Key Highlights
- A damning report reveals the UK government’s handling of the case was inadequate.
- The family of Harry Dunn described the report as “incredibly painful” to read.
- Anne Sacoolas, the American driver involved in Dunn’s death, left Britain with diplomatic immunity 19 days after the accident.
- The UK government is criticized for not recognizing the case as a crisis early on.
Harry Dunn Case: UK Government Criticized for Handling of Diplomatic Immunity Issue
British teenager Harry Dunn was tragically killed in a head-on crash with an American driver, Anne Sacoolas, outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in August 2019. The case has been a long-standing source of contention and grief for Dunn’s family, who have now shared their sentiments following the release of a damning report on how the UK government handled the case.
Key Failing Points Identified
The report, chaired by Dame Anne Owers, details numerous failures in communication and support provided to Dunn’s family. According to the findings, there was no direct contact between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Dunn family until 4 October 2019, just a day before Sky News broadcast a story that put media attention on the case.
Dame Anne highlighted that this rapid escalation to senior levels of government was directly due to increased public and media interest. “There was in fact no direct contact between the FCO and the family until 4 October, the day before the Sky News interview was due to go out, when the family was offered a meeting with the foreign secretary himself,” she said.
Family’s Reaction
Harry Dunn’s mother, Charlotte Charles, expressed deep pain upon reading the report. “The report confirms what we have lived with every day for more than six years that our family was not treated with the honesty or urgency that any grieving parent deserves,” she stated.
Harry’s father, Tim Dunn, added, “We knew our own government would be useless to us and this report confirms what we knew in those early days. The UK was no match for the US.”
Diplomatic Immunity and Its Impact
Anne Sacoolas left Britain with diplomatic immunity 19 days after the accident that killed Harry Dunn, a situation that has since been rectified. During this time, Sacoolas admitted to causing death by careless driving but remained in the United States for sentencing, appearing before a UK court via video link. This unprecedented arrangement was criticized as part of the report’s findings.
“On the UK side this was initially treated as business as usual,” Dame Anne stated, highlighting the government’s failure to recognize the case as a critical matter early on. “This issue was not recognised as a crisis and escalated to a sufficiently high level at an early stage, losing opportunities to influence, rather than respond to, events.”
Future Recommendations
The report also calls for improvements in communications and support for families involved in similar cases, especially those with complex diplomatic arrangements. It emphasizes the need for greater transparency around such issues, particularly at military bases like RAF Croughton.
Hugh Bayley, director of the Justice Hub, a campaign group that advocates for victims of foreign state violence, welcomed the report’s findings but highlighted ongoing challenges. “It’s clear that the government needs to do more to ensure it can handle such cases effectively,” he said. “This will require changes in both policy and practice.”
The case has set a precedent for how governments should respond when dealing with incidents involving diplomatic immunity, especially those involving tragic loss of life.
