EXC: Ministers warned 2 days after death of #HarryDunn of serious ambiguity around Sacoolas's claim of diplomatic immunity.
BUT they failed to tell police.
🚨The CPS say it is for police to determine if a suspect has immunity NOT govt, but FCO withheld info until she had fled.
Harry's mum Charlotte Charles says tonight that the revelation makes her more determined to have her day in court against @foreignoffice and @NorthantsChief...
Foreign Affairs committee calls on Raab to urgently clarify what is going on...
More to follow... 1/ of many
Harry died 27 August last year, on 29/30 @ChrisPincher and @HeatherWheeler were briefed that the American citizen suspected of death by dangerous driving had am er less than watertight case of diplomatic immunity... this warning was also sent to Raab and Perm Sec @SMcDonaldFCO /2
Yet on 2 September, after talks with US, FCO emailed Northants Police to say Anne Sacoolas DID have diplomatic immunity. However, law states that it was for the cops not the government to decide this matter. The FCO are accused of withholding key information at this point... /3
Its claimed the FCO sat on this information for a further two weeks. Northants Police are preparing to argue in the High Court that the FCO did not tell them about doubts over Sacoolas immunity, nor the fact the US Govt had turned down a waiver.. until after Sacoolas fled UK /4
There are claims they would have sought the power of arrest to stop her leaving, had they known sooner.. but that is moot now, tragically. But senior figures in Whitehall seem to be waking up to the fact that something appears to have gone badly wrong in this awful case... /5
It's no comments all round as per... But the police did not deny last night that they stopped investigating the immunity issue after this intervention from the FCO... despite it being their job.
As reported in MoS tomo.. blame game well underway. Could get messy. #BuyAPaper /end
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