'XMAS STRUGGLE'
Harry Dunn’s parents’ agony over first Christmas without son and ‘pain’ of diplomat’s wife enjoying it with kids
HARRY Dunn's devastated parents have told of their agony of preparing for their first Christmas without their son and said it was "painful" to imagine US suspect Anne Sacoolas "with her big Christmas tree up".
Tim Dunn and Charlotte Charles will fly to the US today as they try to bring a private criminal prosecution against Mrs Sacoolas.
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Mrs Sacoolas was allegedly driving on the wrong side of the road when she hit 19-year-old Harry's motorbike outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on August 27.
She claimed diplomatic immunity after the incident and returned to the US on September 15, sparking an international outcry.
A file of evidence was handed to the Crown Prosecution Service on November 1 after Northamptonshire Police interviewed the 42-year-old in the US.
Harry's parents said they were going through "untold mental anguish" caused by what they call a "delay" in a charging decision in the 19-year-old's case.
Appearing on Lorraine today they told how Christmas was "going to be a struggle this year".
They said: "Harry loved Christmas, it was his favourite time of the year. He would have four or five Christmas jumpers, he loved it that much.
"Last year he wore a Santa hat over his helmet.
"It pains us to think she might be over there [in the US] with her big Christmas tree up and doing all her Christmas shopping for her three children and we're not able to even step outside the door to do any Christmas shopping."
Harry's mum added: "I promised Harry on the night we lost him that we would get justice for him...you make a promise to your children and you don't break it and we'll do anything to see it through."
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Harry's parents will travel to the US today and will use a legal precedent which is more than 240 years old to try to bring the private prosecution.
A precedent of being able to sue in one country, for something that happened in another, came about after John Mostyn, governor of Minorca, was forced to pay £3,000 in damages in 1775 by a London court, to a man who was wrongly banished on a charge of seditious behaviour.
Agnieska Fryszman, the Dunn's lawyer in the US, said: "There's a limit to what a civil suit can achieve. It cannot make Ms Sacoolas go back to Britain, but it can shine a light on what actually happened and contribute to the justice the family they feel they deserve."
In a statement on Monday, family spokesperson Radd Seiger said it "boggles the mind that no charge has yet been laid".
He said the family felt "completely let down and abandoned" over the case, more than 12 weeks the teenager died in a head-on collision.
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A CPS spokeswoman said: "We appreciate how difficult this time must be for Harry's loved ones and understand that his family are seeking answers.
"However, whilst the case is under active consideration, we are unable to meet with Harry's family to discuss its progress.
"The CPS is carefully considering all the available information, including the impact on Harry's family, in order to make an independent and objective charging decision.
"Our Chief Crown Prosecutor will meet with Harry's parents as soon as is it possible to provide them with an update."
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