Atlantic standoff over hit and run
British prime minister Boris Johnson has put pressure on Donald Trump to extradite the wife of a diplomat who is accused of killing a teenager in a road accident.
In a tense phone call to the US president, Mr Johnson demanded: “Justice must be done,” according to The Sun.
Briton Harry Dunn, 19, died on August 27 when his Kawasaki motorbike was hit by a car driving on the wrong side of the road near an air base in Northamptonshire.
The air base is used by the US military as a communications hub.
Anna Sacoolas — the wife of US intelligence officer Jonathan — admitted in October to being the driver but has cited immunity while refusing to return to Britain to face justice. The US is also refusing to send Sacoolas back.
She was last week charged with causing death by dangerous driving — a move called “disappointing” and “unhelpful” by the Americans.
The rift threatens to sour relations between the leaders ahead of a possible visit by Mr Johnson to Washington DC next year.
And it reveals Mr Johnson is not afraid to stand up to Mr Trump, a charge levelled at him by Labour in this month’s election campaign.
According to The Sun, the confrontation came when Mr Trump rang last Monday to congratulate Mr Johnson on his win.
A source at No. 10 said: “The PM pointed out to the president that it is important they ensure justice is done, and the issue is sorted.”
The Sacoolas case has stirred up debate over the limits of diplomatic immunity in cases unrelated to national security.
It has been a political headache for Mr Johnson, who is cultivat- ing trade e relations s w i th Washington in a bid to offset the potential l damage e of Britain’s withdrawal from the EU.
Yesterday UK Home Secretary Priti Patel visited Mr Dunn’s (pictured) father Tim.
Family spokesman Radd Seiger said the family were “incredibly reassured” by Ms Patel’s vow that the law would be fully pursued.
Downing Street said the prime minister has not yet received a formal invitation to visit Mr Trump in the New Year. Any major trips are unlikely until after Brexit on January 31.
Sacoolas’ lawyer said her client would not return voluntarily to Britain to face a potential jail sentence for “a terrible but unintentional accident”.
Mr Johnson has previously said he wants her to return to Britain and that she was wrong to use diplomatic immunity to leave.
Mr Dunn’s parents met Mr Trump at the White House in October.
Mr Trump called the crash a “terrible accident,” saying it was common for Americans in Britain to have a hard time driving on the left side of the road.
Mr Trump had hoped to persuade them to meet Sacoolas, who was in the building at the same time, but they declined.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called the charges “an important step” that should prompt Sacoolas to return to Britain. “I hope that Anne Sacoolas will now realise the right thing to do is to come back to the UK,” he said.