Latest news with #DameAnneOwers
The Independent
07-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Foreign Office promise Dunn family publication of final review report
The Foreign Office have said the final report from a review into how the government handled the case of Harry Dunn will be published in full after his family raised concerns. Foreign Secretary David Lammy officially launched the independent review on Monday – saying it would 'ensure lessons are learned'. The Dunn family were heavily critical of the Foreign Office in 2019 after senior officials told the US government they should 'feel able' to put their son's killer Anne Sacoolas on the next flight home following a fatal road crash. The US state department asserted diplomatic immunity on behalf of Sacoolas – who left the UK 19 days after the incident outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in August 2019. A parliamentary review, which will be led by Dame Anne Owers, will scrutinise the role of the Foreign Office in supporting the Dunn family following the crash, but will not look at the actions of the US government. The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the report would be published in full, subject to redactions relating to national security or personal information. The findings will also be laid before Parliament alongside a written statement from Mr Lammy. Following the review's official launch, Dame Anne said: 'I believe it is crucially important that public authorities are ready to learn lessons from difficult and traumatic events, so they can reflect on and improve the way they work and communicate. 'This is something that I have been committed to in all the roles I have held. 'I am pleased to have been asked by the Foreign Secretary to carry out this work in the context of the tragic death of Harry Dunn, and to identify any lessons for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. 'I very much hope that this will provide some assurance to Harry's family.' Harry's mother, Charlotte Charles, alongside other family members, met with Mr Lammy on Wednesday following an invitation for him to 'hear the family's views and concerns'. She said: 'It is our sincere hope that her work will help ensure that no other family is ever treated in the way that ours was. 'This review is yet another step in our long journey towards ensuring that Harry's loss was not in vain and that the world is a better and safer place.' In his own statement, Mr Lammy said: 'I am confident the review into how the case was handled by the previous government has the remit required to properly address the family's concerns and to ensure lessons are learned. 'Having worked previously with Dame Anne Owers on the Lammy Review in 2017, I don't believe anyone is better qualified to undertake this important piece of work.'
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Foreign Office promise Dunn family publication of final review report
The Foreign Office have said the final report from a review into how the government handled the case of Harry Dunn will be published in full after his family raised concerns. Foreign Secretary David Lammy officially launched the independent review on Monday – saying it would 'ensure lessons are learned'. The Dunn family were heavily critical of the Foreign Office in 2019 after senior officials told the US government they should 'feel able' to put their son's killer Anne Sacoolas on the next flight home following a fatal road crash. The US state department asserted diplomatic immunity on behalf of Sacoolas – who left the UK 19 days after the incident outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire in August 2019. A parliamentary review, which will be led by Dame Anne Owers, will scrutinise the role of the Foreign Office in supporting the Dunn family following the crash, but will not look at the actions of the US government. The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the report would be published in full, subject to redactions relating to national security or personal information. The findings will also be laid before Parliament alongside a written statement from Mr Lammy. Following the review's official launch, Dame Anne said: 'I believe it is crucially important that public authorities are ready to learn lessons from difficult and traumatic events, so they can reflect on and improve the way they work and communicate. 'This is something that I have been committed to in all the roles I have held. 'I am pleased to have been asked by the Foreign Secretary to carry out this work in the context of the tragic death of Harry Dunn, and to identify any lessons for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. 'I very much hope that this will provide some assurance to Harry's family.' Harry's mother, Charlotte Charles, alongside other family members, met with Mr Lammy on Wednesday following an invitation for him to 'hear the family's views and concerns'. She said: 'It is our sincere hope that her work will help ensure that no other family is ever treated in the way that ours was. 'This review is yet another step in our long journey towards ensuring that Harry's loss was not in vain and that the world is a better and safer place.' In his own statement, Mr Lammy said: 'I am confident the review into how the case was handled by the previous government has the remit required to properly address the family's concerns and to ensure lessons are learned. 'Having worked previously with Dame Anne Owers on the Lammy Review in 2017, I don't believe anyone is better qualified to undertake this important piece of work.'
