Mother of Harry Dunn criticises killer's refusal to attend her son's inquest

Harry Dunn's mother has said she is "unspeakably hurt" that her son's killer, Anne Sacoolas, has refused to attend the inquest into his death, saying it was "bitterly disappointing and, as a mother, utterly incomprehensible".

- Jessica Murray

An inquest into Dunn's death resumed yesterday, almost five years after the 19-year-old was killed when his motorcycle collided head-on with Sacoolas, who was driving on the wrong side of the road outside RAF Croughton, a US military base in Northamptonshire.

Last year, the Northamptonshire senior coroner, Anne Pember, invited Sacoolas to attend the inquest remotely, an offer that "had not been taken up", the inquest heard. Her evidence will be read out in court instead.

Speaking through tears at the hearing, Charlotte Charles, Dunn's mother said: "Learning that Anne Sacoolas will not be attending Harry's inquest this week was bitterly disappointing and, as a mother, is utterly incomprehensible to me.

"She could have chosen to give me and our family this opportunity to finally understand what led to Harry's death that night," she said. "I am unspeakably hurt that she has chosen to hide instead and it cannot help but feel disrespectful to Harry."