How should they play it?

The parents of Harry Dunne, killed in a hit and run incident by a woman driving on the wrong side of the road, met with President Trump yesterday to talk about what happens next. They can’t really have expected him to waive diplomatic immunity for the woman in question and force her to return to Britain to face justice. That would fly in the face of a convention in place for nearly 50 years; indeed, I think very few nations would have either. But the surprise came when Trump told the grieving parents he had the woman in an adjoining room and invited them to speak to each other.

But they declined such a meeting, insisting that the only outcome they were interested in was her coming back to Britain to face prosecution for causing death by careless or dangerous driving. And leaving the scene of an accident. But were they right to turn down a face to face meeting? If it had been me, I don’t think I could have resisted the chance to look into her eyes and say: “So, do you believe in taking responsibility for your actions?” And if the answer comes back yes, they could ask why in that case is she choosing to hide behind the cloak of diplomatic immunity. It wouldn’t change anything, but it might have made them feel a bit better to see her squirm. And can they not still sue her in the U.S. for wrongful death, maybe winning millions of dollars in damages?

I hope they do. I have made mistakes in my life, some of them serious, but I have always taken responsibility for my actions. And Mrs Sacoolas should do the same.

These are difficult, if not agonising decisions for a grieving family to make. I just hope they’re being advised by the best lawyers in America about how to take their case forward. And that they take that advice when it is offered.