Anne Sacoolas

Davidhs's post makes sense of this awful situation. Anne Sacoolas may have had every intention of remaining in the UK to co-operate with the police but events were taken out of her hands.

Good reason for anyone in a high risk occupation not to be accompanied by their family I would think. I feel sorry for her son although of course everyone's sympathies are naturally directed towards Harry's grieving family.

I’ve looked up some more incidents, this is normal US policy, if US military personnel or diplomats are involved in court action they are always sent home, usually they are prosecuted in a US court. If as reported the woman absently mindedly drove on the wrong side of the road, it is Careless Driving and she is not going to be extradited for that.

I’m sorry that the family dont believe they have had justice but it seems to me if she was on the wrong side of the road there is no defense and a driving ban would be the sentence, no more.

So why the publicity for this case, because the US apply this repatriation for all cases regardless and this frustrates “British Justice” and we are trying to get that changed - we will fail!. The US wants their citizens to face US justice, not the kind of justice that is handed out in other countries, if a US service person commits a crime overseas they are in big trouble, not a normal jury court but a court marshal.c

She should face the consequences of her actions. Diplomatic immunity for this type of crime is a disgrace. I'm sure any decent-minded fellow American would agree.

Anne Sacoolas will now be deemed a security risk. Hard though it is for us to accept given she is responsible for a fatal accident, she should remain in the USA. There would be nothing to gain from the media circus that would surely surround any return to the UK.

I just hope the grieving family is kept informed and not ignored.

My gut instinct is disgust at this woman's actions as other people here have also expressed.

However, Davidhs's posts do put a different perspective on the situation. A fair trial could be relied upon in the UK, but maybe not in certain other parts of the world and I suppose the US can't pick and choose whose justice system they will or will not cooperate with.

I do hope, though, that whether here or in the US she will be held to account.

There is nothing to stop this woman's conscience from doing the right thing. She's a mother herself for God's sake !

Yes there is, Ellan. Her husband's job.

We all depend on intelligence to keep us safe these days.

She is not her husband.

Davidhs whatever the husband's position the woman was not an employee of any US organisation and as such was not entitled to diplomatic immunity. We have hopefully moved on from times when a woman was just a part of her husband's life. If women accept the benefits of that they should also accept the responsibilities involved.
As far as justiice goes we should look at the demands the US has made on us for extradition of people including hackers.

I understand the reasoning behind diplomatic immunity. It is there to ensure that diplomats posted in less liberal countries are not imprisoned on trumped up charges for political reasons.

However I believe, in the case of two supposedly great democratic countries such as the U.K and America that isn’t an issue, the reason the woman was arrested was not for political reasons and she should be returned to the U.K by America for the family to receive justice and some semblance of closure. However Trump is rather preoccupied with being impeached and Boris ended up getting poor Nazaninin imprisoned for longer so not holding out much hope for him intervening successfully.

I can see that she'll not be back unfortunately as it seems to be US government policy. If there's any justice this woman's husband and therefore their family will be adversely affected by her actions. No promotion for him or even no job and pension? However, it is modern America so daft things can happen.
Rotten situation for the poor grieving family. The mother is being so dignified its heartbreaking. I hope that Sacoolas woman is seeing the videos of her.

I can't believe how naive some of you are with your comments. It doesn't matter that Anne Sacoolas was not the one employed. Surely you realise how much of a risk families can become and how they can compromise security.

We don't know that she isn't suffering agonies of regret and remorse. As of yet, she hasn't been able to speak for herself.

The thing is even if she comes back to UK now, she has already told the police what happened, she was driving on wrong side of the road, and DI means she cannot be charged so even though she could come back and apologise directly to family for killing the son I don't see what else will be accomplished by her coming back to UK.

I wondered what would happen if the shoe was on the other foot, so to speak - if a British person was involved in a fatality and then fled back to the UK?
This raises a lot of questions about so called "diplomatic immunity" - we are not usually aware of what goes on, under this blanket , from sending contraband via diplomatic bags, to avoiding prosecution.
As far as I am concerned, her husband is the diplomat, not her, so she should not have the benefit of being covered by the so called immunity and be brought straight back to be prosecuted. The fact that she originally said that she would be staying in this country , and then left makes you think that she had no plans to stand up and take whatever was due to her.
When all is said and done, a young man has been killed as a result of either her ignorance or inattention and I would hope that her conscience would bring her back to this country.
I also think that anyone wishing to drive in this country should have to pass a British driving test - this is not the first time that a fatality has happened as a result of a driver from overseas being ignorant .

I have every sympathy with Harry's parents, and can't imagine what they are going through; but I honestly don't know whether (Heaven forbid) if this happened to one of my children that I would feel any better about it if the person who accidentally killed them were punished.

I have thought about this a lot, and I just don't see how it would help. I can understand wanting revenge for a murder, or pleading with a kidnapper, or for a killer to say where the body is; but I just can't really get my head around something like this. A hit and run, if the driver could have helped the victim but ran off, is different, I think.

I'm sorry if that sounds insensitive. I'm really not, and I hope I never get to find out how I would feel for real.

Talking to friends on the other side of the Atlantic, Davidhs's position sounds as though it's probably correct. This woman is probably not her own agent. America can and will prevent its own citizens from leaving the US if it so pleases them.

Given that she fully cooperated with the police at the time and didn't claim DI at that point, I suspect she is being 'leant on' by a very heavy weight.

It's a tragedy for Harry's poor family, no one could think otherwise.

From Wikipaedia-

"In November 2013 Tom Watson MP, was reported as saying that there was: "an urgent need for “public scrutiny” of the activities at RAF Croughton. The US Air Force station is a major hub for American military and clandestine communications". It is reported to have been central to the monitoring of the mobile phone of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel."

Yes, I think she was definitely hustled back to the US pretty quickly!

Apparently, it's the only place outside of London where they do get diplomatic immunity.

Maybe she will be dealt with in the US courts.

Oh yes of course “any one who drives in this country should take a British test”
Total rubbish.
We don’t take a test to drive in Europe or in the US or any where else? ( China?)

The US is not going to waive this for the U.K. because dozens of other countries, some not very savory would claim the same. Why do they do it in this way - because they can, national security is more important than individual rights.

Croughton is a small base by US standards, a listening post that relays information to other establishments, it is not like our GCHQ at Cheltenham that employs hundreds of analysts.

It is part of a global system that endeavors to monitor electronic communications worldwide, realize, they can listen in or read any message they wish to, you, me, politicians, heads of state you name it. Personnel at Croughton probably maintain and install the equipment, much of which would be secret.

Could the woman's immoral behaviour have something to do with secrecy surrounding her husband's being a spy, plus sensitive information?

Has she been immoral?! >>pricks up ears for the goss<<

I agree with David, and also think the desition was taken out if her hands.

I feel so sorry for Harry's family.

She hasn’t diplomatic immunity, her husband didn’t register
her