotte Charles and his twin brother Niall Dunn embrace at the second funeral
The Dunn family took their four-year campaign for justice to the US after the teenager's death, which even led to a meeting with then-president Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington DC.
Reacting to the current plans for Sacoolas's evidence, Mr Seiger told PA: 'The parents are shocked and upset.
'They have understood since last November from her own lawyer that she would be giving live evidence which would have helped the family better understand what happened during after the crash that killed Harry.
'This news comes totally out of the blue and they are still trying to process it and what effect it will have on their rights at the inquest but it appears to be yet another kick to the stomach of these totally innocent good people who have done nothing wrong and do not deserve this.
'We do not know why this decision was made or who made it but very much hope that there is a last minute change of heart on Mrs Sacoolas' part and for once that she does the right thing.
'It is the very least she can do.'
At a hearing in October 2022, US citizen Anne Sacoolas pleaded guilty, via video-link from the United States, to causing Harry Dunn's death by careless driving
Questioned on what the Dunn family's hopes were for the inquest, Mr Seiger said: 'The parents are hoping to learn what happened to Harry that night and what were the circumstances that led to Harry's death - including what, if anything, was done to address road safety outside US bases over the decades since the Americans based themselves in the UK.
'We know many were killed or seriously injured before Harry and want to know what risk assessments were undertaken to address the problem.
'We also know that the ambulance was late to Harry that night in August 2019 and the parents want to work with the coroner and the NHS to see what can be done about the crisis that we all potentially face in not getting an ambulance when we most need it.
'We have nothing but praise for the medical team themselves that fought so bravely to save Harry's life.'
The inquest, which is scheduled to begin on Monday, is due to last for four days.
Timeline of events following Harry Dunn's death
27 August 2019: Harry Dunn, 19, killed while riding his motorcycle near Croughton, Northamptonshire near the exit to RAF Croughton, when it collided with a car travelling in the opposite direction.
28 August 2019: Suspect Anne Sacoolas is interviewed by police. Northamptonshire police request a diplomatic immunity waiver.
16 September 2019: Foreign office informs police that the waiver had been declined and that Sacoolas had left the UK on a US Air Force aircraft.
15 October 2019: Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn take their campaign for justice to the US where they meet with President Trump at the White House. They refuse meet the suspect, who was waiting in a room next door.
31 October 2019: Northamptonshire police interview Sacoolas in the US after requesting permission to do so.
25 November 2019: Dunn's parents submit a judicial review of the Foreign Secretary's actions over the extension of diplomatic immunity to intelligence staff and families at RAF Croughton.
20 December 2019: Crown Prosecution Service announces that Sacoolas to be charged with causing death by dangerous driving and that it was starting extradition proceedings against her.
10 January 2020: Home Office formally requests the extradition of Sacoolas to face charges in the United Kingdom.
23 January 2020: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally rejects request for extradition.
28 April 2020: Charlotte and Tim write a letter to the US Government, urging it to change its mind on the diplomatic immunity granted to Sacoolas.
11 May 2020: An Interpol Red Notice is issued for Sacoolas' arrest.
12 May 2020: The US State Department says the decision not to extradite Sacoolas is 'final' after Interpol notice claims.
May 2020: Mr Dunn's mother calls for Mr Raab's resignation.
July 2020: Mr Raab announces the 'anomaly' which allowed Sacoolas to claim diplomatic immunity following the road crash that killed Mr Dunn has been amended.
25 August 2020: The Lord Chancellor said Attorney General Suella Braverman was considering the possibility of trying Sacoolas virtually or in her absence.
9 September 2020: Mr Dunn's parents file a civil claim against Sacoolas in the US.
10 September 2020: Sacoolas's legal representatives admit the suspect had been driving on the wrong side of the road for 20 seconds prior to the crash.
24 November 2020: Mr Dunn's parents lose their High Court battle with the Foreign Office over the diplomatic immunity asserted on behalf of Sacoolas.
24 January 2021: The Foreign Office apologises after 'unprofessional and unacceptable language' was used by officials in internal emails about Mr Dunn's bereaved family.
28 January 2021: New US President Joe Biden's administration maintains the position that the decision not to extradite Sacoolas is 'final'.
4 February 2021: The Alexandria District Court in Virginia hears Sacoolas and her husband Jonathan's work in intelligence was a 'factor' in their departure from the UK after the road crash.
9 March 2021: Sacoolas's lawyer says the suspect is willing to complete community service.
12 June 2021: Mr Raab says the UK Government would be seeking a 'virtual trial or process' for Sacoolas.
2 July 2021: Mr Dunn's parents give evidence under oath in their 'depositions' as part of the civil claim for damages filed in the US.
21 September 2021: Mr Dunn's parents and Sacoolas reach a 'resolution' in the civil claim for damages filed in the US.
22 September 2021: Mr Dunn's mother says she is 'very confident' a criminal case will take place against Sacoolas.
22 October 2022: Sacoolas pleads guilty to causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving.
22 December 2022: Sacoolas is sentenced to an eight month sentence suspended for 12 months.
February 2024: Harry's 'human tissue' is returned to his family
March 2024: Second funeral is held for Harry in private ceremony
WHAT IS DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY AND HOW DOES IT APPLY TO HARRY DUNN CASE?
By Josh Payne, PA Chief Reporter
- What is diplomatic immunity?
Diplomatic immunity is a legal exemption from certain laws granted to diplomats by the state in which they are working.
It ensures they will not be liable to be prosecuted under the host country's laws. It is governed by an international treaty called the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and UK legislation called the Diplomatic Privileges Act.
- Why was diplomatic immunity asserted on Anne Sacoolas's behalf?
The US Government and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) position is that dependants (such as spouses or children) of US administrative and technical staff at RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire had diplomatic immunity at the time of the crash.
The Dunn family have disputed this but the High Court ruled Sacoolas was entitled to immunity in November 2020.
- Why could diplomatic immunity be asserted for Sacoolas but not her husband?
The Vienna Convention states waivers of immunity must always be 'express'.
In an agreement drawn up for RAF Croughton in 1994-95 between the UK and the US, the immunity enjoyed by administrative and technical staff would be waived for actions outside the course of their duties.
Dependants were not mentioned in the agreements.
- Why was Sacoolas not extradited?
An extradition request, submitted by the Home Office in January 2020, was rejected by the US State Department - who described it as 'highly inappropriate'.
President Joe Biden's administration said the decision not to extradite Sacoolas was 'final'.
- Why did Sacoolas appear in a UK court virtually?
The court's ability to conduct remote proceedings derives from coronavirus legislation, which allows even the most important court sessions, such as plea and sentence hearings, to be done virtually.
- Was Sacoolas able to walk away from the court proceedings?
The former head of extradition at the CPS, Nick Vamos, said Sacoolas 'could at any point in these proceedings have simply turned her video-link off and walked away, and there's nothing the court could have done about it'.
English (US)