Dominic Casciani
Legal Correspondent at the Old Bailey

This sentence is perhaps the most inevitable outcome of a deeply complex case.

Mrs Justice Chema-Grubb could not give Sacoolas a community order, such as unpaid work because, in her words, "it's obvious no enforcement can be carried out."

An immediate jail sentence would have needed Sacoolas to surrender to the court.

And so the judge said the only real option was a suspended sentence plus a driving ban - in the UK.

Anne Sacoolas has been sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 12 months.

She has also been disqualified from driving for 12 months.

The judge confirmed she granted the application for Sacoolas to appear virtually because the US government advised her against returning to the UK.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb describes the US as placing a "barrier" on her return, with Sacoolas lawyers asserting in her application that Sacoolas's "US Government employer" said her appearance would place "significant US interest at risk"

Sacoolas was "not at liberty to disclose further information," the judge says, laying out what the granted application said.

The judge says Sacoolas was due to be sentenced on 1 December but on 24 November, the court received a renewed application to appear via live video link due to harassment and threats that she and her family had received, mainly over social media and many of which were in the US.

The judge says an assessment of this gave rise to the risk to her personal safety if Sacoolas travelled to the UK to face sentencing.

"It did not include any reference to a barrier imposed by government authorities to your travelling to London to face sentence in person," the judge said.

As a consequence of what the court received she asked the prosecution to provide a response to the material submitted, the judge says.

The judge says it was in the public interest for Sacoolas to enter her plea, and it would not defeat the interests of justice if that was achieved by her participating through a live link.

She says at no point during the proceedings had it been suggested Sacoolas was not free and able to travel to the UK to appear in person.

Once Sacoolas had pleaded guilty, and therefore a convicted offender, there was little reason in the case for her not to be required to attend court for sentence.

Sacoolas’s bail was not withdrawn and she was directed to attend the court in person, the judge adds.

"I directed you to attend and observed that attendance in person would be strong evidence of remorse," she tells Sacoolas.

Sacoolas had a duty to surrender to the court, she says, as per the bail act 1976.

Her failure to attend when directed to do so is an offence and it has the potential to affect the court's ability to administer justice.

The judge has been explaining the background of how the case came to court, including the denial of an extradition request from the UK by the US government.

She says: "There is no doubt that the calm and dignified persistence of these parents and the family of that young man has led, through three years of heartbreak and effort, to your appearance before the court and the opportunity for you to acknowledge your guilt of a crime."

The judge says Harry Dunn suffered multiple severe injuries; he was very gravely ill when taken to hospital and died soon afterwards.

"You were not arrested at the time you did not remain in the UK, you left on 15 September 2019," she tells Sacoolas.

She says Sacoolas submitted to a voluntary interview with the police in Washington DC on 28 October and admitted she was responsible.

She says a request for her extradition was submitted in 2020 and it was denied.

Immunity from criminal prosecution was claimed by the US for Sacoolas and accepted by the British government, the judge says, adding that she "did indeed enjoy that immunity at the time of the accident".

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb says there was a slight bend and rise in the road at the point of collision.

The judge says the impact with the front of Sacoolas car threw Dunn onto the front and over the top of it until he landed on the road.

Dunn's bike caught fire and he was pushed backwards. Another driver arrived and called emergency services, she says.

Sacoolas got out and realised what happened, and became distressed. She spoke to Dunn and removed her children from her car.

She then called her husband and the RAF base.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb says Sacoolas confirmed what happened was her fault to the police, and that she was on the wrong side of the road.

Sacoolas took a breath test and it was negative. She told the police she had made a mistake.

The judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, has begun to lay out the facts of the case, including that there was good visibility on the road where Harry Dunn was hit.

She says she was driving on the wrong side of the road for about 350m where it hit the 19-year-old.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb says Dunn had spent the day with his best friend, he was happy and loved motorbikes, adding there was no suggestion he had been driving anything other than properly.

"Excessive speed was not involved on either side", she adds.

The court video feed has now begun, and the judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, is about to deliver her sentencing remarks for Anne Sacoolas.

Stay with us for live updates - you can also watch the feed from the court at the top of this page.

Image source, PA Media

While we wait for the sentencing, let's recap some of what Harry Dunn's mother Charlotte Charles told the BBC back in November.

After Anne Sacoolas admitted causing her son's death by careless driving, she said she hoped her son would become a landmark name.

