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The Guardian
11 hours ago
- The Guardian
Northamptonshire police apologise to Harry Dunn's family for failures investigating his death
Police investigating the death of the teenage motorcyclist Harry Dunn have apologised for 'clear and significant shortcomings' after a scathing review found the force 'failed his family on a number of fronts'. The 118-page report, which examined every aspect of Northamptonshire police's investigation, found a failure in senior leadership meant a critical incident was not declared when it should have been. It also criticised the force for not arresting the driver involved, Anne Sacoolas, after the crash, and not informing Dunn's family she had left the country until 10 days after they were notified she had done so. The force's head of protective services, assistant chief constable Emma James, said: '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, Harry, and his family who fought tirelessly in the years that followed to achieve justice for him.' She said the 'picture which emerges' from the review was one of a force that had 'failed the family on a number of fronts, and we hope the findings – which are troubling in several respects – will provide some answers to questions which the family will have wanted to know in the years that have passed'. Dunn was 19 years old in 2019 when he was killed after his motorcycle collided with a car driven by Sacoolas, a US citizen who was driving on the wrong side of the road outside RAF Croughton. Sacoolas returned to the US after Dunn's death, forcing his family to launch a years-long campaign for justice that resulted in her being convicted of causing death by careless driving in December 2022. Northamptonshire police's chief constable, Ivan Balhatchet, commissioned an independent review into how police handled the case after severe criticism from Dunn's family over a number of years. The review, published on Wednesday, made 38 separate recommendations, with the former chief constable Nick Adderley coming under particular censure for his communication with the family. There was also sharp criticism of the forensic recovery process and the discovery more than four years later of human tissue on Harry's clothing, which led to his family holding a second funeral in March 2024. The review concluded that Dunn's family 'lost trust and confidence' in the force and that as a 'direct result' of Adderley's actions, the investigation team struggled to rebuild relationships. Dunn's mother, Charlotte Charles, said: 'Today's review report confirms what we have known for years, that we were failed by the very people we should have been able to trust. 'Harry was left to die on the roadside. 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. 'These are failures no family should ever have to endure. I remain so angry at Adderley to this day.' Adderley was later dismissed for gross misconduct after it was found he had been wearing a Falklands war medal despite being 15 at the time of the conflict. Northamptonshire's police, fire and crime commissioner, Danielle Stone, said: 'Harry's family were profoundly let down when they most needed to have trust in Northamptonshire police. 'I have apologised to Harry's family – I am dismayed by how they were treated, and I know that no words can make up for the harm caused. This report is clear and unflinching. Now it has been published, I will ask the chief constable for assurance that the recommendations are being implemented, so that no other family has the same experience as Harry Dunn's.' Radd Seiger, a spokesperson for Dunn's family, said the report 'lays bare a series of grave errors' but praised the force for 'putting transparency first'. He said: 'It marks a real turning point compared to the disastrous and toxic Adderley regime.' James said: 'I hope some good comes out of this. We have taken a deep look at ourselves and hope the transparent way we have identified failings of the past will go some way to rebuilding the confidence of Harry's family and friends going forward as well as of the wider public at large.'
CairoScene
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Eklego Restyles Its Zamalek Showroom as a 20-Year Retrospective
Creative Director Emma James walks us through a seasonal transformation shaped by local fabrics and subtle storytelling. Every few seasons, Eklego Design Studio's Zamalek showroom undergoes a quiet, deliberate transformation. This time, the shift is as nuanced as it is intentional—trading in the bold, saturated palette that once anchored the space for a subdued layering of earthy neutrals. 'We previously had a very intense aubergine and dusky pink palette dominating our showroom which had been part of telling the story of our previous HELM furniture collection,' Emma James, Creative Director at Eklego, tells SceneHome. 'So for this latest rendition we really wanted to celebrate some of our favourite pieces from the collections that have evolved over the last 20 years and allow them to be the focus and for the walls enveloping them to provide a backdrop for this to take place.' Rather than introduce a single new line, the redesign is more of a retrospective—a curated celebration of Eklego's legacy. 'The intention was not only to strip back the walls to let the furniture speak, but to do so in a way that feels contextual, local, and rooted in memory,' she adds. The result is a space that's rooted in place and inspiration as to how much storytelling is possible even within a simpler palette. 'This is felt in part through the sourcing of local fabrics, the stripy green cotton is a fabric often seen in Egypt on tenting and car covers and is now reimagined as the slipcover on our Exchange sofa,' James explains. Textiles carry as much narrative weight as the furniture they dress. 'Art with themes of local botany and architecture are another layer of meaning,' James adds. 'The intention was for the colours to be layers of neutrals pertinent to the environment in one way or another, that really engage the person in the space, nurturing but also connecting to the world beyond the walls. Allowing people to envision these pieces in their own spaces in a way that is relatable but also unique.' Central to the new palette is the use of paint by Cairo-based brand GEB Finishes. 'We are working with GEB, a company that burst onto our local market with really exquisite colours inspired by a historically Egyptian palette,' says James. 'These finishes are in micro-cement and they will be launching a limewash collection soon!' Paint names become a quiet poetry of their own. 'Hedj Kenit in the Main space and Dining space, with the alcoves in this space enhanced with Desher 006, 007 and Kem Desher 008, 009 and 010. Kem Desher in the Living Room to the right. Almond in the corner living space.' Styling, in this updated showroom, relies on an intuitive push and pull between materials and mood. 'We really focused on building interest by layering texture and sculptural objects and furniture pieces,' James says. 'We covered a pair of chairs in naturally dyed Egyptian cotton with a motif of eucalyptus leaves initially created by laying out leaves on the fabric itself creating a gradation of greys.' Patterns and forms are echoed subtly, forming a recurring visual rhythm. 'Repetition of one shape in various materials and sizes and applications—for example spheres of wood, glass, marble and alabaster in the forms of furniture, lighting and sculpture—become a theme you will find repeated and connected throughout the space,' James notes. Colour, too, becomes structural. 'We definitely considered the undertones of the neutrals selected,' James explains. 'For example, in the Kem Desher Living Room, we found there to be undertones of pink within this mushroom tone and so leaned into this further with warm chocolate-stained wood finishes and hand-blown glass that also had a similar tint.' While pink might not be an obvious choice for a minimalist aesthetic, James leans into it with subtle confidence. 'In this space I would say you feel the pink mainly in the undertones of the colours. It is much more flattering for residential interiors, favouring the face more than greener undertones do.' Her reference is as romantic as it is practical. 'Old school decorators used to line the insides of table lamps with pink silk for a more attractive light to be cast on the company around,' she says. 'Some of the alcoves were completed in the more terracotta and less sugary shades of pink, flattering the Egyptian butterfly botanical prints hung within. These tones really do stand up well in a neutral conversation and are easy to scheme with the aspects of a neutral palette more familiar to us.' In the end, this latest showroom rendition feels like a study in restraint—but one that speaks volumes. A reflection of design that doesn't need to shout, but knows exactly what it wants to say Photography: Eklego
