What happened in the Harry Dunn case?

Pete Cooper; Martin Heath - NorthamptonshireDecember 3, 2025 at 5:29 PM Black and white picture of Harry Dunn with medium-length dark hair wearing a dark-coloured fleece standing on a beach looking out to the sea. People are visible in the background, in front of a cliff face. Mr Dunn was 19 when he died [justice4harry19]

Six years since the death of motorcyclist Harry Dunn outside a US military base in the UK, two reviews have criticised the way the case was handled. The driver of the car involved in the collision, US citizen Anne Sacoolas, was handed an eight-month jail term, suspended for 12 months, after pleading guilty to criminal charges.

How did a road collision end up in a diplomatic row, the victim's family losing confidence in the the police and the government, and both being criticised in official reports?

Who was Harry Dunn?

Harry Dunn with short brown hair smiling at the camera while seated in an Easyjet aircraft. There is a fuselage window behind him.

Harry Dunn died after a collision with a car outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire [justice4harry19]

Mr Dunn's mother, Charlotte Charles, said the 19-year-old was "larger than life" with a "great" sense of humour.

On 27 August 2019, he died in a crash near RAF Croughton, Northamptonshire, after Sacoolas's car struck his motorbike moments after she left the base. The car was driving on the right-hand side of the road when it should have been on the left. Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity asserted on her behalf by the US administration and she left the UK.

Who is Anne Sacoolas?

Sacoolas was described in the 2025 investigative review of the case as "a married mother of three" who had "held a US drivers' licence and had done so since the age of 15".

At the time of the collision in 2019, her husband Jonathan was a US intelligence officer and the couple and their three children had been in the UK for a few weeks. The family's four-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son had been in the car with their mother when the collision happened. They had been attending a barbecue at RAF Croughton.

During a court hearing in Virginia [1] in 2021, a barrister said that Ms Sacoolas herself had been "employed by an intelligence agency in the US" at the time of the crash and her work was "especially a factor" in her leaving the UK. Diplomatic immunity [2] gives some people, such as foreign diplomats and, in some cases, their families, protection from arrest and prosecution in their host countries. There had, however, been a secret agreement [3] between the UK and US governments that allowed for the prosecution of diplomats for crimes committed outside their duties but gave their families greater protection.

Why did the crash cause a diplomatic row?

Donald Trump with medium-length light-coloured hair looking thoughtfully to the left of the camera./ppHe is wearing a dark blue jacket, a dark tie and white shirt. He is seated with people to his left and right.

Donald Trump with medium-length light-coloured hair looking thoughtfully to the left of the camera. He is wearing a dark blue jacket, a dark tie and white shirt./ppHe is seated with people to his left and right.

Mr Dunn's family met Donald Trump at the White House during his first term as US president in October 2019 [EPA]

Following the fatal crash, Mr Dunn's parents Mrs Charles and Tim Dunn, aided by spokesperson Radd Seiger, began a campaign to have the case brought to court. It led them to the White House and a meeting in October 2019 with Donald Trump, then in his first term as US president. During the meeting [4], he revealed Sacoolas was in the next room, but the family felt "ambushed" and did not meet her.

In December 2019, the UK's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised Northamptonshire Police to charge Sacoolas with causing Mr Dunn's death. But an extradition request for her to be brought to the UK was rejected by the US government. Both the then-Prime Minister, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, when she was Foreign Secretary, raised the case with the US government.

How did Anne Sacoolas end up in court?

Drawing of people watching a video monitor in court./ppThe screen is showing two seated women - one has long light brown hair and is wearing a light-coloured jacket,the other (Anne Sacoolas) has dark hair tied back. There are five people watching the screen.

Drawing of people watching a video monitor in court. The screen is showing two seated women - one has long light brown hair and is wearing a light-coloured jacket,the other (Anne Sacoolas) has dark hair tied back./ppThere are five people watching the screen.

Anne Sacoolas (right on screen) appeared via video-link at the Old Bailey with her lawyer Amy Jeffress (left), watched by Mr Dunn's family [Julia Quenzler for BBC News]

In the absence of extradition, the family launched a civil claim for damages against Sacoolas and her husband in the US. In December 2021, the CPS said Sacoolas would appear at court in the UK to face unspecified charges. But a month later it said the court date had been postponed to allow "ongoing" discussions with the US national's legal team.

