On Wednesday, June 18, 2025, an independent review cast a harsh light on the leadership failures of Nick Adderley, the disgraced former Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police, revealing how his actions severely undermined the investigation into the tragic death of 19-year-old Harry Dunn. The report, commissioned by current Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet, detailed a series of missteps and misjudgments by Adderley that not only impeded the pursuit of justice but also deepened the trauma experienced by the Dunn family.
Harry Dunn was killed in August 2019 when his motorbike was struck by a car driven on the wrong side of the road near RAF Croughton by Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence official. Despite the gravity of the incident, Sacoolas was not arrested at the scene and was allowed to leave the UK under diplomatic immunity, sparking a prolonged and emotionally charged campaign by Harry’s family for accountability. After three years of relentless pursuit, Sacoolas ultimately pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving via video link at the Old Bailey and received a suspended sentence.
However, the investigation into Harry’s death was marred by significant leadership failings, many traced back to Adderley. The review found that under his command, there was a "lack of co-ordination and adherence to professional standards guidance (APP)," which compromised the integrity of the investigation. Adderley’s leadership was described as prioritising the welfare of Sacoolas over a "prompt and effective investigation," a decision that raised serious questions about police priorities in such a high-profile case.
One of the most glaring errors highlighted in the report was Adderley’s repeated inaccurate statements regarding Sacoolas’s diplomatic immunity status. He erroneously suggested that Sacoolas herself could waive her diplomatic immunity, a claim firmly refuted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), which clarified that immunity belongs solely to the sending state—in this case, the United States. The FCO went so far as to reprimand Adderley and requested that he cease making such erroneous statements. These inaccuracies were not only misleading but also undermined public confidence and complicated diplomatic sensitivities surrounding the case.
The report also criticised Adderley for failing to properly coordinate communication, particularly during a press conference in October 2019 where inaccurate information was disseminated to the national press without prior fact-checking by the senior investigating officer (SIO). This lack of diligence contributed to confusion and mistrust among all parties involved.
Relations between the police force and the Dunn family deteriorated significantly during Adderley’s tenure. The review described the breakdown as "avoidable," attributing much of the damage to Adderley’s conduct. A particularly striking example was a tweet from Adderley responding to the family’s intentions to sue Sacoolas in the United States with the dismissive remark: "How sad but how predictable." Such public displays of insensitivity only intensified the family’s anguish and eroded any remaining trust.
Charlotte Charles, Harry Dunn’s mother, did not hold back in her condemnation of Adderley. Speaking to LBC, she called him a "vindictive, lying little man," accusing him of deepening the family’s trauma throughout the investigation. She expressed a gut feeling of mistrust from the very beginning, saying, "From the outset, as with many other things with our case and our campaign, there was just something in the pit of my stomach that told me not to trust… my spider senses, for want of a better word, my unease throughout the whole of my body when I was around him or near him." Her words underscored the profound personal impact of the police leadership’s failings on the family.
Charlotte also highlighted Adderley’s personal attacks on Radd Seiger, the family’s spokesperson and neighbour, who had been their staunchest ally when official support was lacking. She stated, "We will never forgive him for launching personal attacks on our neighbour and spokesperson Radd Seiger—the one human being in our tragedy who had the courage to stand up and help us when the police and our own government refused to do that." Her relief that Adderley has been removed from policing was palpable: "I’m glad he is long gone and will never be able to police again. He’s a nasty, vindictive, lying little man, and we are all safer now that he has gone."
The review did not spare the broader force from criticism. It found that the Gold group command structure implemented by Adderley was "not fit for purpose" and failed to align with professional standards. Adderley’s decision to bypass proper channels by communicating directly with the family’s spokesman via social media without informing the investigation team further undermined efforts to rebuild trust. The report concluded that these leadership failures significantly contributed to the loss of confidence in Northamptonshire Police from the Dunn family and the wider public.
Additionally, the investigation itself suffered from procedural errors. Police officers at the scene did not arrest Sacoolas, despite there being no confirmation of her diplomatic immunity at the time. The report noted that officers appeared to prioritise her welfare over the necessity of arrest, a decision lacking sufficient explanation and failing to meet the full legal test under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. Vital evidence, including Harry’s clothing, was mishandled and left in storage with biological matter still present years later, compounding the family's distress. Northamptonshire Police issued a formal apology for these failings.
Assistant Chief Constable Emma James expressed deep regret on behalf of the force, stating, "On behalf of Northamptonshire Police, I want to apologise to Harry’s family for what is now clear was a failure on our part to do the very best for the victim in this case and for the family who fought tirelessly in the years that followed." She acknowledged the troubling nature of the findings and expressed hope that the report’s transparency would help rebuild trust with the family and the public.
Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Danielle Stone also voiced her anger over Adderley’s conduct, particularly condemning his use of Twitter to comment on the family’s tragedy. She said, "In all our dealings with victims and witnesses, we need to put them first—we need to centre them. And his range of behaviours around that was so unacceptable. I don’t understand it. Why would anybody take to Twitter, for example, with something so profoundly awful as a family losing their child? Completely unacceptable." Stone further criticised Adderley for undermining his own staff and failing to establish the necessary command structure to support the investigation.
The independent review concluded with 38 recommendations, calling for a national reassessment of how police forces handle incidents involving foreign nationals and serious road collisions. Among these was a call for adopting an "investigative mindset" at serious road crashes and improving procedures for recovering material evidence from collision scenes.
Charlotte Charles welcomed the report’s transparency but stressed that the lessons must extend beyond Northamptonshire. "No family should ever again be treated the way we were," she said. "But today, at least, the truth of the failings of Adderley and the force he ‘led’ has been recognised." Her words serve as a stark reminder of the human cost behind institutional failures and the enduring quest for justice in the face of adversity.
