The US
Secretary of State has rejected an extradition request for the suspect charged in connection with the death of
British teenager Harry Dunn.
The 19-year-old’s parents were informed of Mike Pompeo’s decision in a phone call with their constituency MP Andrea Leadsom on Thursday.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the Home Office said: “We are disappointed in this decision, which appears to be a denial of justice.
“We are urgently considering our options.”
Dunn was killed when his motorbike crashed into a car outside a US military base in Northamptonshire on August 27 last year.
His family have said they are “not surprised” by the rejection, but added that it will “not be a battle the US government is going to win”.
Anne Sacoolas was charged with causing his death by dangerous driving, by the Crown Prosecution Service, in December.
Sacoolas, 42, was granted diplomatic immunity following the crash and was able to return to her home country, sparking an international controversy.
The Home Office submitted an extradition request for her, which the US described as highly inappropriate.
Boris Johnson had previously said the chances of the suspect ever returning to the
UK were very low.
Dunn’s family said “the fight goes on” for justice for their son. The family spokesman Radd Seiger told
BBC Radio 5 that he understood no reason had been given for Washington’s decision.
“The reality is they can’t give a reason because there is no good reason,” Seiger said.
“It’s simply an unlawful act, and we knew it was coming. We’ll simply take it in our stride. Everybody’s relaxed, we knew this day was coming.”
Asked if the Prime Minister was doing enough, family spokesman Radd Seiger told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I have to say at the moment not.
“Boris Johnson wanted to be Prime Minister, he is now being tested severely. I expect him today to rise to that challenge and come and meet with me and the family and tell us what he’s going to do about it.”
Earlier, in a short statement Seiger said: “If Trump and Pompeo think this is an end to the matter, they have another thing coming to them. Team Harry will sit down with the Government tomorrow and work out our next steps.
“And next steps there will be. The whole world is on Team Harry’s side. This is not a battle the US government is going to win.”
In a statement released on behalf of the suspect after she was charged in December, Sacoolas’s lawyers said: “Anne will not return voluntarily to the
United Kingdom to face a potential jail sentence for what was a terrible but unintentional accident.”
Lawyers acting on behalf of the Dunn family have said it is the first time in the 100-year history of the extradition treaty that such a request had been turned down by the US.Related... Police Investigating 'At Highest Level' As Reports Of Two Incidents Near Harry Dunn RAF Base Emerge PM To Raise Concerns About 'Driving Habits Of US Personnel' At World Leaders' Summit After Footage From Harry Dunn RAF Base Emerges Harry Dunn: Anne Sacoolas Extradition Request 'Highly Inappropriate" Says US Harry Dunn Case: Home Office Formally Requests Extradition Of Anne Sacoolas Harry Dunn: Anne Sacoolas Charged Over Death After Leaving UK Under Diplomatic Immunity