Donald Trump has said Boris Johnson asked for a grieving British family to meet the suspect in their son’s death at the White House - an offer they refused as it felt like an “ambush”.
The parents of Harry Dunn, 19, met the US President on Tuesday as they took their campaign for justice to America.
The teenager parents, Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, are angry that US diplomat’s wife Anne Sacoolas, the main suspect in the crash that saw Harry killed, left the UK after the incident under diplomatic immunity.
After being told Sacoolas was in the building when Harry’s parents were meeting Trump, the family refused the offer.
The family spokesman, Radd Seiger, said that the family felt “ambushed” when the “bombshell” was dropped that Sacoolas was next door.
Speaking to journalists in the White House about his meeting with Harry’s parents, Trump said he thought the teenager’s parents were “ready” to meet 42-year-old Sacoolas.
He said: “(Sacoolas) was in the room right out there – we met right here and I offered to bring the person in question in and they weren’t ready for it – I did offer.
“Boris, he asked me if I’d do that and I did it. Unfortunately they wanted to meet with her and unfortunately when we had everybody together they decided not to meet – perhaps they had lawyers involved at that time – I don’t know.
“The people were lovely, they were very nice and desperately sad.”
He added: “I thought they were, based on what I saw, ready to meet – but now they say they only want to meet when they are in the UK and that’ll be up to them.”
Sacoolas has since said she was “disappointed” a meeting did not take place.
A statement issued by Sacoolas’ lawyer Amy Jeffress said: “We are trying to handle the matter privately and look forward to hearing from the family or their representatives.
“Anne accepted the invitation to the White House with the hope that the family would meet and was disappointed.”
Sacoolas has previously said she is “terribly sorry” about the incident and that she had “no time to react” when she saw Dunn’s motorbike following the incident near RAF Croughton on August 27.