Harry Dunn death: US brands UK extradition request ‘highly inappropriate’
2 min read
The Home Office’s extradition request for the wife of a US intelligence officer, charged with death by dangerous driving, has been branded “highly inappropriate” by US officials.
Anne Sacoolas, who has previously insisted she will not return to the UK voluntarily, was charged in connection with the death of Harry Dunn, a 19-year-old motorcyclist.
Dunn died after his motorbike collided with a car outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in August last year.
The suspect claimed diplomatic immunity shortly after the incident and was able to return to the US, sparking international controversy.
A Home Office spokesman said on Friday: “This is now a decision for the US authorities.”
However, the US state department deemed the request “highly inappropriate”, adding: “The use of an extradition treaty to attempt to return the spouse of a former diplomat by force would establish an extraordinarily troubling precedent.”
A spokesman for Dunn’s family hailed the move as “a huge step towards achieving justice for Harry and making good on the promise that they made to him on the night he died that they would secure justice for him”.
State department officials are determining whether or not they believe the extradition request to be “in proper order”, before it is handed over to the department of justice and the US courts.
Boris Johnson had previously said he did not "think it can be right" for the system to be used in this way.
He added: "I hope Anne Sacoolas will come back and engage properly with the processes of law as they are carried out in this country."
Boris Johnson had previously said he did not "think it can be right" for the system to be used in this way.
He added: "I hope Anne Sacoolas will come back and engage properly with the processes of law as they are carried out in this country."
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