'Diplomatic cars' seen on wrong side of road near Harry Dunn RAF base

Diplomatic cars were driven on the wrong side of the road in two separate incidents near the RAF base where Harry Dunn was killed last year.

The teenager died in a head-on crash with a car on 27 August last year near to RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire.

The driver of the car, Anne Sacoolas, claimed diplomatic immunity and returned to the US, where she has been since Harry died.

Now, police say they are aware of footage of a separate incident which shows a car on the wrong side of the road involved in a near-miss close to the base.

Jax Dunn, who captured the incident on her dash cam told Sky News: "She just came round the corner, and then she come on my side of the road and it was just so quick, even though we were both going fairly slow. It just happened so quick. It was quite scary."

Police also revealed that officers were involved in a crash with a car on the wrong side of the road in October, but said no one was injured.

Sky News understands both vehicles were diplomatic cars registered to RAF Croughton.

Diplomatic immunity has not been applied for in the case of the incident involving a collision with a police vehicle.

Officers have called for talks with the base commander at RAF Croughton to discuss the safety of the roads around it.

Chief Constable Nick Adderley said: "Northamptonshire Police is aware of an incident yesterday evening on a road between Mixbury and Fulwell House where a vehicle driving on the wrong side of the road was involved in a near-miss with another vehicle.

"We are working closely with Thames Valley Police who are the lead agency in regards to this incident and will do all we can to support their investigation.

"In the meantime, I do not underestimate how much of a concerning incident this was and how much worse it could have been, especially considering the circumstances in which 19-year-old Harry Dunn tragically died.

"This is also compounded by the fact that yesterday, myself and police, fire and crime commissioner Stephen Mold were made aware of another incident in Northampton in which a police vehicle was struck in early October by a vehicle also driving on the wrong side of the road. Thankfully there were no injuries.

"I want to be absolutely clear on the fact that these incidents just cannot keep happening. We know all too well in the case of young Harry, just how devastating they can be.

"Therefore, the PFCC and I have today requested an urgent meeting with the base commander at RAF Croughton to discuss safety on the roads around the base and I expect this meeting to take place next week.

"I will also be holding a command meeting on Monday morning to discuss these incidents in more detail with my senior officers."

A spokesperson from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said on Saturday: "We are in contact with the police regarding these disturbing reports and understand this development will be concerning for members of the public in the Croughton area.

"The government is clear on the importance of effective road safety measures at the base and the urgent need to address the anomaly in immunity arrangements there.

"As the foreign secretary has said to parliament, officials are discussing this with the US.

"The government will do everything it can to prevent a repeat of the devastating Harry Dunn tragedy."

Harry's mother, Charlotte Charles, and his father Tim Dunn have sought assurances that safety measures are in place to make sure there are no similar incidents.

Sacoolas, 42, the wife of a US intelligence official, is believed to have been driving on the wrong side of the road.

The British government has submitted an extradition request for Sacoolas, who has been formally charged over Harry's death with causing death by dangerous driving.

But the US has called the request "highly inappropriate".

Before these latest reports of cars on the wrong side of the road, Andrea Leadsom, who is the MP Harry's family's constituency, had asked the base commander for an invitation to visit.

Dunn family spokesman Radd Seiger said: "Seeing this footage has sent shivers down my spine and made me feel sick. No harm done on this occasion, fortunately, but that is not the point.

"I have been urging everyone in authority to take the matter seriously, not only in terms of safety and how we can improve it in relation to helping American drivers adjust to the different side of the road, but also ensuring that no one who breaks the law coming off the base is allowed to hop on the next plane home and evade justice as Anne Sacoolas did."

He said he was in touch with Ms Leadsom and chief constable Adderley.