This article is more than 9 months old

This article is more than 9 months old

The death of 19-year-old Harry Dunn following a collision involving Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official who claimed diplomatic immunity and promptly returned to her home country, has placed a renewed focus on the laws protecting foreign diplomats.

On Tuesday, the chief constable of Northamptonshire police force where the fatal incident occurred, gave a press conference to provide greater clarity on the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death.

A fuller picture of the timeline of events has become clear.

27 August

Sacoolas is believed to have been driving on the wrong side of the road when she hit the teenager riding on his motorbike outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire.

She cooperates with police at the scene and is breathalysed. However, this first account is not treated as an interview under caution.

Officers decide not to arrest her in what the chief constable of Northamptonshire police, Nick Adderley, later says was the right decision.

28 August

Officers visit Sacoolas’s address, where she provides an account of events and says she had diplomatic immunity.

Northamptonshire police apply for a waiver to render this void.

US embassy notifies the FCO that the spouse of a member of staff at RAF Croughton has been involved in an accident.

29 August

Specially trained liaison officers are embedded with the Dunn family, including parents Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, and Northamptonshire police’s investigation continues in the belief they cannot detain Sacoolas.

30 August

The US asserts that Sacoolas is covered by diplomatic immunity.

5 September

The Foreign Office formally asks the US embassy to waive immunity.

13 September

The FCO is informed by the US embassy that it will not waive immunity and she will be leaving the country , unless the UK has strong objections.

However, the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, immediately objects in “strong and clear terms”.

15 September

Sacoolas leaves the UK on a US Air Force plane.

16 September

The FCO approaches the US embassy and is informed Sacoolas has departed.

It immediately notifies Northamptonshire police that the waiver has been declined and Sacoolas has left the UK.

Officials ask police to delay telling the family by up to two days so it can decide next steps.

18 September

Harry Dunn’s funeral takes place at an Oxfordshire crematorium.

23 September

The Dunn family inform the liaison officer they have been made aware of a suggestion that Sacoolas has left the UK. Police confirm this is true.

24 September

Police had wanted to meet the Dunn family, but the parents were unable to.

26 September

Police meet the Dunn family to officially confirm Sacoolas’s departure, and officers go through what they know.

7 October

Raab expresses his disappointment at the decision with the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo.

Boris Johnson says: “I do not think that it can be right to use the process of diplomatic immunity for this type of purpose.”

8 October

No 10 confirms the prime minister will personally appeal to Donald Trump if the Pompeo does not act to ensure justice is served.

US government says Sacoolas’s immunity is “no longer pertinent”, given she has returned to the country.

9 October

Johnson raises the case with Trump.

13 October

The Dunn family’s lawyer, Mark Stephens, protests that “[Sacoolas] wasn’t entitled to diplomatic immunity in the first place.”

15 October

Dunn’s parents visit the White House following an invitation by Trump, and the former reality TV host tells them Sacoolas is waiting for them in an adjoining room and wishes to meet them.

19 October

Dunn’s parents say they are “not impressed” with the US president’s offer, which he delivered unannounced and which they refused to comply with.

21 October

Raab tells the Commons he has commissioned a review into immunity arrangements for US personnel and their families at RAF Croughton in light of the case.

He tells the house: “The UK government had been notified of the American family’s arrival in the UK in July 2019, and this diplomatic immunity was the result of the arrangements agreed between the UK government and the US government back in 1995. Under those arrangements, US staff at RAF Croughton and their families were accepted as part of the US embassy in the UK. Pursuant to these arrangements, staff and their families were entitled to immunity under the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations. Under the exchange of notes in relation to the Croughton annexe, these arrangements waived immunity for employees, but the waiver did not cover spouses.”

22 October

In a press conference, Adderley reveals that Sacoolas, without naming her, has requested for officers from the force to personally interview her under caution in the US.

Adderley confirms the Crown Prosecution Service will decide whether it will seek to bring charges, potentially death by dangerous driving, which could trigger an extradition request. However, they can do so only after they have received the suspect’s account.

25 November

Harry Dunn’s father confronts the foreign secretary in his constituency, where he encourages people to vote Raab out. Video footage of the encounter emerges showing Dunn politely approaching Raab as he arrives for the hustings. The politician claimed he was happy to meet but then dismissed Dunn, adding: “Not right in front of the cameras, it’s not on.”

28 November

Dunn’s family launch legal action against the Foreign Office which they said could cost them “upwards of £50,000”.

The judicial review is actioned against Raab, following a long-running dispute over the extension of diplomatic immunity to intelligence staff and their families at RAF Croughton.

3 December