Harry Dunn’s family say Dominic Raab was ‘incandescent with rage’ over US decision not to extradite Anne Sacoolas
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab was “incandescent with rage” after the US government refused his request to extradite Anne Sacoolas, it has been claimed.
The American diplomat’s wife left the country last August after allegedly being involved in a crash in which 19-year-old motorcyclist Harry Dunn was killed.
She has since been charged with causing death by dangerous driving – but the US is refusing to hand over the 42-year-old.
Speaking on Tuesday, Radd Seiger, the Dunn family spokesman, said he had been astonished by Mr Raab’s anger during a meeting the previous day.
He said the foreign secretary had promised the issue would be raised when Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, arrived in London on Wednesday.
“He was incandescent with rage,” Mr Seiger said. “On a very human level, he is a parent himself, and he made it clear that he is going to tell Pompeo that Sacoolas has to come back. He looked the parents in the eyes and said he was going to demand the return of Anne Sacoolas.”
He said the Foreign Office was now also considering alternative options including a trial of the mother-of-three in her absence.
The new meeting came after Boris Johnson promised to step up efforts to secure Ms Sacoolas’ return.
Charlotte Charles, Mr Dunn’s mother, said: “The meeting went really well. You can see the anger in their eyes, faces, expressions and body language and they are definitely not happy at all that this extradition request has been turned down. They have given us concrete assurances they are looking at other ways to overcome the issue, and that they are doing the best they can to secure justice for Harry.”
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, she added: “There had been an awful lot of dialogue going on underneath the shouting, and we are getting somewhere. The relationship has gone from one of being very untrusting to very trusting. We have come a long way.”
Previously, the family had accused Mr Raab of being cold and threatened a judicial review over the government’s handling of the situation.
A statement issued by the Foreign Office following the meeting said Mr Raab believed the Dunn family had suffered a “denial of justice”.
Dunn, a motorcycle enthusiast from the village of Charlton near Banbury, died after the crash just outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on 27 August last year.
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