Dunn's family 'can't forgive' ex-police chief for failings.

Northamptonshire Police apologises after a report into the handling of the teenager’s death in 2019 criticises the force and makes 38 recommendations

- Amy-Clare Martin

The family of teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn have said they will "never forgive" a disgraced former police chief as a new report lays bare a string of failures in the force's response to the incident. Northamptonshire Police has issued an apology over its handling of the investigation into the 19-year-old's death, which exploded into a transatlantic diplomatic row when it emerged that he had been hit by a US state department employee driving on the wrong side of the road.

Anne Sacoolas, who was able to leave the UK under diplomatic immunity laws 19 days after the crash, was not arrested at the scene after police prioritised her welfare over a "prompt and effective investigation", a review has concluded. The independent report, published today, concluded that the "overriding factor" in the decision by the officer at the scene not to arrest Sacoolas was that she appeared to be suffering from shock.

Dunn's mother, Charlotte Charles, said the 118-page report confirms "that we were failed by the very people we should have been able to trust". "Harry was left to die on the roadside," she said. "Sacoolas was not arrested, even though the police had every power to do so. She fled the country, and they didn't tell us. They mishandled vital evidence, including Harry's clothing, which we now know was left in storage for years with his remains still on it."

The review also criticised the actions of Northamptonshire Police's former chief constable Nick Adderley, whose "erroneous statements" about Sacoolas's immunity status led the Foreign Office to contact the force to ask him not to repeat them.