Labour has asked the government whether disgraced former minister Chris Pincher made any attempts to stop American Anne Sacoolas going to the US after she killed Harry Dunn in a road accident.
Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy has written to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly about the “series of failures” in the Foreign Office after Sacoolas was allowed to leave the UK and given diplomatic immunity following the 2019 incident.
Last week, the American former spy was handed a suspended eight-month prison sentence for causing death by dangerous driving after she crashed into motorcyclist Mr Dunn, 19, while driving on the wrong side of the road outside a US military base in Northamptonshire, where her husband worked.
The case led to a transatlantic row between the US and UK governments after the US administration asserted diplomatic immunity on her, allowing her to leave the UK 19 days later. She has never returned.
Mr Lammy has asked the foreign secretary to reveal the extent of the involvement of Chris Pincher, who was Minister for Europe and the Americas at the time, in liaising with US diplomatic authorities when Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity handed to her.
Mr Pincher was a Conservative MP then, but is now an independent after he had the whip removed when he was accused earlier this year of groping two men when he was drunk – which ultimately led to Boris Johnson’s resignation.
Mr Lammy has also called on the government to publish details of Mr Pincher’s correspondence with the US about Sacoolas’ immunity.
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And he asked Mr Cleverly if Mr Pincher or Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab, who was foreign secretary at the time, provided “any objection at all” to the US removing Sacoolas from the UK.
He said the US authorities informed the Foreign Office in September 2019 they intended to remove her “unless there is a strong objection”.
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Lessons need to be learned
Mr Lammy has also called on the Foreign Office to carry out an inquiry into the case and make sure lessons have been learnt around exemptions for diplomatic immunity, and publish what lessons have been learned.
The shadow foreign secretary asked why the Foreign Office did not provide official representation with Mr Dunn’s family when they visited then-president Donald Trump in 2019 to urge him to get Sacoolas to return to the UK and engage with a police investigation.
Mr Dunn’s parents, Charlotte Charles and Timm Dunn, turned down the surprise offer as they described it as “not appropriate” with no mediators or therapists present.
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‘Why didn’t you go to UK to attend court?’
Mr Lammy said: “This week’s judgment on the Harry Dunn case marks at least some justice after the Dunn family’s courageous and unwavering fight for Harry following his tragic death.
“The pain the Dunn family have had to endure, made worse by a series of failures in Foreign Office, must never be repeated. No other family can ever be allowed to go through this again.”
Radd Seiger, the Dunn family’s spokesman, said they have “no intention of becoming embroiled in a political spat” and criticised the government for not helping them out until they launched a public campaign to get justice.
He told Sky News: “We were shocked to learn this year that it was in fact the now disgraced Chris Pincher, then Minister for the Americas, that was supposedly the man in charge of standing up to the might of the US Superpower to insist that Anne Sacoolas did not leave.
“It is only right and proper that his decisions and actions, and those of his teams, now be scrutinised publicly as David Lammy has called for. We want and are entitled to know why this scandal was allowed to unfold and what is going to be done to ensure it never happens again. There has to be an inquiry.”
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‘It was three years of pure fight’
During Sacoolas’ sentencing last week, the judge praised Mr Dunn’s parents and family for their “dignified persistence”, which she said had led Sacoolas to “acknowledge her guilt”.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: “Since Harry’s death in August 2019 we have been clear that Ms Sacoolas should return to the UK to face British justice.
“Since she chose not to, virtual hearings were arranged as the most viable way to bring the case to Court and give justice to Harry’s family.
“I want to pay tribute to the incredible resolve of Harry’s family and I hope that the judgment provides some closure.
“We have learnt important lessons from this tragic incident, including improvements to the process around exemptions from diplomatic immunity and ensuring the US takes steps to improve road safety around RAF Croughton.”
Sky News has contacted Mr Pincher’s office for a comment.
The COP29 climate talks have reached a last ditch deal on cash for developing countries, pulling the summit back from the brink of collapse after a group of countries stormed out of a negotiating room earlier.
The slew of deals finally signed off in the small hours of Sunday morning in Azerbaijan includes one that proved hardest of all – one about money.
Eventually the more than 190 countries in Baku agreed a target for richer polluting countries such as the UK, EU and Japan to drum up $300bn a year by 2035 to help poorer nations both curb and adapt to climate change.
It is a far cry from the $1.3trn experts say is needed, and from the $500bn that vulnerable countries like Uganda had said they would be willing to accept.
