The lawyer for Harry Dunn’s suspected killer has begun talks with the Foreign Office (FCO) to try and work towards a “resolution”.
Amy Jeffress, the lawyer representing Ann Sacoolas, 42, spoke with a senior FCO representative earlier this year.
The American, who is accused of causing the death of 19-year-old Mr Dunn in a car crash, is apparently keen to return to the UK to work towards a solution.
Reacting to the news of a dialogue being opened, Mr Dunn’s mother, Charlotte Charles, said: “It is almost impossible to describe how much we are suffering.
“It is now eight months since Harry died – his 20th birthday came and went last month.”
Ms Charles said the family now had “some hope”, adding that she was “pleased” to see a dialogue being opened up.
“As we have said from the start, we will get justice for our son,” she said.
The FCO is believed to have made it clear to Ms Jeffress, a national security lawyer, that any issues relating to the legal side of the case, including any attempt to quash the death by dangerous driving charge her client is facing, would be a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Ms Jeffress declined to comment further on her conversation with the FCO.
Dunn was killed when his motorbike crashed into a car outside RAF Croughton, a US military base in Northamptonshire, on 27 August last year.
Ms Sacoolas, whose husband is a US intelligence official based at RAF Croughton, claimed diplomatic immunity following the crash and returned to the US, sparking an international controversy.
An extradition request, submitted to the US by the Home Office, was rejected by American secretary of state Mike Pompeo in January – a move Boris Johnson described as a “denial of justice”.
“No-one is above the law. It is so important that Anne Sacoolas comes back to face our legal system,” Ms Charles said. “She should never have been allowed to leave and it has compounded our misery terribly.”
Ms Charles said the only “acceptable’’ resolution would be for Ms Sacoolas to go before the courts in England.
The Dunn’s family lawyer has previously called on the UK government to block the extradition of Julian Assange until the US agrees to hand over Anne Sacoolas.
Additional reporting by Press Association
