Trump tells Harry Dunn's parents that US woman accused of killing their son will not return to UK

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world

Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

Donald Trump has told the parent of Harry Dunn that the American woman allegedly responsible for their teenage son's death would not return to the UK.

Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, said there had been "a little bit of progress", after their meeting with the US president.

Although Anne Sacoolas who left the UK after the crash in Northamptonshire which killed the 19-year-old, was also at the White House, they said they had refused to meet her.

"We didn't get the answers that we wanted," Ms Charles said. "They couldn't tell us who made the decision to bring her back to the US. We asked how long she was there for and they still said three weeks."

Asked if she felt the meeting was trying to sweep her son's death under the carpet, she said: "Initially yes I did think they were trying to do that - certainly by having Ms Sacoolas there. I think maybe they were thinking that would be enough for us. We're seven weeks on and it's just not enough."

Mr Dunn added that they "weren't ready to meet her", as "it would have been too rushed."

"It's not what we wanted - we wanted a meeting with her in the UK," he said, although he made it clear that it "didn't feel like a stunt - they didn't try and force it onto us".

Ms Charles added: "I don't think it would be appropriate to meet her without therapists or mediators in the room."

Their campaign has attracted interest either side of the Atlantic due to the chief suspect being the wife of a US diplomat stationed in the UK.

Mr Sacoolas has previously said she is "terribly sorry" about the incident and that she had "no time to react" when she saw Mr Dunn's motorbike following the incident near RAF Croughton on 27 August.

In a post on the Justice 4 Harry fundraising website, Ms Charles and Mr Dunn said they were grateful for the invitation" to the White House which they hoped represented "a positive development in our fight for justice."

They added: "Our priority, as any parent will understand, is justice for our child. We believe this can only be achieved if Anne Sacoolas returns to England and engages properly with the justice system, where she will be treated fairly in a proper investigation of what happened to our son on that day - an investigation that cannot happen without her co-operation.

"Friends tell each other the truth. If Britain and America are friends then we believe there should be no possibility of a citizen of one country hiding from justice in another while falsely claiming a privilege such as diplomatic immunity."

The family, who met Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in the UK last week, have also demanded an investigation over the Foreign Office's (FCO) advice to Northamptonshire Police that Ms Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity.

They are demanding to see all emails, messages and notes sent in relation to her immunity status.

Speaking in New York, family spokesman Radd Seiger said: "We want to conduct an investigation into the FCO's decision to advise Northamptonshire Police that this lady had the benefit of diplomatic immunity. What we don't know is whether somebody cocked up or whether they were put under pressure by the Americans to concede."

If they are not happy with the documents, the family say they will then ask for a judge's opinion on the lawfulness of the FCO's decision.

Mr Seiger added: "If we're not satisfied, then we'll go to a judicial review and ask a High Court judge to review it all."

Before the family left for the US, they received a letter from Mr Raab, saying that Ms Sacoolas, 42, no longer had immunity.