Trump defends US diplomat's wife accused of killing British teenager in crash
10 October 2019, 08:34
Donald Trump has defended the diplomat's wife who is suspected of killing a British teenager in a crash by suggesting driving on the opposite side of road is confusing – saying "it happens".
In a telephone conversation, Mr Trump was asked by Boris Johnson to reconsider granting diplomatic immunity to 42-year-old Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official.
Harry Dunn, 19, was killed when his motorbike crashed into a car on August 27 near RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire.
Ms Sacoolas, who had only been in the UK for three weeks at the time of the crash, is believed to have been driving on the wrong side of the road.
Speaking to reporters about Ms Sacoolas' diplomatic immunity row, Mr Trump called the incident a "terrible accident", but also suggested driving on the opposite side of road was confusing – saying "it happens".
He said: ‘The woman was driving on the wrong side of the road, and that can happen. You know, those are the opposite roads, that happens. I won’t say it ever happened to me, but it did.
"When you get used to driving on our system and then you’re all of a sudden on the other system where you’re driving – it happens. You have to be careful, very careful."
In response, Harry Dunn's mother Charlotte Charles said: "I'm just disgusted.
"I don't see the point in Boris Johnson talking to President Trump, or President Trump even taking a call from Boris Johnson.
"If he'd already made his decision that if it were to be asked and if it were to be raised, the answer was already going to be no.
"It's just beyond any realm of any human thinking."
Commenting on what she would say to Donald Trump about the case, Harry Dunn's mother told Sky News: "He must know exactly where she is. 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.
"We will keep the pressure on - we still don't understand, none of us as a family, everyone around the world that keeps contacting us.
"More and more and more people from the USA sending us personal messages, not even just through our Justice for Harry page, they're managing to find us on social media and message us personally just in absolute disbelief that we are six weeks plus past this unintentional killing of our boy and we still have absolutely no idea - nothing."
Harry Dunn's parents met with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Wednesday and after commented that to say they were disappointed with the outcome of their meeting with him "would be an understatement".
They added that it "felt like a publicity stunt".
Mr Dunn's father said: "I felt extremely let down by the Government today, or by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
"I'm deeply, deeply disappointed that they think it's okay to kill a young lad on his bike and they can just walk away. I'm so disappointed with today."
A Downing Street spokesman said: "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."
