Lawyers for family say Trump administration tried to ‘twist’ immunity law for US diplomat

This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

The family of a 19-year-old motorcyclist killed in a crash involving the wife of a US diplomat have announced they are planning to sue the Trump administration for lawless misconduct and a cover-up.

Harry Dunn’s family are also going ahead with previously announced plans to sue Anne Sacoolas for damages in a civil action.

Lawyers for Sacoolas have admitted she was driving on the wrong side of the road before her car hit Dunn’s motorcycle on 27 August.

She then left the UK against the wishes of the Foreign Office, claiming diplomatic immunity under a relatively obscure agreement covering RAF Croughton, where her husband worked, and the British government.

The Dunn family’s lawyer, Radd Seiger, who left for the US on Sunday, made the announcement about the fresh legal action after instructing lawyers in the US.

“We are bringing claims against both Mrs Sacoolas in the US for civil damages as well as the Trump administration for their lawless misconduct and attempt to cover that up,” he said in a statement.

“No one is above the law and the family are determined to ensure that this never happens to another family again. It will be Harry’s memorial. His legacy.”

Seiger claimed the US government had tried to “twist and contort the laws on diplomatic immunity”.

He added: “The Trump administration is not only hellbent on breaking international laws, rules and conventions on diplomatic immunity, but they have no care or concern for the welfare of Harry’s family or any real intent on finding a solution.”

The Dunn family have so far raised nearly £75,000 through a GoFundMe page, but the potential legal costs facing the family are mounting.

The lawyers are also planning to take action against Northamptonshire police and have launched a claim for judicial review over the Foreign Office decision-making process.

Trump tried to engineer an impromptu meeting between Dunn’s parents and Sacoolas when the family were granted an extraordinary meeting with the US president in the White House a fortnight ago.

Play Video 1:01 'I said do the right thing': Harry Dunn's mother describes meeting Trump – video

The Dunn family had been in New York to put pressure on Sacoolas to return to the UK to answer questions from Northamptonshire police.

Seiger called the White House attempt to get the family and Sacoolas in the same room a “disgusting stunt”, adding: “President Trump told Harry’s mum, Charlotte, at the meeting that we would look to approach the problem from a different angle, but the family have heard no further and have no faith in his words.”

The Dunn family’s cause has the political backing of the Labour party, which has called for a parliamentary inquiry.

The shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, said: “It now looks increasingly clear that the foreign secretary and his officials have something to hide in terms of how they responded to this dreadful tragedy, why they allowed Anne Sacoolas to leave the country and why they delayed informing Harry Dunn’s family of her departure.

“We also have to ask what matters more to Dominic Raab: the grief of a bereaved British family or the approval or a corrupt American president?

“We need an urgent parliamentary inquiry to uncover who did what in this case, who took the decisions, when they were taken, and why.”

The Foreign Office said: “We have done everything we can properly to clear a path so that justice can be done for Harry’s family. As the foreign secretary set out in parliament, the individual involved had diplomatic immunity whilst in the country under the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations. We will respond to any legal action in due course.”