Harry Dunn’s bereft parents today revealed they are to sue Anne Sacoolas in the US for allegedly killing him and Donald Trump’s administration for ‘an attempt to cover it up’.
Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn say they are about to start proceedings in America and will seek damages after 19-year-old Harry was knocked down and killed by the US spy’s wife as she drove on the wrong side of the road in Britain.
The former couple are back in New York today, weeks after meeting Mr Trump in the White House where he held Ms Charles’ hand and promised a resolution.
But their spokesman Radd Seiger says they have heard nothing from the US President and will sue because Sacoolas has not been returned to Britain.
He said: ‘We are bringing claims against both Mrs Sacoolas in the USA for civil damages as well as the Trump administration for their lawless misconduct and attempt to cover that up.
‘No one is above the law and the family are determined to ensure that this never happens to another family again. It will be Harry’s memorial. His legacy.’
Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn (pictured left and right with family spokesman Radd Seiger centre) have announced they are taking legal action against their son’s alleged killer and Trump’s White House
Harry Dunn, 19, who died after his motorbike was involved in a crash on August 27. American Anne Sacoolas has been named as the driver but fled claiming diplomatic immunity
Last week Mr Seiger said they are taking legal action against the Foreign Office after she fled the country.
They are seeking a judicial review into how the Government handled their son’s death.
Harry, 19, was killed when his motorbike collided with a car driven by Anne Sacoolas outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in August.
Mrs Sacoolas, whose husband worked at the US base, used his diplomatic immunity to return to the US without facing legal proceedings.
Harry’s parents have accused the FCO of acting ‘unlawfully’ by allowing Mrs Sacoolas to leave Britain.
They said their son ‘wouldn’t be happy’ if they ‘just gave up’ and are determined to continue their fight.
It is understood the Dunn family has chosen human rights barrister Geoffrey Robertson, who has previously defended boxer Mike Tyson and former Brazilian president Lula da Silva, to be on their legal team.
Harry’s family said their son ‘wouldn’t be happy’ if they ‘just gave up’ and are determined to continue their fight
Mr Seiger also questioned if Mrs Sacoolas was entitled to diplomatic immunity through family links, adding: ‘This person, whoever he is, was not a diplomat and therefore does not have the benefit of diplomatic immunity and nor does his family.
‘The other thing that we are going to be doing shortly is, unfortunately, referring Northamptonshire Police to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
‘Although they (Northamptonshire Police) have not disclosed all the information this family are entitled to, we have deep concerns about the manner in which this investigation was conducted, and simply adding insult to injury to this family at their darkest hour.’
When asked why the Dunn family is continuing their fight, Mr Seiger said: ‘We take it a day at a time, a moment at a time, and we never start off campaigns like this in a defeatist attitude.
‘This family have a steely determination about them to ensure that Harry has not died in vain.
Trump met Harry Dunn’s parents, Charlotte Charles (pictured front) and Tim Dunn (in glasses above left), shown here speaking outside the White House on October 15
President Trump, pictured in the Rose Garden with the Stanley Cup and the St. Louis Blues ice hockey team on the same day, is said to have promised to look at the case again ‘at a new angle’ after his offer of a meeting with Sacoolas was rebuffed
‘I think the whole nation, the whole world now, is looking at this set of circumstances and it isn’t right.
‘You cannot go to another country and end up taking the life of a resident there and then just skipping the country. We all know that. ‘
He added: ‘We have not stopped since we started and we’ve got support from all around the world. People have been very kind in donating to our GoFundMe page and we also feel that we have Harry sitting right behind us.
‘He was a very determined and principled young man who knew right from wrong.He wouldn’t be happy if we just gave up and we are determined not to give up.’
This month Harry’s parents travelled to Washington to discuss his death with President Donald Trump.
Mrs Charles and Mr Dunn have also slammed Northamptonshire Police’s decision to send officers to interview Mrs Sacoolas in America.
They say they are referring the incident to watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: ‘We have done everything we can properly to clear a path so that justice can be done for Harry’s family.
‘As the Foreign Secretary set out in Parliament, the individual involved had diplomatic immunity whilst in the country under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
‘We will respond to any legal action in due course.’