Then a change in the law meant Sacoolas was able to appear in court via video-link and she pleaded guilty on screen at the Old Bailey to causing death by careless driving on 20 October 2022. The 45-year-old was originally charged with causing death by dangerous driving, but the CPS accepted her plea to the lesser charge. She was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment suspended for 12 months, once again appearing via video-link after the US government advised Sacoolas not to attend her sentencing hearing.

Sacoolas was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.

What did Harry Dunn's family say after the hearing?

Mrs Charles said: "Getting to court and getting to where we are now has been the most monumental thing for me because I can talk to him now and tell him we've done it. Promise complete." Mr Dunn Snr said: "I go up to the crash site quite a lot - I went there a couple of days ago to strim and put some daffodils in ready for the spring.

"Hopefully we've given hope to other families that they can do the same as us and get justice and believe and fight because it will happen in the end, it will happen."

What has happened since the sentencing?

Harry Dunn with medium-length brown hair wearing a green hoodie and looking at the camera. He is standing in front of an interior wall made of light brown stone with an old photo in a frame behind him.

Mr Dunn was a keen motorcyclist and memorial rides in Northamptonshire have previously been organised [justice4harry19]

A second funeral [5] for Mr Dunn was held in March 2024 after human tissue was found on clothing returned to the family.

An inquest in June 2024 [6] concluded Mr Dunn died as a result of a road traffic collision, and the coroner called for driver training [7] to be given to US personnel working in the UK. Northamptonshire Police launched an investigation into how the case was handled from the beginning. A independent review into the Foreign Office's involvement in the case was also carried out by Dame Anne Owers.

What did the investigation into the police find?

Nick Adderley with short dark hair wearing a police uniform including cap and black tie./ppHe is walking past a large building (at Franklins Gardens).

Nick Adderley with short dark hair wearing a police uniform including cap and black tie. He is walking past a large building (at Franklins Gardens).

Nick Adderley, later sacked as chief constable for lying on his CV, was criticised in the report [PA Media]

The review [8], written by a former senior police officer, made 38 separate recommendations. It found that, while officers believed Sacoolas was in a state of shock at the time, she "could and should have been arrested [9]" after the crash.

It also revealed that Mr Dunn was subjected to drug testing after the collision, but Sacoolas was not. The review said none of the officers at the scene managed to gather footage from their body-worn cameras.

Radd Seiger with short grey hair and beard, wearing glasses, a grey jacket and blue and white shirt. He is standing behind Charlotte Charles, who has long blonde hair and is wearing a dark coat, and Bruce Charles, who has medium-length grey hair and is wearing a dark coat.

Radd Seiger with short grey hair and beard, wearing glasses, a grey jacket and blue and white shirt./ppHe is standing behind Charlotte Charles, who has long blonde hair and is wearing a dark coat, and Bruce Charles, who has medium-length grey hair and is wearing a dark coat.

Radd Seiger (right) acts as spokesperson for Harry Dunn's family, including his mother Charlotte Charles and her husband Bruce [Reuters]

It was also very critical of the chief constable [10] at the time, Nick Adderley, who was sacked for gross misconduct in 2024 for lying about his career in the Royal Navy. It said he made "erroneous statements" about Sacoolas's immunity status, and should not have criticised the family's spokesperson, Radd Seiger, at a press conference. The force has apologised for failing to "do the very best for the victim".

Mrs Charles said: "I'm absolutely bewildered that the most fundamental of policing was not carried out. I'm struggling to get my head around that." Mr Seiger said Mr Adderley "nearly derailed" attempts to get justice for Mr Dunn but that Northamptonshire Police, under a new chief constable, was now "headed in the right direction".

What did the Foreign Office review find?

Dame Anne, a former chief inspector of prisons, found the Foreign Office failed to treat the Harry Dunn case as a crisis and withheld information from his family.

Her report said [11] the government department lost "opportunities to influence" the US government before Sacoolas left the country. Dame Anne said the family were not officially told Sacoolas had left the country - or what her name was and that she had immunity - until 11 days after she returned to the US. Mr Dunn's father was already aware Sacoolas's children had left the country because he was head of maintenance at their school, the report said.

"This understandably created distrust both of the message and the messengers," she said. Dame Anne made a series of recommendations in the report including earlier ministerial involvement in similar cases. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said she said she accepted them in full and was committed to learning lessons from the "tragedy".

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