Harry Dunn death: Call for public inquiry after family 'abandoned'
An American woman charged with causing the teenager's death on a road close to RAF Croughton had a background in the CIA.
Sunday 9 February 2020 18:42, UK
A spokesman for the parents of Harry Dunn, the British motorcyclist killed in a crash near an air base, has called for a public inquiry into why the family was "abandoned".
It comes as Sky News confirmed an American woman charged with causing the 19-year-old's death on a road close to RAF Croughton had a background in the CIA.
But Anne Sacoolas was understood to have been at the Northamptonshire base as a spouse only and had no official role while she was in the UK. The Mail on Sunday reported that Sacoolas was a former CIA spy.
Harry's mother, Charlotte Charles said she and the rest of the family were "full of anger" after hearing of Sacoolas' alleged past and asked of the British government, "how could they do this to us?"
Family spokesman Radd Seiger has called for a public inquiry, claiming Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had not mentioned to them the suspect's reported past as a CIA officer.
Mr Seiger said they was "very concerned" about how the UK government has treated them and he questioned whether it had prioritised the suspect over them, "which should worry every single one of us".
He also claimed the family was "misled" by UK authorities about what was going on.
He said Mrs Charles and Harry's father, Tim Dunn, had asked Mr Raab at a recent meeting specifically what Sacoolas' role was. He said Mr Raab confirmed she had been a state department worker but made no mention of her being a CIA officer.
Shortly after 19-year-old motorcyclist Mr Dunn died in a head-on crash with a car on 27 August, the suspected driver, Sacoolas, claimed diplomatic immunity and left the UK for the US. Her husband is thought to be a US intelligence officer.
In December, the Crown Prosecution Service charged her with causing Mr Dunn's death by dangerous driving.
But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has refused to allow a UK request for Sacoolas, 42, to be extradited to Britain.
Mrs Charles said: "We had suspicions she was or used to be employed by the CIA, but we don't feel her job role should make any difference to facing justice in a host country".
She added: "Our campaign goes on just because this there's this little drip feed of information, we lost our boy, she needs to come back and face our justice system. I believe she'll never have any peace without facing what she's done and taking the consequences of that."
Mr Seiger added: "We will not rest until Anne Sacoolas is back and we have secured the safety of the nation in so far so called diplomats committing crimes here in the UK is concerned."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson joined Mr Raab and Home Secretary Priti Patel in criticising Washington's decision to reject the request for the American to return to the UK.
And on Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday, former foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt said Sacoolas' CIA background may have a bearing on why the US was not allowing the extradition.
He said it was "totally unacceptable that she is not facing justice in the UK" and added the US was not treating the UK as an ally in the case.
Sky's Lisa Dowd said of the CIA background revelation: "What it does do perhaps for the family is to explain what they see is the steadfast support from the United States administration for Anne Sacoolas in all of this.
"What the family are very interested to know is what the British government knew about Anne Sacoolas' background because when the family first approached Sky News with their story back in October they felt that they had very little help from the British authorities.
"And they felt that her background may explain something about that. Of course, that is something that the government would dispute."