Fresh hope of justice for Dunn family over road death

American driver, who used diplomatic immunity to leave UK and avoid charge, may be prepared to return

‘She should never have been allowed to leave. The only resolution acceptable is her going before the courts’

THE lawyer representing Anne Sacoolas, the American driver linked to the road death of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn, has made contact with the

Foreign Office, raising hopes she is keen to find a resolution after the outcry that erupted when she left the UK rather than face justice.

It is understood Amy Jeffress, who acts for Ms Sacoolas, spoke to a senior official earlier this year. The Dunn family were updated on the conversation.

Ms Sacoolas, 42, who was allegedly driving on the wrong side of the road last August when she hit the 19-yearold’s motorbike outside RAF Croughton, Northants, is the wife of a US intelligence officer and was able to leave the UK on a private flight under diplomatic immunity. She was later charged over the death.

It is thought she may now be prepared to return to the UK to help find a solution, having resisted formal extradition proceedings. She reportedly wants to meet Harry’s parents but they say the only resolution is for her to appear in a British court.

The Foreign Office is understood to have made it clear to Ms Jeffress, a national security lawyer, that issues on the legal side of the case, including any attempt to quash the charge her client faces, would be a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, called it a “denial of justice” when a Home Office extradition request was rejected by Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state. A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We have done and will continue to do everything we properly can to ensure justice is done.

“We believe Anne Sacoolas should return to the UK and face justice.”

Charlotte Charles, Mr Dunn’s mother, has told The Daily Telegraph: “I promised Harry I would get justice. I had no idea how difficult it would be.”

Ms Charles, who met Donald Trump, the US president, last October, said: “No one is above the law.” Yesterday, she added: “It is so important that Anne

Sacoolas comes back to face our legal system.” Ms Charles stressed that Ms Sacoolas “should never have been allowed to leave [the UK] and it has compounded our misery terribly”.

“Now we have some hope and we are pleased to see, at least, that there is some dialogue towards her coming back,” she added.

“But it’s important that we are all clear. The case is with the CPS.

“The only resolution that is acceptable is her going before the courts here in England.”