Harry Dunn: Family 'really angry' at Boris Johnson over 'cut and paste' letter sent 10 months after teen's death
Boris Johnson had sent the family letters saying he thought the refusal to extradite Anne Sacoolas was a 'denial of justice'.
Tuesday 16 June 2020 20:34, UK
The family of Harry Dunn say they are "angry" and "bitterly disappointed" with the prime minister after he wrote to them for the first time - 10 months after the teenager's death.
Harry's brother Niall said the response from Boris Johnson to his call to "grab hold of the case" had simply been "ignored" and had instead "trampled all over my feelings".
He added: "I'm so upset - really angry at him."
His mother Charlotte Charles also said she was "bitterly disappointed" after repeated requests to meet Mr Johnson had gone unanswered.
She said she couldn't begin to express how "flat and angry" she felt with the recent "cut and paste response" from the prime minister, and added: "This is the same nonsense that we have been hearing from other government departments for months."
The Dunn family have been campaigning for almost a year to see the US citizen involved in the 19-year-old's death to be extradited to the UK to face a charge of death by dangerous driving.
Anne Sacoolas, a former CIA officer, admitted to driving on the wrong side of the road when she collided head-on with Harry outside a US intelligence base at RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire last August.
The teenager died shortly after the incident, while Mrs Sacoolas claimed diplomatic immunity and went back to the US.
In separate letters sent recently to Harry's mother and twin brother, the prime minister said he wanted to reassure them both that the US's refusal to waive diplomatic immunity and extradite Mrs Sacoolas was a "denial of justice."
"She should return to the UK," Mr Johnson wrote.
"I have said this publicly and I have raised it repeatedly with the US government, including with President Trump.
"You ask to know the truth in this tragic case. Under arrangements put in place by a previous government 25 years ago, and confirmed by another government six years later, there was an anomaly under which diplomatic immunity was waived in circumstances for US staff at RAF Croughton but not for their families.
"As a result, Anne Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity, and neither the UK police nor the government could lawfully prevent Anne Sacoolas from leaving the country.
"We are renegotiating those arrangements."
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The letters arrived just a few days before Harry's family take their legal fight to the High Court.
They have brought a judicial review against the Foreign Office and Northamptonshire Police, disputing that Mrs Sacoolas was entitled to immunity.
The Foreign Office maintains that it acted lawfully throughout the case, with Mr Johnson adding: "The UK government and criminal justice system have been doing all in our power to bring Anne Sacoolas to justice."
In response to the family's repeated calls to meet, the prime minister wrote in the letters that he had asked Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to be their "main point of contact".
Harry's mother said she believed Mr Johnson had not "applied his own mind to what is going on and the reason why we asked for a meeting."
She said: "Even President Trump saw it fit to meet us. My son was killed by an American citizen - Mr Johnson and his government let that person go and he doesn't have the courage to meet with us.
"I can't believe they have timed these letters to arrive on the eve of the judicial review just when we are trying to steady ourselves to deal with all that is coming."