America ‘should swap death crash driver for prince’
THE American wanted in Britain over a fatal crash should be extradited to secure Prince Andrew’s co-operation with the FBI, a lawyer representing Epstein’s victims said yesterday.
Anne Sacoolas, 42, has reportedly admitted being on the wrong side of the road when she hit 19-year- old Harry Dunn’s motorbike outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in August. She fled the UK citing diplomatic immunity due to her husband Jonathan’s role as an intelligence officer at the base.
Lisa Bloom, a lawyer for five of Epstein’s victims, said of securing Prince Andrew’s co- operation: ‘I think a swap would be a fair and just resolution.’ She wrote on Twitter: ‘I understand diplomatic immunity but this is not a good look. If we want co-operation, we must co-operate in their [UK] investigations too.’
Radd Seiger, a close friend and neighbour of Harry’s mother Charlotte Charles, added yesterday: ‘Harry’s parents are very clear that whether you are Bugs Bunny or Prince Andrew, if you have done something wrong or can help investigators then you should stand up and agree to meet them. Nobody is accusing Prince Andrew of anything, just as Anne Sacoolas is innocent until proven guilty, but the same applies to her – she needs to come back to the UK to meet British police and prosecutors. It’s effectively a quid pro quo... it is a case of “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”.
‘[She] should return to the UK and face one of the fairest justice systems in the world.
‘In the spirit of reciprocity that
underpins extradition, we stand shoulder to shoulder with Epstein’s victims and believe that Prince Andrew should go to the US and do everything he can to ensure that justice is served there.’
The developments came as Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab prepared to raise his disappointment over the Sacoolas case with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his visit to the UK. Last week Harry’s
family were told Mr Pompeo had turned down an extradition request, a month after the Crown Prosecution Service announced that Sacoolas would be charged with causing the teenager’s death by dangerous driving.
A YouGov survey published yesterday found that 64 per cent of Americans support Sacoolas’s extradition to the UK, with just 9 per cent opposed.