London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

Family vows to resist US government attempt to keep intelligence work of woman accused of killing teen a secret

Family vows to resist US government attempt to keep intelligence work of woman accused of killing teen a secret

The parents of a British teenager killed in 2019 said Monday that they will strenuously oppose an attempt by the US government to keep secret the employment details of the woman accused in the traffic death.

Harry Dunn, 19, was struck and killed when Anne Sacoolas drove head-on into his motorcycle in August 2019 near to RAF Croughton, a military base in central England known to be used by US intelligence agencies.

Sacoolas does not dispute that she had been negligent and had been driving on the wrong side of the road when she collided with Dunn and has never contested her liability for the crash. Despite that, she was able to return to the US when diplomatic immunity was asserted on her behalf by the US government as the "wife of a US diplomat."

Sacoolas was later charged in the UK with causing Dunn's death by dangerous driving. An extradition request to return her to the UK for prosecution was rejected by the US State Department in January 2020 and she remains in the US.

Unable to secure justice for their son in England, Dunn's parents, Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, brought a civil lawsuit against Anne Sacoolas in the state of Virginia, where she lives with her husband, which is ongoing.

In February, at US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, John McGavin, one of Sacoolas' lawyers, revealed that she was working for the State Department at the time.

In an exchange with the court, Judge T.S. Ellis asked McGavin: "Are you saying that Mr. and Mrs. Sacoolas were employed by an intelligence agency of the United States, and that's why she left?"

McGavin replied: "I think that was a significant factor, certainly" in her departure from the UK.

Previously, it had been public only that her husband, Jonathan Sacoolas, was working for the US government at RAF Croughton.

Since that time, lawyers for the Dunn family have been asking as part of the discovery process questions to uncover who she was working for, what her job was and if it had a bearing on the case.

In an unexpected move Friday, lawyers for the US government made a bid to suppress details of Sacoolas' employment in the interests of "national security," according to court documents publicly filed in Virginia and seen by CNN.

The motion states, "the United States seeks protection ... because of the impact the disclosure of information regarding the Government in this litigation could reasonably be expected to have on national security."

To support its proposed "protective order," the US government gave the court a classified "ex parte, in camera submission" containing national security information that only Judge T.S. Ellis presiding over the civil trial is allowed to see.

Friday's court filing was also the first time the US government admitted publicly that Anne Sacoolas, and not just her husband, "were employees of the United States Government at the time" of the crash.

This is significant as in 2019 Jonathan Sacoolas was known as an intelligence officer stationed as "administrative and technical staff" at RAF Croughton, a military base used as an intelligence-gathering hub by the CIA and NSA. But Prime Minister Boris Johnson's official spokesman told reporters in February 2021 that Anne Sacoolas "was notified to the UK Government by the US as a spouse with no official role."

The US government argues that the details of who Sacoolas was working for in England should play no part in the civil case because "information concerning the United States Government has little to no relevance to an adjudication of any remaining issues in this case."

The US government acknowledges in the court documents that the family already said, "they could agree not to elicit Defendants' employment titles, positions, and duties, they would not agree to a broader order."

Flowers left in remembrance of Harry Dunn on the B4031 road near RAF Croughton in 2019.


Radd Seiger, adviser and spokesman for Dunn's family, told CNN on Monday that the parents believe the closely guarded work Sacoolas was doing is relevant to the case and says their lawyers will be opposing the US government application to keep it secret this week.

"Harry's family have no wish to learn of or reveal secrets that may harm the interests of either nation," Seiger said, "but the US Government lied to the British Government and the British people that Mrs. Sacoolas was only a spouse of a US intelligence officer based at RAF Croughton and failed to disclose who she really was."

Anne Sacoolas' employment with the US government could have also been significant if it had been known prior to her leaving the country. The US and UK agreed in the mid-1990s that American intelligence officers posted to RAF Croughton would not be able to claim diplomatic immunity for any criminal incidents that occur outside the US base.

If it had been revealed in the weeks after Dunn's death that Anne Sacoolas was employed by the US government in intelligence work, the family believes she may not as easily have been able to assert the diplomatic immunity of a spouse and leave the country.

Seiger told CNN: "The US Government clearly thought that they would be able to remove Mrs. Sacoolas from the UK and preserve her anonymity. They took Harry's family and the British public for fools."

"The mere bringing of this motion will again only serve to draw the attention of the media and the public to what is really going on, which is to minimize what happened to Harry."

Asked for comment, the US State Department referred CNN to the Department of Justice, which has not responded. CNN has also asked Anne Sacoolas' personal lawyer for comment.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
×