Donald Trump defends US diplomat’s wife over fatal UK car crash
Driving on the wrong side of the road ‘can happen’, US president says
Donald Trump has appeared to defend a US diplomat’s wife who is being investigated by the UK police following a road accident in England that left a British teenager dead, saying driving on the wrong side of the road “can happen”.
The US president suggested that he would not cede to British demands, including from prime minister Boris Johnson, that Anna Sacoolas, who has left the UK, should return for further questioning.
“A terrible accident occurred,” Mr Trump said in a White House briefing on Ms Sacoolas, who left Britain after initially co-operating with UK police in their inquiries into the death of 19-year-old Harry Dunn in Northamptonshire in August.
“The woman was driving on the wrong side of the road ― and that can happen!” Mr Trump said. “Those are the opposite roads, it happens.”
Mr Dunn was killed while riding his motorcycle and police officers believe this followed a collision with a vehicle leaving an air force base that was driving on the wrong side of the road.
When first questioned about the incident, Ms Sacoolas had told officers she would stay in Britain, according to Northamptonshire police. The diplomat’s wife then decided to leave.
At Wednesday’s briefing, the US president said that “two wonderful parents have lost their son”. “We’re going to speak to her very shortly and see if we can do something where they meet,” he said of the woman and the victim’s parents. “We’re going to speak to her and see what we can come up with so that there can be some healing.”
A briefing note held by Mr Trump, and captured on camera by a Washington Post photographer, stated that “the spouse of the US government employee will not return to the United Kingdom”.
This came despite a direct request from Mr Johnson on Wednesday for the White House to facilitate Ms Sacoolas’ return to the UK.
“Mr Johnson asked Mr Trump 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,” a Downing Street spokeswoman said in a readout of a call between the two leaders.
The diplomatic ruckus comes at a sensitive time for Mr Johnson, who is seeking to build closer relations with Washington in the hope of closer trade ties with the US after Brexit.
Dominic Raab, foreign secretary, has also held talks about Ms Sacoolas with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo and US ambassador to London Woody Johnson.
On Thursday morning, Harry Dunn’s mother Charlotte Charles told Sky News that she was “just disgusted” that Mr Trump was not doing more to help the family find out more about what had happened to their son.
“He must know exactly where she is,” Ms Charles told Sky. “He must know where she, the kids, the husband are — whether they are being hidden or they’ve just run away — one way or another he must know exactly where they are.
“I would obviously urge him to still put her on the plane to come back, face our justice system here, face us, talk to us, everything we have been saying for the past five days.”