The Guardian
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
US government role to be excluded in review into Harry Dunn's death
A parliamentary review into how the UK's Foreign Office handled the death of the teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn will not include scrutiny of the role or actions of the US government, it is understood. The 19-year-old's family met senior officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on Wednesday where they were told the probe will be led by former chief inspector of prisons Dame Anne Owers. The review is expected to examine the support the FCDO offered the Dunn family after Harry was killed by a former US state department employee in a road crash in 2019 in Northamptonshire, the PA news agency reported. The American driver, Anne Sacoolas, had diplomatic immunity asserted on her behalf after the incident outside RAF Croughton before a senior Foreign Office official said they should 'feel able' to put her on the next flight home. PA understands the review, which is scheduled to last for three months, is also set to look at the actions taken by the Foreign Office in the months after Harry's death and the nature of internal decision-making. It will also look to identify lessons to be learned for the FCDO for comparable future situations. The involvement of the US government, which asserted diplomatic immunity on behalf of Sacoolas, will not be examined alongside any issues covered in previous court hearings. The Dunn family's spokesperson Radd Seiger told PA: 'I think overall the family are feeling that we are going to leave a legacy for Harry, which is that no family should ever be treated the way this family were by their own government. 'The American government really were stepping on their rights; nobody really from the government stepped forward to help them. 'Dame Anne is going to look into all of this and make a series of recommendations to David Lammy that should this ever happen again, whether here or abroad, that they will get the support and representation of the government that they need. So we are very, very pleased. 'The reason we got justice for Harry in the end was no thanks to the United Kingdom government; it was thanks to the British public and the media on both sides of the Atlantic, who spoke truth to power and made sure that we held them to account.' Last week, Northamptonshire police apologised for 'clear and significant shortcomings' in its investigation into Dunn's death after a review found the force 'failed his family on a number of fronts'.
The Independent
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Harry Dunn review ‘will not scrutinise actions of US government'
A parliamentary review into how the Foreign Office handled the death of Harry Dunn will not include scrutiny of the role or actions of the US government, it is understood. The 19-year-old's family met with senior officials at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on Wednesday where they were told the probe will be led by former chief inspector of prisons Dame Anne Owers. The PA news agency understands the review is set to examine the support the FCDO offered the Dunn family after Harry was killed by a former US state department employee in a road crash in 2019. The American driver, Anne Sacoolas, had diplomatic immunity asserted on her behalf following the incident outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire before a senior Foreign Office official said they should 'feel able' to put her on the next flight home. PA understands the probe, which is scheduled to last for three months, is also set to look at the actions taken by the Foreign Office in the months after Harry's death and the nature of internal decision-making. The review will also look to identify lessons to be learned for the FCDO for comparable future situations. The involvement of the US government, which asserted the diplomatic immunity on behalf of Ms Sacoolas, will not be examined – alongside any issues covered in previous court hearings. Dame Anne could look to request interviews with relevant staff within the Foreign Office at the time of Harry's death, as well as documents from within the FCDO. Following the meeting, family spokesman Radd Seiger told PA: 'I think overall the family are feeling that we are going to leave a legacy for Harry, which is that no family should ever be treated the way this family were by their own government. 'The American government really were stepping on their rights; nobody really from the government stepped forward to help them. 'Dame Anne is going to look into all of this and make a series of recommendations to David Lammy that should this ever happen again, whether here or abroad, that they will get the support and representation of the Government that they need. So we are very, very pleased. 'The reason we got justice for Harry in the end was no thanks to the United Kingdom government; it was thanks to the British public and the media on both sides of the Atlantic, who spoke truth to power and made sure that we held them to account.' Harry's mother Charlotte Charles said the current Government was more 'welcoming' than the previous Conservative one. She said: 'I think this Government is totally different to what we were dealing with before: they were calmer, they seemed to want to engage with us, they are welcoming us to the Foreign Office. 'We aren't being shoved down the road and they seem to have a lot of patience and time for us to get the answers that we need. 'The previous government's meetings were very fraught. I think they had us in their offices under duress almost. 'I think they almost felt like they had to do it and we could feel that in the room. But since the Labour Government got in, they've been more open with us and more welcoming.' She said she hoped the inquiry would 'get to the reason as to why we were treated so poorly'. Ms Charles added: 'Why did they kick us down the road, why did they try to shove Harry's life under the carpet? 'What was more important than our son's life? They were rude, they were brutal with us. They were not engaging with us at all. 'They did everything they possibly could to try to make us go away and give up. The answers we need now are why. What were they so scared of?'
