Dominic Raab was unaware of Harry Dunn’s death until after prime suspect Anne Sacoolas had fled the UK, the teenager’s family have been told.
Mr Dunn, 19, was driving his motorcycle on 27 August last year when he collided with a car in the opposite direction. Ms Sacoolas, 42, is the main suspect involved and was charged with causing death by dangerous driving in December last year.
It was believed that a message was copied to Mr Raab’s office three days after the incident, warning against ‘very unpalatable headlines’ over the suspect’s claim to diplomatic immunity.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (pictured) did not know of the Harry Dunn case until after prime suspect Anne Sacoolas fled the UK
Harry Dunn, 19, was killed after the motorcyclist was involved in a collision with a car in Northamptonshire in August 2019
American Anne Sacoolas (pictured) is the prime suspect for the case and was charged with causing death by dangerous driving in December last year. However, she had returned to America by then and a Home Office extradition request was rejected in January
However, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) told Mr Dunn’s family the Foreign Secretary was made aware of the incident on September 15, two-and-a-half weeks after the fatal crash.
Charlotte Charles, Mr Dunn’s mother, said: ‘We have met with Dominic Raab and his advisers numerous times yet never once did they mention that he did not have control of the situation last September, that he just did not know about it until after Mrs Sacoolas left.
‘That just can’t be right. But if it is, why have the FCO left it to the 11th hour to say that the captain of the ship was off somewhere else while the ship was burning?
‘Why after all our meetings did they not tell us that and just offer it up to us now?’
Mr Dunn’s mother, Charlotte Charles (pictured) says the family were not aware the Foreign Secretary did not know of the incident before Ms Sacoolas fled the UK
A spokesperson for the family, Radd Seiger, added: ‘It is utterly inconceivable that Mr Raab was unaware of Harry until after Mrs Sacoolas had gone.
‘We know his private secretary received a detailed note about the case on August 30.
‘We know that she was being kept abreast of developments.’
Ms Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official based at RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire, had returned to America by the time the UK appealed for her arrest.
It was revealed that a text message was sent by a senior figure at the Foreign Office to their US embassy saying they should ‘feel able’ to put Sacoolas on the next flight home following the incident.
A request for the diplomatic immunity of the 42-year-old to be waived was declined by the US on September 13 – two days before Mr Raab was aware of the case, according to the Foreign Office.
A Home Office extradition request was rejected in January of this year, with the decision described as ‘final’ by the US State Department.
Mrs Charles said: ‘The man [Dominic Raab] just cannot be trusted.
Mr Dunn’s mother has also called for Mr Raab to be sacked as he ‘cannot be trusted’
‘He owes us a duty of candour which he has never once complied with. We only wanted the truth from him, nothing else.
‘Whether he knew or not, and I refuse to believe he didn’t know, he has to resign or be sacked.’
Mr Seiger added: ‘Every senior member of Mr Raab’s team was aware of what was going on, anticipating that there would be unpalatable headlines.
‘If he really did not know despite all that, we are going to have accept that his entire leadership team kept one of the most important cases away from their boss.
‘If true, then what does that say about his control over his ship and his relationship with his team?’
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: ‘We have the deepest sympathy for Harry’s family. No family should have to experience what they have been through.
‘The case remains of the highest priority for the Foreign Secretary, who continues to raise the case with the US government.
‘Both the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister have been clear with the US that the refusal to extradite Anne Sacoolas amounts to a denial of justice, and that she should return to the UK.
‘The Foreign Secretary remains ready to meet Harry’s family and to support them to get the justice they deserve.’