UK on road to ruin if US wins in extradition row, says mum

The mother of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn has said Britain will be on the “road to ruin” if it backs down in its diplomatic row with the “bully” US government.

Charlotte Charles said “we have to stand up to them” as it emerged the UK has agreed to extradite two fugitives to the United States, which refuses to hand over suspect Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official.

Washington officials are reportedly “furious” that UK police have issued an international wanted notice for Sacoolas, who was charged with causing the 19-year-old’s death by dangerous driving in December.

Mr Dunn was killed when his motorbike collided with a car outside a US military base in Northamptonshire on August 27.

Sacoolas, 42, claimed diplomatic immunity following the crash and was able to return to her home country.

An extradition request submitted by the Home Office for her was rejected by US secretary of state Mike Pompeo in January – a decision the state department has said is “final”.

Mr Dunn’s mother said: “We don’t want any problems with the US government. But we can see that the US government is behaving like a bully.

“It will be a road to ruin if we back down as a country now and we have to stand up to them.”

The Home Office confirmed extradition requests had been approved by Home Secretary Priti Patel for Jabir Motiwala, 53, and Colin Wilkinson, 54, from Hull, last month.

Motiwala is wanted in the US to face charges of extortion, money laundering and conspiracy to import drugs while Wilkinson faces charges of downloading child sex abuse images in Texas, the Daily Express reported.

The pair are fighting the decisions.

Harry Dunn.