Donald ***** has defended the wife of a US diplomat who allegedly killed a British teenager in a car crash by saying it is hard to drive on the other side of the road.
***** acknowledged that 'a tragedy occurred' and described suspect Anne Sacoolas - who he did not name - as 'driving on the wrong side of the road,' then suggested he had done the same too in the UK, where he has two golf courses.
'Those are the opposite roads. That can happen,' ***** said. 'I won't say it ever happened to me, but it did. When you get used to driving on our system and you're all of a sudden on the other system, where you're driving, it happens. You have to be careful.'
***** on Wednesday publicly rebuffed a plea from Prime Minister Boris Johnson to waive diplomatic immunity for Sacoolas who is suspected of killing Harry Dunn, 19, and instead suggested the victim's family meet her for 'some healing'.
Dunn was killed when his motorbike crashed into a car on August 27 and Sacoolas, 42, who is married to a US intelligence official, fled to the US despite telling police she would not do so.
Dunn's family has been desperately trying to ensure Sacoolas returns to the UK to participate in the police investigation, and this evening Mr Johnson urged the President to help ensure her diplomatic immunity is waived - but was embarrassingly rebuffed by ***** minutes later.
It has been suggested that the vehicle which hit Harry had been travelling on the wrong side of the road after pulling out from RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire.
But *****, speaking publicly for the first time about the case, made no commitment to send Sacoolas back to the UK - instead suggesting that he himself had driven on the wrong side of the road, adding: 'That can happen'.
The discussion between the two leaders came after Harry's family, from Oxfordshire, met with British foreign secretary Dominic Raab this afternoon, but slammed the meeting as a 'publicity stunt' that left them 'angry and frustrated'.
In his phone call with the President, Mr Johnson personally asked Mr ***** to 'reconsider the US position' to grant immunity to Sacoolas.
***** called it 'a very complex issue', adding: 'We are going to speak to her very shortly and do something where they meet.
'We are going to speak to her and see if we can come up with something so there is some healing.'
***** added that there was 'tremendous anger' over the case, and he understood why that was. He acknowledged that US public opinion was also likely to be in favour of Sacoolas being stripped of diplomatic immunity.
'I understand where the people from the UK [feel], and frankly a lot of Americans feel the same way,' he said.
But he said: 'The person that was driving the automobile has diplomatic immunity.
'It was an accident. It was a terrible accident.'
A Downing Street spokesman revealed conversations between the Prime Minister and ***** have taken place.
He said: 'The two leaders discussed the tragic death of Harry Dunn.
'The Prime Minister urged the President to reconsider the US position so the individual involved can return to the UK, co-operate with police and allow Harry's family to receive justice.
'The President said he was fully aware of the case and deeply saddened by what has happened, and he expressed his condolences to Harry's parents.
'The leaders agreed to work together to find a way forward as soon as possible.'
This afternoon Mr Raab met Harry's mother, Charlotte Charles, and father, Tim Dunn, who earlier today said they have been left in limbo after Ms Sacoolas fled to the US.
But speaking after the meeting, Harry's mother Charlotte Charles said: 'I'm disgusted and feel let down by both governments. Nothing useful came out of the meeting with Dominic Raab. Although he engaged with us, it just felt like a publicity stunt.'
Mr Dunn added: 'We feel extremely let down. The really disappointing thing is that it seems that it's OK to kill a young lad and then walk away just because you have diplomatic immunity.'
Asked about his son by reporters, Mr Dunn became emotional and was supported by his family as he called him a 'special boy'.
'He was a beautiful boy, a beautiful lad, he had so many friends, he loved life, he loved his motorbikes, loved his football,' he said.
'He didn't have a bad bone in his body, he just loved his family, he just loved everything.
'He was a special boy and I miss him like mad.'
The couple were accompanied by their lawyer Radd Seiger, who echoed the Dunn family's disappointment at the outcome of the meeting with Mr Rabb.
Giving a statement on behalf of the family, he said: 'To say we are disappointed with the outcome would be an understatement. We are frustrated. We are angry.'
