Attorney general considering virtual trial for Harry Dunn's 'killer' after request from South Northamptonshire MP

The Government is considering a virtual trial for the woman accused of killing Harry Dunn after a request from the South Northamptonshire MP.

Attorney General Suella Braverman confirmed the possibility of trying Anne Sacoolas over the internet or in her absence in a British court while she remains in the United States to Andrea Leadsom yesterday (Tuesday, August 25).

Harry's mother, Charlotte Charles, said the development coming in two days before the first anniversary of the fatal crash near Croughton has 'alleviated their pain very slightly'.

"It is a source of comfort to my family that we can see the government working hard to ensure that this wrong is righted," she said.

"I once again call on Mrs Sacoolas and the US government to step forward without any further delay and do the right thing.

"Our lives were shattered last year when we lost Harry. Please end this torture. Please end this hell we are going through."

Harry, 19, died in hospital after his motorcycle was involved in a crash with a car being driven by Sacoolas on the wrong side of the road near Croughton on August 27, 2019.

The American woman used a legal loophole, which has now been amended, to claim immunity through her husband, who was working at RAF Croughton for the US government, and leave the country.

She was charged by the CPS in December but the US State Department rejected an extradition request, a decision the American secretary of state said was final.

Mrs Leadsom asked ministers and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider a virtual trial or trial in absentia for Sacoolas, suggesting she could serve her sentence, if found guilty, in the US too.

The attorney general replied to the MP saying: "I am as committed as you are to ensure that justice is served in this case and I have instructed my officials to consider the potential options to achieve this."

For almost a year, Harry's family and the Justice4Harry campaigners have been calling for Sacoolas to face her charge in a British court and support the proposal for a virtual trial.

The family's spokesman, Radd Seiger, thanked the attorney general and Mrs Leadsom for their support at this 'unbelievably difficult time for them'.

"It is now more clear than ever that there is now an unstoppable momentum towards getting Justice4Harry," he added.

"We can see how hard the British authorities are working towards that end. The parents deserve justice. They need closure.

"The time has now come to end this nightmare for them so that they can move to rebuild their shattered lives."

A government spokesperson said the foreign secretary and prime minister have made clear the US' refusal to extradite Sacoolas amounts to a denial of justice and she should return to the UK.

The case remains of the highest priority and continues to be raised with the US Government but the next steps in the process are a matter for the CPS, the spokesperson added.

“The government’s deepest sympathies remain with Harry’s family," they said.

"We are doing everything we can to achieve justice and the case continues to be raised at the highest levels.”

Mrs Leadsom and the CPS have been contacted for comment.