Harry Dunn death: White House asks for 'urgent meeting' with family of teenage crash victim

Charlotte Charles with her son, Harry Dunn, who died in a crash
PA
Katy Clifton15 October 2019

The White House has asked for an “urgent meeting” later today with the family of teenage crash victim Harry Dunn, a family spokeswoman said.

The teenager was killed when his motorbike was involved in a head-on collision outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in August.

Anne Sacoolas, the motorist allegedly responsible for the crash, was given diplomatic immunity and allowed to return to the US after the crash.

The family travelled to America earlier this week and said they would be trying to convince President Donald Trump to reverse the decision.

Charlotte Charles, the mother of British teen Harry Dunn who was killed in a car crash on his motorcycle
REUTERS

In a post on the Justice 4 Harry GoFundMe page, the teenager's family said: "We will be meeting with various news channels to spread our campaign with all of America and ultimately hope that the American government see that it is right to send Anne Sacoolas back to the UK to face our justice system."

The family, who met Foreign Secretary Dominic Rabb in the UK last week, have also demanded an investigation over the Foreign Office's (FCO) advice to Northamptonshire Police that Ms Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity.

They are demanding to see all emails, messages and notes sent in relation to her immunity status.

Anne Sacoolas
Sky News

Speaking in New York, family spokesman Radd Seiger said: "We want to conduct an investigation into the FCO's decision to advise Northamptonshire Police that this lady had the benefit of diplomatic immunity.

"What we don't know is whether somebody cocked up or whether they were put under pressure by the Americans to concede."

If they are not happy with the documents, the family say they will then ask for a judge's opinion on the lawfulness of the FCO's decision.

Family spokesman Radd Seiger speaks on behalf of father of Harry Dunn, Tim Dunn (C-R) and mother Charlotte Charles (C-L)
Getty Images

Mr Seiger added: "If we're not satisfied, then we'll go to a judicial review and ask a High Court judge to review it all."

On Saturday, before the family left for the US, they received a letter from Mr Raab, saying that Mrs Sacoolas, 42, no longer had immunity.

"The letter is worded very carefully, they're not saying it's just a change of heart - they are saying that it's an evolution," said Mr Seiger.

He also said that the family's lawyers, Mark Stephens and Geoffrey Robertson QC, believe "they've (the FCO) been lying to you".

Tributes: flowers left at the scene of the crash
Getty Images

Ms Charles and Mr Dunn said: "We were astonished last Saturday to receive the hand-delivered letter from the FCO indicating that Mrs Sacoolas did not in fact have diplomatic immunity.

"We were still reeling from our terrible meeting with Dominic Raab, Foreign Secretary, last Wednesday, just three days earlier, where he was adamant that Mrs Sacoolas did have immunity.

"Something is not right. We will not rest until we get the truth. We will not let Harry passing be in vain."

Mrs Sacoolas has said she is "terribly sorry" about the incident and that she had "no time to react" when she saw Mr Dunn's motorbike.

Her lawyer, Amy Jeffress, told the Mirror: "Anne was driving on the wrong side of the road and is terribly, terribly sorry for that tragic mistake.

"She wants to meet the family and apologise and take responsibility. Anne had no time to react when she saw the motorbike."

Ms Jeffress, from US firm Arnold & Porter, said the diplomat's wife also stayed at the scene and flagged down other people to help the teenager.

Harry Dunn was killed in a car crash
PA

Ms Jeffress added: "She spoke to Harry to tell him that she would call for help.

"She waved down another car. That driver offered to assist Harry so that Anne could comfort her young children in her car."

The FCO has been contacted for comment.

Reporting by Press Association.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT