Dunn suspect’s intelligence role not in immunity notes

The US Embassy did not mention Harry Dunn's alleged killer's intelligence role in official notes to the Foreign Office which asserted the suspect's diplomatic immunity, court documents show.

The first note, penned by the US Embassy three days after the crash in August 2019, only labelled Anne Sacoolas as "the spouse of a member of administrative and technical staff of the embassy".

But on Wednesday the Alexandria district court in Virginia was told she and her husband Jonathan Sacoolas worked for the US State Department at the time of the crash and "fled" the UK due to "issues of security".

Mr Dunn, 19, was killed in a road crash outside US military base RAF Croughton on August 27, 2019.

Sacoolas, 43, was told she was a suspect by Northamptonshire Police the following day in a meeting which was also attended by an official representing the US Embassy and State Department.

The US Embassy's first note, dated August 30 2019, shows how diplomatic immunity was asserted on behalf of Sacoolas - eventually leading to her departure 16 days later on September 15.

The Foreign Office (FCDO) and Number 10 have both previously said the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister were unaware of the case until after Sacoolas had left the UK.

The suspect was eventually charged with causing Mr Dunn's death by dangerous driving but an extradition request, submitted by the Home Office, was rejected by the US State Department in January last year.

The High Court previously ruled Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity at the time of the crash due to a loophole which meant dependants of US Embassy employees were entitled to immunity but the employees themselves were not. The "anomaly" was closed by the FCDO in July last year.

The US Embassy referenced the loophole in its first note to the FCDO - telling UK officials "waivers of immunity must always be express" in accordance with the Vienna Convention.

The US formally declined the UK Government's request for a waiver of immunity two days before the suspect's departure.