Police chiefs have demanded the US embassy waive the immunity of a US diplomat’s wife who left the UK after becoming a suspect in a fatal crash.
The woman, named as Anne Sacoolas, 42, initially told police she had no plans to leave the country.
Harry Dunn, 19, of Charlton, Banbury, was killed on August 27 when his motorcycle crashed into a car near RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire, a military base used by the US Air Force.
The US embassy confirmed the incident involved a vehicle driven by the spouse of a US diplomat working in the UK who had since left the country, adding that diplomatic immunity was “rarely waived”.
Radd Seiger, a spokesperson for Harry’s family, said British authorities had asked their US counterparts for immunity to be waived several times – a request they had reportedly refused.
“They’ve been told the answer is no, we’ve learnt via the police,” Seiger said. “The answer has come back as no.”
Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity which gives diplomats protection from arrest or detention in their host country.
In order for them to face justice in their host country, the country they are working for (in this case the US) would have to waive immunity.
The CPS have said immunity does not apply to a diplomat’s dependant’s such as their family based outside of London, however it is understood that some diplomatic staff and their spouses based outside the capital can obtain immunity.
Nick Adderley, chief constable for Northamptonshire Police, said US authorities had been appealed to in “the strongest terms” to apply a waiver and “allow the justice process to take place”.
Responding to a question on Twitter on Sunday, Adderley confirmed that he and Stephen Mold, Police Fire and Crime Commissioner for Northamptonshire, had contacted the embassy for immunity to be waived.
Speaking to ITV News, Harry’s parents said they had been “trapped in a living nightmare” since their son’s death.
His mother Charlotte Charles said they were prepared to travel to the US to seek a resolution to their situation.
She told ITV News: “We’re not going to be swept under the carpet.
“Harry always fought for what he believed in… we’re going to carry on that.”
She added: “We’ll go as far as we need to go, to get justice for our boy and to do our best to stop another family suffering”.
The teenager’s father Tim Dunn said: “We can’t let our son die and then nothing be answered for.”
Business secretary and South Northamptonshire Tory MP Andrea Leadsom has already met with Harry’s family and said they are “totally heartbroken”.
She added: “We have to get proper justice for Harry and closure for his family.”
It is understood the family are to meet with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in the coming days.