He added: 'Before the meeting we were led to believe that something positive would come out of it. But all Mr Raab made clear to us is that the Americans insist that Mrs Sacoolas has full diplomatic immunity and under no circumstances are they going to grant a waiver.
'Our position is that she does not have diplomatic immunity and must return to Britain to face the consequences of her actions.'
Ms Charles also said: 'I can't really see the point we were invited to see Dominic Raab, we are no further forward than where we were this time last week.
'Although he is engaging with us, we have no answers. We are really frustrated that we could spend half an hour or more with him and just come out with nothing.'
The lawyer for Mr Dunn's family later said they are engaging lawyers to take a civil case against Anne Sacoolas in the US.
'Our position is that she doesn't have immunity and that waivers are always granted in these circumstances,' Radd Seiger told reporters in Westminster on Wednesday.
'Now we can disclose to you we have brought lawyers on board. We are going to Washington soon to help us get that justice for Harry.'
The Dunn family have hired leading lawyers Mark Stephens and Geoffrey Robertson, QC, who specialise in diplomatic law.
Central to their case is the issue of what level of diplomatic immunity Mrs Sacoolas and his family had, if any at all. Her husband was an intelligence official at RAF Croughton but did not appear on the list of diplomats in the UK with immunity.
Mr Seiger has also has invited US president Donald ***** to have a conversation with the family about the issue.
'If meeting with President ***** would help us get a step closer to seek justice for Harry, to get justice for that boy who died that night needlessly, one of the most wonderful kids in our community, if that's what it takes then I will extend an invitation now to President *****,' he said.
'Meet us. Let's have a chat. Nobody wants to litigate.'
Ms Charles added: 'We will still keep going, there's still fire in our bellies. We will continue to fight for justice for Harry because there's that feeling in our stomachs that something is not right.'
She called on Mrs Sacoolas to return and face justice, insisting that an apology was no longer sufficient.
'I want her to talk to us and face up to what she's done. I don't see how it can be correct to abscond like this. What sort of example is she setting to her children?
'She's had six weeks, an apology is not enough anymore.'
One of the family's lawyers, Mark Stephens told MailOnline: 'This family have been deliberately misled. To have full diplomatic immunity you have to be in an official diplomatic post and have to present your credentials. Mr Sacoolas did not do any of these things from my understanding.
'As a result, his wife was not entitled to leave the country because she did not have full diplomatic immunity. The Dunns need to start a civil action in America as quickly as possible and the Foreign Office should pay for it because they have let this family down.'
Prior to meeting the US Ambassador, Mr Raab raised the case in a telephone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Northamptonshire Police have also asked the US to consider waiving the immunity.
After Tuesday's meeting, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said: 'The Foreign Secretary met the US Ambassador today and urged the US to reconsider its position and do the right thing by Harry Dunn's family.'
Speaking to Sky News about the meeting with the Foreign Secretary, Ms Charles said: 'We've been offered the chance to now meet Dominic Raab and we've got that meeting this afternoon. We're very much hoping for some positivity.
'I hope he can look at us as human beings that just need our UK Government on our side.
'If we get that positivity and we get that breakthrough that we need, then we can actually start looking after ourselves and our other boy - his twin.
'Until we get the positivity and the answers we need, we are still in the mode of just keeping going with that fire in our belly that still keeps telling us that something is not right.'
Mr Dunn said: 'Hopefully he's going to tell us the news we want to hear - that they've got the waiver for the immunity and she is going to be coming back for justice for Harry.'
A crowdfunding page set up for Harry's family to begin their 'campaign to search for justice' and to help Harry's twin brother, Niall, reached its £10,000 target on Tuesday and has since passed £15,000.
Earlier today human right lawyer Mark Stephens today insisted that, if Mrs Sacoolas was not brought back to the UK, Harry's parents could bring civil legal action in the U.S.
Diplomatic immunity is bs that shouldn't exist. Commit a crime and you can just get away with, ****ing crazy. ***** should be handing this ***** over.