But in the end they were forced to, knowing they could not afford to live without it, nor wait until next year to try again, when a Donald Trump presidency would make things even harder.
Bolivia’s lead negotiator Diego Pacheco called it an “insult”, while the Marshall Islands’ Tina Stege said it was “not nearly enough, but it’s a start”.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell said: “This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country.
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“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do. So this is no time for victory laps.”
The funding deal was clinched more than 24 hours into overtime, and against what felt like all the odds.
The fraught two weeks of negotiations pitted the anger of developing countries who are footing the bill for more dangerous weather that they did little to cause, against the tight public finances of rich countries.
A relieved Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, climate envoy for Panama, said there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Just hours ago, the talks almost fell apart as furious vulnerable nations stormed out of negotiations in frustration over that elusive funding goal.
They were also angry with oil and gas producing countries, who stood accused of trying to dilute aspects of the deal on cutting fossil fuels.
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Climate-vulnerable nations storm out of talks
The UN talks work on consensus, meaning everyone has to agree for a deal to fly.
A row over how to follow up on last year’s pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” was left unresolved and punted into next year, following objections from Chile and Switzerland for being too weak.
A draft deal simply “reaffirmed” the commitment but did not dial up the pressure in the way the UK, EU, island states and many others here wanted.
Saudi Arabia fought the hardest against any step forward on cutting fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change that is intensifying floods, drought and fires around the world.
Governments did manage to strike a deal on carbon markets at COP29, which has been 10 years in the making and will allow countries to trade emissions cuts.
‘Not everything we wanted’
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The UK’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said the deal is “not everything we or others wanted”, but described it as a “step forward”.
“It’s a deal that will drive forward the clean energy transition, which is essential for jobs and growth in Britain and for protecting us all against the worsening climate crisis,” he added.
“Today’s agreement sends the signal that the clean energy transition is unstoppable.
“It is the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century and through our championing of it we can help crowd in private investment.”
The Azerbaijan team leading COP29 said: “Every hour of the day, we have pulled people together. Every inch of the way, we have pushed for the highest common denominator.
“We have faced geopolitical headwinds and made every effort to be an honest broker for all sides.”
At least 20 people have been killed and 66 injured in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.
Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dig through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.
The attack destroyed an eight-storey residential building and badly damaged several others around it in the Basta neighbourhood at 4am (2am UK time) on Saturday.
The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack and has not commented on the casualties.
At least four bombs were dropped in the attack – the fourth targeting the city centre this week.
A separate drone strike in the southern port city of Tyre this morning killed two people and injured three, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The victims were Palestinian refugees from the nearby al Rashidieh camp who were out fishing, according to Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area.
Israel’s military warned residents today in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs that they were near Hezbollah facilities, which the army would target in the near future. The warning, posted on X, told people to evacuate at least 500 metres away.
The army said that over the past day it had conducted intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It said it hit several command centres and weapons storage facilities.
Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.
Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 3,670 people have been killed in Israeli attacks there, with more than 15,400 wounded.
It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
Meanwhile, six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.
Some 44,176 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the war in Gaza.
Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.
Israeli intelligence agency Mossad is investigating the disappearance of a rabbi in Abu Dhabi after receiving information indicating a “terrorist incident”, the Israeli prime minister’s office has said.
Zvi Kogan, an Israeli-Moldovan citizen, has been missing since Thursday.
The Israeli prime minister’s office said the country’s security and intelligence services have been investigating in Abu Dhabi.
It said: “Mossad has updated that since his disappearance, and given information indicating that this is a terrorist incident, an active investigation has been going on in the country.
“Israeli security and intelligence organisations, concerned for Kogan’s safety and wellbeing, have been working tirelessly on this case.”
In a travel advisory, it warned Israelis: “In major cities, or locations where demonstrations or protests are taking place, conceal anything that could identify you as Israeli or Jewish.”
The Israeli government’s travel advisory service warns its citizens to “avoid unnecessary travel” to the UAE as “there is terrorist activity in the UAE, which constitutes a real risk to Israelis who are staying/visiting in the country”.
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The UAE diplomatically recognised Israel in 2020, a deal it has honoured throughout the Israel-Hamas war and Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon.
The Chabad movement is a Hasidic branch of Judaism, according to Chabad Lubavitch UK.
The organisation describes the work of emissaries like Zvi Kogan as “explaining, shedding light, dispelling myths, countering stereotypes” about Judaism.