EXCLUSIVE: Archbishop of Canterbury personally intervenes in diplomatic row over Harry Dunn’s death – to demand US spy’s wife involved in fatal crash returns to UK for questioning
- Harry Dunn, 19, was killed in a crash outside RAF Croughton, Northamptonshire
- Anne Sacoolas, married to US spy, admitted she was driving on the wrong side of the road when she collided with his motorbike in August
- The 42-year-old left UK afterwards, claiming diplomatic immunity and has refused to return
- Now the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has written to the US Ambassador in London demanding that Mrs Saccolas returns to be quizzed
- Harry’s parents Tim Dunn and Charlotte Charles are fighting for her to be charged
Harry Dunn was killed when a car driven by a US spy’s wife smashed into his motorbike
The Archbishop of Canterbury has personally intervened in the diplomatic row between the UK and US over the death of British teenager Harry Dunn.
Justin Welby has written to the US ambassador in London to demand that the wife of an American spy be returned to the UK to be quizzed about the fatal car crash that killed Harry.
Anne Sacoolas admitted she had been driving on the wrong side of the road when she hit Harry, 19, on a motorbike outside RAF Croughton, Northants, in August.
She claimed diplomatic immunity and returned to the US.
The Archbishop said the 42-year-old should be returned to the UK to allow a ‘full a proper investigation’
A spokesman for Mr Welby, 63, said: ‘The Archbishop has written to the US ambassador Robert Wood Johnson asking him to reconsider the diplomatic immunity.
‘He would like Mrs Sacoolas to return so a full and proper investigation can be carried out.’
Harry’s parents Tim Dunn and Charlotte Charles have campaigned for justice for their son after the US spy’s wife flew back to the US, claiming that she was entitled to diplomatic immunity
Anne Sacoolas, 42, has admitted that she was driving on the wrong side of the road when she collided with the British teenager’s motorcycle near RAF Croughton, Northants, in August
The letter was sent on October 8 from the Archbishop’s official residence at Lambeth Palace, although he has yet to receive a reply.
Mr Dunn was killed after his motorbike was in a head on collision with a Volvo car being driven on the wrong side of the road by Mrs Sacoolas.
She had only been in the UK a matter of weeks and is thought to have forgotten to drive on the left hand side of the road and not the right as in the US.
Harry’s grieving parents are taking legal action against Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, accusing him of misusing or abusing his power by granting her diplomatic immunity, after which she left the country.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has written to the US ambassador in London to demand Mrs Sacoolas return to UK
The Foreign Office has admitted that Mrs Sacoolas no longer has immunity from prosecution having returned home to Maryland.
Last month Sacoolas met with Northamptonshire police officers who travelled to the US to take further statements.
The Dunns also travelled to the White House where they met President Trump who expressed sympathy for their loss, but refused to force Mrs Sacoolas to return to the UK.
She was waiting in a side room and prepared to meet the family at the White House, but the Dunn’s rejected the offer saying they had been ambushed by the offer.
Her legal team later issued a statement saying: ‘No loss compares to the death of a child and Anne extends her deepest sympathy to Harry Dunn’s family.’
It added she had ‘fully co-operated with the police’.
‘She spoke with authorities at the scene of the accident and met with the Northampton police at her home the following day. She will continue to co-operate with the investigation,’ the statement continued.
‘Anne would like to meet with Mr Dunn’s parents so that she can express her deepest sympathies and apologies for this tragic accident.
‘We have been in contact with the family’s attorneys and look forward to hearing from them.’
Harry’s parents had flown to the US to meet Donald Trump at the White House to discuss their son’s case – and have fallen out with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab over his handling of it
Harry’s parents Tim and Charlotte Dunn have launched a crowd funding appeal to raise money for a judicial review of the Foreign Office’s decision to allow their son’s killer to leave the country.
They have been hugely critical of the way they were kept in the dark over the decision to allow her to leave the country. They said Mrs Sacoolas ‘should do the right thing’ and return to the UK.
Mr Dunn attempted to speak with the Foreign Secretary earlier this week as he attended a hustings event in his Surrey constituency.
He called Mr Raab a ‘coward’ after he refused to talk.
Mr Welby’s intervention is all the more poignant as he lost a child in a road traffic accident 36 years ago.
His daughter Johanna was killed aged just seven months old in France in 1983.
The Archbishop said he and his wife Caroline mark each anniversary of their baby daughter’s death.