***** acknowledged that 'a tragedy occurred' and described suspect Anne Sacoolas - who he did not name - as 'driving on the wrong side of the road,' then suggested he had done the same too in the UK, where he has two golf courses.
'Those are the opposite roads. That can happen,' ***** said. 'I won't say it ever happened to me, but it did. When you get used to driving on our system and you're all of a sudden on the other system, where you're driving, it happens. You have to be careful.'
***** on Wednesday publicly rebuffed a plea from Prime Minister Boris Johnson to waive diplomatic immunity for Sacoolas who is suspected of killing Harry Dunn, 19, and instead suggested the victim's family meet her for 'some healing'.
Dunn was killed when his motorbike crashed into a car on August 27 and Sacoolas, 42, who is married to a US intelligence official, fled to the US despite telling police she would not do so.
Dunn's family has been desperately trying to ensure Sacoolas returns to the UK to participate in the police investigation, and this evening Mr Johnson urged the President to help ensure her diplomatic immunity is waived - but was embarrassingly rebuffed by ***** minutes later.
It has been suggested that the vehicle which hit Harry had been travelling on the wrong side of the road after pulling out from RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire.
But *****, speaking publicly for the first time about the case, made no commitment to send Sacoolas back to the UK - instead suggesting that he himself had driven on the wrong side of the road, adding: 'That can happen'.
The discussion between the two leaders came after Harry's family, from Oxfordshire, met with British foreign secretary Dominic Raab this afternoon, but slammed the meeting as a 'publicity stunt' that left them 'angry and frustrated'.
In his phone call with the President, Mr Johnson personally asked Mr ***** to 'reconsider the US position' to grant immunity to Sacoolas.
***** called it 'a very complex issue', adding: 'We are going to speak to her very shortly and do something where they meet.
'We are going to speak to her and see if we can come up with something so there is some healing.'
***** added that there was 'tremendous anger' over the case, and he understood why that was. He acknowledged that US public opinion was also likely to be in favour of Sacoolas being stripped of diplomatic immunity.
'I understand where the people from the UK [feel], and frankly a lot of Americans feel the same way,' he said.
But he said: 'The person that was driving the automobile has diplomatic immunity.
'It was an accident. It was a terrible accident.'
A Downing Street spokesman revealed conversations between the Prime Minister and ***** have taken place.
He said: 'The two leaders discussed the tragic death of Harry Dunn.
'The Prime Minister urged the President to reconsider the US position so the individual involved can return to the UK, co-operate with police and allow Harry's family to receive justice.
'The President said he was fully aware of the case and deeply saddened by what has happened, and he expressed his condolences to Harry's parents.
'The leaders agreed to work together to find a way forward as soon as possible.'
This afternoon Mr Raab met Harry's mother, Charlotte Charles, and father, Tim Dunn, who earlier today said they have been left in limbo after Ms Sacoolas fled to the US.
But speaking after the meeting, Harry's mother Charlotte Charles said: 'I'm disgusted and feel let down by both governments. Nothing useful came out of the meeting with Dominic Raab. Although he engaged with us, it just felt like a publicity stunt.'
Mr Dunn added: 'We feel extremely let down. The really disappointing thing is that it seems that it's OK to kill a young lad and then walk away just because you have diplomatic immunity.'
Asked about his son by reporters, Mr Dunn became emotional and was supported by his family as he called him a 'special boy'.
'He was a beautiful boy, a beautiful lad, he had so many friends, he loved life, he loved his motorbikes, loved his football,' he said.
'He didn't have a bad bone in his body, he just loved his family, he just loved everything.
'He was a special boy and I miss him like mad.'
The couple were accompanied by their lawyer Radd Seiger, who echoed the Dunn family's disappointment at the outcome of the meeting with Mr Rabb.
Giving a statement on behalf of the family, he said: 'To say we are disappointed with the outcome would be an understatement. We are frustrated. We are angry.'
