Harry Dunn crash: Biden team says Anne Sacoolas extradition refusal 'final'

Justice4Harry19 Harry DunnJustice4Harry19
Harry Dunn died in hospital after his motorbike was involved in a crash outside RAF Croughton

The new Biden administration has said the US government's decision to refuse an extradition request for Harry Dunn's alleged killer was "final".

Mr Dunn, 19, died when his motorbike was in a crash with a car near RAF Croughton, Northamptonshire, in 2019.

The suspect, Anne Sacoolas, later left for the United States on diplomatic immunity grounds.

Mr Dunn's mother, Charlotte Charles, said the statement from the US State Department came "as no surprise".

She had previously said she had "renewed hope" for extradition following the election of Joe Biden as US President.

Reuters Antony Blinken addresses a welcome ceremony after arriving at the State Department in Washington DC. Photo: 27 January 2021Reuters
Antony Blinken is Joe Biden's new Secretary of State and spoke to Dominic Raab about Harry Dunn's case on Wednesday

Mrs Charles said: "I maintain my direct appeal to President Biden and his new Secretary of State Tony Blinken to do the right thing. It is the only way forward."

She added she "remains absolutely confident that we will get justice for Harry".

More on Harry Dunn

The Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab raised the case with the new US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in their telephone conversation on Wednesday.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said it believed the US's refusal to extradite Mrs Sacoolas "amounts to a denial of justice".

PA Media Joe BidenPA Media
Harry Dunn's mother Charlotte Charles has made a direct appeal to Joe Biden to return the suspect in her son's death

But State Department spokesman Ned Price said: "The United States government has declined the United Kingdom's request for extradition of a US citizen involved in a tragic vehicle accident that occurred in the United Kingdom.

"Our decision in that regard was final.

"At the time the accident occurred, and for the duration of her stay in the UK, the US citizen driver in this case had immunity from criminal jurisdiction."

Mrs Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official based at RAF Croughton, was charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

But a Home Office extradition request was refused by Donald Trump's secretary of state Mike Pompeo in January last year.

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