Now Sacoolas lawyers say she hasn’t agreed to face court over Harry’s death
THE decision to prosecute the American spy accused of causing Harry Dunn’s death was mired in confusion yesterday after it was claimed Whitehall had been blindsided by the announcement.
The Crown Prosecution Service announced on Monday that Anne Sacoolas, 44, would appear in a UK court via videolink next month – almost two-and-a-half years after the teenage motorcyclist’s death.
But her lawyers denied that and said no such agreement had been reached. Sacoolas is accused of causing 19-year-old Harry’s death by dangerous driving after colliding with the teenager while driving on the wrong side of the road.
The collision occurred in August 2019 moments after Sacoolas and her husband Jonathan, a US intelligence officer, had driven in convoy out of RAF Croughton – a US Air Force communications hub in Northamptonshire.
The couple and their children flew home on a private jet 19 days later, after Mrs Sacoolas claimed diplomatic immunity.
A subsequent extradition request was rejected, despite the CPS saying there was enough evidence to charge her with causing death by dangerous driving.
Yesterday, as Whitehall sources suggested prosecutors may have jumped the gun in announcing that Sacoolas would appear in court, the CPS declined to comment further on the matter. In the early days of the Dunn family’s campaign for justice, Harry’s mother, Charlotte Charles said they accepted that Sacoolas did not mean to cause the crash.
She added that they had asked police to pursue her for the lesser charge of causing death by careless driving, which would be more likely to see her receive a suspended sentence. The CPS has not confirmed which charge Sacoolas will face next month.
It remained unclear whether further court hearings would also be held via videolink or with Sacoolas attending in person, or whether the case could be fast tracked to avoid multiple court hearings.
In a statement, US law firm Arnold and Porter, whose lawyer Amy Jeffress has been acting for Sacoolas, said: ‘While we have always been willing to discuss a virtual hearing, there is no agreement at this time.’
In a further development yesterday, Mrs Charles, 46, and Harry’s father, Tim Dunn, 52, were given a time slot for the hearing before Westminster magistrates on January 18. Sacoolas is scheduled to appear at 2pm that day.
The Dunns’ spokesman, Radd Seiger, said yesterday that he was ‘fully confident’ the case would go ahead.
Mr Seiger, a retired corporate lawyer, said there was a ‘complete separation of process’ between government and the prosecuting authorities but declined to comment further.
The CPS decided to charge Sacoolas in December 2019 after Northamptonshire Police officers flew to Virginia to take a statement from her. In January last year the US turned down an extradition request from Britain.
A CPS spokesman said on Monday: ‘While the challenges and complexity of this case are well known, we remain committed to securing justice in this matter.
‘Anne Sacoolas has a right to a fair trial. It is extremely important there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could prejudice any proceedings.’
‘No agreement at this time’