He added: 'Before the meeting we were led to believe that something positive would come out of it. But all Mr Raab made clear to us is that the Americans insist that Mrs Sacoolas has full diplomatic immunity and under no circumstances are they going to grant a waiver.
'Our position is that she does not have diplomatic immunity and must return to Britain to face the consequences of her actions.'
Ms Charles also said: 'I can't really see the point we were invited to see Dominic Raab, we are no further forward than where we were this time last week.
'Although he is engaging with us, we have no answers. We are really frustrated that we could spend half an hour or more with him and just come out with nothing.'
The lawyer for Mr Dunn's family later said they are engaging lawyers to take a civil case against Anne Sacoolas in the US.
'Our position is that she doesn't have immunity and that waivers are always granted in these circumstances,' Radd Seiger told reporters in Westminster on Wednesday.
'Now we can disclose to you we have brought lawyers on board. We are going to Washington soon to help us get that justice for Harry.'
The Dunn family have hired leading lawyers Mark Stephens and Geoffrey Robertson, QC, who specialise in diplomatic law.
Central to their case is the issue of what level of diplomatic immunity Mrs Sacoolas and his family had, if any at all. Her husband was an intelligence official at RAF Croughton but did not appear on the list of diplomats in the UK with immunity.
Mr Seiger has also has invited US president Donald ***** to have a conversation with the family about the issue.
'If meeting with President ***** would help us get a step closer to seek justice for Harry, to get justice for that boy who died that night needlessly, one of the most wonderful kids in our community, if that's what it takes then I will extend an invitation now to President *****,' he said.
'Meet us. Let's have a chat. Nobody wants to litigate.'
Ms Charles added: 'We will still keep going, there's still fire in our bellies. We will continue to fight for justice for Harry because there's that feeling in our stomachs that something is not right.'
She called on Mrs Sacoolas to return and face justice, insisting that an apology was no longer sufficient.
'I want her to talk to us and face up to what she's done. I don't see how it can be correct to abscond like this. What sort of example is she setting to her children?
'She's had six weeks, an apology is not enough anymore.'
One of the family's lawyers, Mark Stephens told MailOnline: 'This family have been deliberately misled. To have full diplomatic immunity you have to be in an official diplomatic post and have to present your credentials. Mr Sacoolas did not do any of these things from my understanding.
'As a result, his wife was not entitled to leave the country because she did not have full diplomatic immunity. The Dunns need to start a civil action in America as quickly as possible and the Foreign Office should pay for it because they have let this family down.'
Prior to meeting the US Ambassador, Mr Raab raised the case in a telephone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Northamptonshire Police have also asked the US to consider waiving the immunity.
After Tuesday's meeting, a Foreign Office spokeswoman said: 'The Foreign Secretary met the US Ambassador today and urged the US to reconsider its position and do the right thing by Harry Dunn's family.'
Speaking to Sky News about the meeting with the Foreign Secretary, Ms Charles said: 'We've been offered the chance to now meet Dominic Raab and we've got that meeting this afternoon. We're very much hoping for some positivity.
'I hope he can look at us as human beings that just need our UK Government on our side.
'If we get that positivity and we get that breakthrough that we need, then we can actually start looking after ourselves and our other boy - his twin.
'Until we get the positivity and the answers we need, we are still in the mode of just keeping going with that fire in our belly that still keeps telling us that something is not right.'
Mr Dunn said: 'Hopefully he's going to tell us the news we want to hear - that they've got the waiver for the immunity and she is going to be coming back for justice for Harry.'
A crowdfunding page set up for Harry's family to begin their 'campaign to search for justice' and to help Harry's twin brother, Niall, reached its £10,000 target on Tuesday and has since passed £15,000.
Earlier today human right lawyer Mark Stephens today insisted that, if Mrs Sacoolas was not brought back to the UK, Harry's parents could bring civil legal action in the U.S.
Diplomatic immunity is bs that shouldn't exist. Commit a crime and you can just get away with, ****ing crazy. ***** should be handing this ***** over.
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