Harry Dunn crash driver Anne Sacoolas did NOT have diplomatic immunity, DPP rules – as his family begin lawsuit in US
THE UK's top prosecutor says Harry Dunn's alleged killer DID NOT have diplomatic immunity, his family have been told.
American Anne Sacoolas fled Britain following a fatal road crash which claimed the life of the 19-year-old motorcyclist last year.
She was driving on the wrong side of the road near RAF Croughton, Northants, when she struck the teen's motorcycle head-on, say cops.
Today's ruling comes after Harry's parents, Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, met Director of Public Prosecutions Max Hill QC in London and as it was revealed they have launched a legal claim in the US.
The family's spokesman Radd Seiger also said the DPP's legal team had concluded the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) should not have allowed the suspect to leave the country in September.
He revealed: "The DPP made it clear to the parents that his legal team had concluded that Anne Sacoolas did not have diplomatic immunity."
The DPP's conclusion comes after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Parliament in October she did.
Sacoolas, 43, claimed immunity following the road tragedy in August last year.
She was able to return to her home country on September 15 but was subsequently charged with causing the teen's death by dangerous driving in December.
An extradition request submitted by the Home Office was rejected by the US State Department in January - a decision it later described as "final".
And the family were told the US would only agree to a "virtual trial" if it was under its law - something Mr Seiger described as a "show trial".
He added Harry's parents would only accept a "virtual trial" if the suspect was tried under UK law.
The meeting came after it was revealed the family have filed a civil claim for damages against Sacoolas in a US court.
The lawsuit, which claims wrongful death and seeks financial damages, was filed in Virginia, where Sacoolas now lives.
Lawyers for Harry’s parents claim that Sacoolas did not call an ambulance or police after the head-on collision, although she had a phone with her.
The force of the crash left “blood and clothing embedded in the front windshield”, the lawsuit states.
It claims: “She left Harry to suffer as he lay face down on the side of the road, afraid of dying, fully conscious with multiple broken bones…and internal injuries.”
Cops say Sacoolas admitted that she was driving on the wrong side of the road when she hit Harry.
The driver’s husband, Jonathan Sacoolas, is named as a co-defendant in the civil suit, as the Dunn family lawyers say the vehicle driven in the accident, a Volvo 4x4, was owned by him.
Jonathan Sacoolas, who had diplomatic status in Britain, was working for the US government at RAF Croughton, which is used by American intelligence agencies.
Representatives for Sacoolas did not respond to requests for comment last night.
Mr Seiger said the Foreign Secretary had applied to support the parents' complaint by "applying to join the complaint as an Amicus Curiae" - also known as an "intervener".
He said: "This extraordinary move has been welcomed by Harry's parents and the Foreign Secretary will now be available to the parents and the court in order to provide assistance to them in securing the right outcome in the complaint."
However, tonight the FDCO maintained its position on the diplomatic immunity claimed by Sacoolas.
An FCDO spokesman said: "Anne Sacoolas held diplomatic immunity when she left the UK.
"The refusal to extradite Anne Sacoolas amounts to a denial of justice, and she should return to the UK."
Asked for comment on the civil claim, an FCDO spokesman said: "The Foreign Secretary continues to support the family and do everything he can to seek justice for Harry."
'NO IMMUNITY'
The family's spokesman said Harry's alleged killer had "inexplicably" made no attempt to "resolve the dispute without having to go to court".
Mr Seiger said: "Harry's parents are entitled to bring a claim for civil damages for Harry's wrongful death in the US courts in Virginia.
"They have sought to avoid a formal dispute with Mrs Sacoolas so as not to put the parents through any additional unnecessary stress.
"Inexplicably, there has been a total failure on Mrs Sacoolas's part to enter into the spirit of attempting to resolve the dispute without having to go to court.
"The parents have therefore, yet again, been forced to take yet another battle on since Harry's death and have today filed a formal complaint against Mrs Sacoolas in the Virginia court."
Speaking after the meeting with Mr Hill, Mr Seiger said: "The DPP made it clear to the parents that his legal team had concluded that Anne Sacoolas did not have diplomatic immunity and that is precisely why they charged her in December with causing death by dangerous driving.
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"Had they concluded like the FCDO's lawyers have concluded that she did, they would not have charged her and called us to a meeting and told us that.
"They also confirmed to the parents that they agree with us that Anne Sacoolas should not have been allowed to leave and that they too, like Northamptonshire Police, were kept in the dark in September.
"Had they had the opportunity to look at the matter and consider the legal arrangements at Croughton they would have concluded then that she did not have diplomatic immunity and that she should not be allowed to leave."
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