The Government have today published the report from the independent review of the UK Government’s response to the death of Harry Dunn, and the support offered to the family by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This is available on gov.uk, and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Harry Dunn was 19 when he was killed on 27 August 2019, following a head-on collision with a vehicle near RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire. The vehicle was being driven on the wrong side of the road by Mrs Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US State Department official who was working at RAF Croughton.
This independent review was commissioned by the former Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr Lammy), following his engagement with the family of Harry Dunn, and in response to concerns they had expressed about the handling of the case by the UK Government, and in particular by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO, now FCDO), in the months immediately following Harry’s death. The review was conducted by Dame Anne Owers DBE.
There have been a number of legal proceedings related to the Harry Dunn’s death, including civil proceedings in the United States, the criminal prosecution of Mrs Sacoolas, a coroner’s inquest and a judicial review of the FCDO’s decision making and position on Mrs Sacoolas’s immunity. The terms of reference for the review, which are included as an annex to the report, mandated an explicit focus on the support given to the family by the FCO in the four-month period following the death of Mr Dunn, from August to December 2019, and did not seek to revisit any previous reviews or judgments.
HMG supported the process in full, during which Dame Anne examined a significant amount of documentary evidence, and interviewed a wide range of stakeholders, including many FCO officials who worked on the issue at the time. She also engaged with the family of Harry Dunn, the Victims Commissioner, Crown Prosecution Service and others.
The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the handling of the case by the FCO, and makes 12 recommendations, 10 of which are specific to the FCDO. It finds that failings and omissions were made in response to the incident, including a failure to recognise the family as allies in achieving justice for Harry. I have accepted all the recommendations, and, with my Department, I am committed to ensuring that any similar case in future will be handled with the benefit of improved practices in the light of the review, in particular with regards to family engagement and support for victims. No family facing a crisis of this kind should have to fight for the support they deserve like Harry’s did.
Dame Anne met with me on 27 November formally to present and discuss her conclusions and recommendations. I thank her for diligence and her service to the public and public services in carrying out the review and providing her recommendations. I have also met with the family of Harry Dunn and shared the report directly with them. Nothing will bring Harry back, but I hope that the review and this statement to the House provides them some measure of comfort.
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