Harry Dunn: a tragic timeline

Harry Dunn Credit: Dunn Family

On the 27th of August 2019, the lives of Harry Dunn's family changed forever. Harry had been involved in a collision on the B4031 about 400 yards from the entrance to RAF Croughton, an American military base in Northamptonshire.

Over the next year, this tragic tale of a teenager who lost his life would make diplomatic waves across the Atlantic, which remain unresolved.


Harry Dunn Credit: Family handout

Here's the tragic timeline:

AUGUST 27 2019

Motorcyclist Harry Dunn collides with a Volvo outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire. He is taken to John Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford but is pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

AUGUST 28 2019

Northamptonshire Police interview 42-year-old suspect Anne Sacoolas in connection with the crash.

AUGUST 30 2019

A briefing note copied to the Foreign Secretary's private office reveals the concern for the potential for "very unpalatable headlines".

Harry's family with their representative Radd Sieger Credit: ITV Anglia

SEPTEMBER 13 2019

A request to waive diplomatic immunity claimed by Ms Sacoolas is formally rejected by the US.

SEPTEMBER 14 2019

A senior Foreign Office official sends a text message to their US counterpart saying: "I think that now the decision has been taken not to waive, there's not much mileage in us asking you to keep the family here. It's obviously not us approving of their departure but I think you should feel able to put them on the next flight out..."

SEPTEMBER 15 2019

Ms Sacoolas leaves the country on a United States Air Force plane, but the Dunn family are not informed of her departure until three weeks later. Northamptonshire Police are also not told that she has left the UK.

OCTOBER 4 2019

Harry's parents Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn call on US President Donald Trump to intervene and waive immunity for Ms Sacoolas.

Harry's parents Tim Dunn and Charlotte Charles Credit: ITV Anglia

OCTOBER 6 2019

Police write to the US embassy in London to demand immunity is waived.

OCTOBER 7 2019

Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the US should "reconsider its position" onthe immunity given to Ms Sacoolas

OCTOBER 9 2019

Mrs Charles and Mr Dunn attend a meeting with the Foreign Secretary which leaves them "angry and frustrated" and feeling as though it was a "publicity stunt". Mr Johnson speaks to Mr Trump personally to ask him to reconsider the US's position.

OCTOBER 12 2019

Ms Sacoolas breaks her silence and issues a statement through her lawyer, saying the crash left her "devastated".

OCTOBER 14 2019

Mr Dunn's family hold a press conference in New York after taking their fight for justice to the US.

While they were in the United States, Harry's parents made a passionate appeal on US television network CBS.

OCTOBER 31 2019

Northamptonshire Police confirm they had interviewed the suspect in the case in the US and were passing the file of evidence to the CPS.

NOVEMBER 25 2019

Tim, Harry's father, confronts Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab as he enters a hustings for the conservative leadership.

In December, despite earlier fraught relations with Northamptonshire Police, the family and their lawyers met with Chief Constable Nick Adderley.

DECEMBER 20 2019

The CPS charges Ms Sacoolas with causing death by dangerous driving.

JANUARY 10 2020

The Home Office submit an extradition request for Ms Sacoolas.

JANUARY 23 2020

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally rejects the extradition request for Ms Sacoolas.

Throughout the year, campaigners have kept up the pressure locally and internationally, keeping Harry's case in the spotlight.

In February 2020, campaigners staged a blockade at the entrance of RAF Croughton.

In the same month, ITV News Anglia spoke to Harry's twin brother Niall six months after the collision.

MAY 11 2020

The family receive an email from Northamptonshire Police saying Ms Sacoolas is "wanted internationally" and reports of an Interpol Red Notice being issued for the suspect follow.

Anne Sacoolas Credit: ITV Anglia

MAY 12 2020

The US State Department say the decision not to extradite Ms Sacoolas is "final" after Interpol Red Notice claims.

MAY 20 2020

Mr Dunn's mother calls for Mr Raab's resignation.

MAY 28 2020

The family announce their intention to bring a private prosecution against the Foreign Secretary, accusing him of misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice.

JUNE 18 2020

The family are refused documents on the UK's secret agreement with the US in their first High Court battle with the Foreign Office.

In July Harry's Mum Charlotte spoke to ITV News Anglia about the ongoing fight for justice.

JULY 22 2020

Mr Raab announces that the "anomaly" which allowed Ms Sacoolas to claim diplomatic immunity following the road crash that killed Mr Dunn has been amended.

JULY 26 2020

Harry Dunn's parents drop their legal claim against Northamptonshire Police after concluding the force is "absolved of any blame".

AUGUST 25 2020

The Lord Chancellor said Attorney General Suella Braverman was considering the possibility of trying Ms Sacoolas virtually or in her absence.

September 9 2020

Harry Dunn's parents file a civil claim against Anne Sacoolas in the US.

November 11 2020

Harry Dunn's parents begin a High Court battle with the Foreign Office over the diplomatic immunity asserted on behalf of the teenager's alleged killer.