The family of Harry Dunn has strongly denounced the US government’s “horrifying actions” and demanded that the upcoming UK government launch a public investigation.
This afternoon, Thursday, June 13, at The Guildhall in the heart of Northampton, was the last day of the inquest into the death of 19-year-old motorbike rider Harry Dunn.
On August 27, 2019, Harry, a resident of Brackley, lost his life when his motorbike and an American driver named Anne Sacoolas collided close to RAF Croughton, a US military intelligence post in Northamptonshire.
On December 8, 2022, Sacoolas was sentenced to eight months of suspended jail time at the Old Bailey, capping the family’s valiant three-year fight for justice for their son.
Sacoolas was granted diplomatic immunity following the death of Harry. She left the country a few weeks later after the US said she was entitled to diplomatic immunity.
Speaking on behalf of the family today (Thursday), Radd Seiger said: “It was not enough for them to kill Harry. It wasn’t enough for them to then kick Harry’s family in their darkest hour and seek to deny and delay the justice that they were entitled to. As we have all seen this week their attitude and approach to keeping their British hosts safe has been laid to bare and they have positively obstructed the Coroner’s inquiry and deprived the family of the answers they were entitled to as to why no one has ever addressed the issue of safety of UK citizens. The next question is why have the UK
Governments over the years been happy to sit on the sidelines watching this scandal unfold. This Tory Government have refused to get involved. Labour have promised us a public inquiry into the way we were treated and the failure on the part of both governments over the decades to address the issue of safety which has led to thousands of people being killed and seriously injured. The UK Government have also now seen how the US Government treats our courts and judges. The question for the next British government is are they just going to stand by and let the Americans continue to treat us all and our lives with such contempt. The US ambassador at the time of Harry’s death was Woody Johnson. He told the UK Government after he died that there were far more important things than Harry’s life. That is the American government’s position. The lives of UK citizens like Harry ultimately do not matter. We won’t let them get away with it and we look forward to working with the next government to establish this public inquiry. We were all horrified as a nation to see how the US government treated Harry’s family. This must never happen again. The American national anthem ends land of the free home of the brave. Home of the brave! They haven’t demonstrated an ounce of bravery at all preferring to run, hide and obstruct.”
