An independent review has determined that Northamptonshire Police should have arrested the American spy Anne Sacoolas after she plowed into 19-year-old Harry Dunn, who later died, while she was driving on the wrong side of the road.
Ms Sacoolas later fled to the US — an astoundingly dishonourable act, though one that might have had a lot to do with her profession. (Was there any contact between American and British intelligence on this issue? I think we should be told.)
The police later compounded their incompetence by failing to inform the family of Mr Dunn that Sacoolas had fled the UK — and presumptuously telling them that a prosecution was unlikely. (Sacoolas was later prosecuted, though she has not returned to Britain to face the consequences.)
To add insult to injury, Chief Constable Nick Adderley, who was later sacked for misrepresenting the nature of his career in the military, publicly and sloppily criticised the family’s spokesperson — including with a tweet that made him look a lot more like an anonymous troll than a police chief.
All of this is depressing and condemnable. But the hapless cops are not the real villains in the case. It was the Americans who harboured Sacoolas, with Donald Trump casually saying of her reckless driving, “it happens”.
It does happen. As a non-driver, I’m not going to be too harsh about Sacoolas’ tragic carelessness. We all make mistakes, and mistakes can have serious consequences when you are at the wheel of a motor-driven box of death. But a forgivable mistake becomes unforgivable if you cannot face your own consequences.
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office deserves blame as well. A top FCO official was removed from his post after it came out that he had texted his American counterparts that they should “feel able” to put Sacoolas on a plane to the US. FCO officials later exchanged emails sniffily complaining that Dunn’s relatives were being “excessive” and that their spokesman was “evil” and “erratic”.
Sir Simon McDonald, the Permanent Under-Secretary at the FCO, flip-flopped on whether the department had advised the police on whether Ms Sacoolas was immune from prosecution. (McDonald later stuck a knife into the outgoing deputy prime minister Dominic Raab’s back over allegations of workplace bullying. With officials like this, it is somewhat understandable that Raab could lose his temper.)
The Conservatives were also at best unempathetic in their approach to the case. Boris Johnson did at least raise it with Donald Trump — but he failed to meet Mr Dunn’s relatives, preferring to send them what they described as a “cut and paste response” to their appeals for justice.
It is worth remembering … how impotent — if not indifferent — British authorities were
It appears very much as if the British authorities thought that the Dunn family’s cause was a nuisance — obstructing their relations with their valued American peers. I strongly suspect that if a British spy had mown down an American teenager, and then fled to the UK, the US State Department would not have been so timid.
Right-leaning commentators have justly criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer for failing to stand up for British interests. It is worth remembering, though, how impotent — if not indifferent — British authorities were when it came to seeking justice for a young Englishman and defending the boundaries of the rule of law.
If there is anything to celebrate in this case, it is the determination and courage of Harry Dunn’s family in pursuing justice for him. If only people paid to represent his interests could have shown a little of the courage and determination that can be inspired by familial love.