Speaking to BBC Radio Northampton, Charles said :"We have put ourselves out there... Harry has had to become household name to get justice done.

"When you choose to embark on a campaign, you have to take the rough with the smooth.

"The support we have had has been immense.

“Without the support of the public and media, we wouldn't be here - it has all been worth it.

"Our job is done. It's over to the judge now”.

Dominic Casciani
Legal Correspondent at the Old Bailey

Anne Sacoolas has admitted causing death by careless driving. This is the lower of two related offences - the other being causing death by dangerous driving.

As with all offences, other than the mandatory life sentence for murder, the judge has a wide range of options.

Some first-time offenders may be given a community order which usually has a number of elements, including unpaid work, joining a rehabilitation programme is required and curfews.

For more serious incidents, particularly where a lack of remorse or co-operation is a factor, judges are advised by the Sentencing Council to consider jail sentences of up to three years - although the maximum is five.

A jail sentence can be suspended - meaning it won't be served unless the individual commits another offence.

But here's the thing: Anne Sacoolas is out of the country - and the jurisdiction of the British courts to enforce a sentence does not extend to America. The UK could theoretically seek to enforce a jail term by seeking extradition - but we're into the realms of speculation there.

The law recently changed to allow judges' sentencing remarks to be broadcast live in England and Wales.

Although Scotland has already been doing this for years, filming inside English and Welsh court rooms was only brought in as recently as July.

The thinking is that if the public could see the judiciary process, they could have more confidence in the system.

In England and Wales though, only four organisations can film: the BBC, ITN, Sky and PA Media and they have to apply to the judge to film the sentencing remarks of a case.

Even then, they can only film the remarks made by the most senior judges.

No-one else can be filmed apart from them so cameras won’t be allowed to film victims, witnesses or jurors.

So it is still early days for cameras in courts, but no doubt seeing rather than reading judge’s remarks on the news will become more and more commonplace going forward.

The judge has now risen to consider her sentence.

We're expecting a decision very soon.

When Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb begins her remarks you'll be able to watch the proceedings live by clicking the green play icon at the top of the page.

Dominic Casciani
Legal Correspondent

Ben Cooper KC suggests a deferred sentence or unpaid work - ie a community order.

But the judge says that's vague and it won't find favour with her court given the complexities of the case. How is such a sentence enforceable, she asks.

"Sentencing is deferred because there is a particular object or purpose. What are the specific matters that could be accomplished?"

Cooper replies that Anne Sacoolas is willing to undertake voluntary work with victims of trauma linked to a veterans association.

Dominic Casciani
Legal Correspondent at the Old Bailey

Ben Cooper KC tells the court that there is "strong mitigation" to reduce any sentence, including Mrs Sacoolas's conduct at the scene, her admission of full responsibility and the remorse she has expressed.

He says she surrendered to the criminal process. "Regrettably she has herself been subjected to extensive death threats."

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb asks if the defence disagrees with the prosecution's case that the offence is at the highest of three levels.

Cooper says he does not dispute that - but urges the court to consider all the mitigating factors and therefore reduce a sentence.

Dominic Casciani
Legal Correspondent at the Old Bailey

Ben Cooper KC for Anne Sacoolas says she is deeply remorseful and reads a statement for her, in which she describes her "tragic mistake".

He says she did not seek the diplomatic immunity that dragged out her prosecution. "I want to extend my sincere condolences to Harry Dunn’s family and friends," reads the statement.

“I am deeply sorry for the pain that I have caused and it is for that reason that I have been committed to a resolution of this case. I know there is nothing I can say to change what has happened.

"I cannot imagine the loss and I too deeply grieve for Harry and his family."

Dominic Casciani
Legal Correspondent at the Old Bailey

Duncan Atkinson KC, prosecuting, is back on his feet and advising the judge on the sentencing range for causing death by careless driving.

He argues that the incident falls into the highest of three technical levels for the type of sentence - being a "terribly serious incident" that is "not far short" of the higher offence of causing death by dangerous driving.

He says the starting point for the judge is a jail term of 15 months. The sentence carries a mandatory driving ban of at least 12 months.

Harry's mother Charlotte Charles has been speaking in court just now, but back in October, after Anne Sacoolas pleaded guilty to causing her son’s death, she spoke in detail about promise she made to Harry to pursue justice.

She spoke about fulfilling her pledge to her son to get justice, a promise she made to him on the night he died.

"I had no idea of what laid ahead, I had no idea that it was going to be this hard,” she said.

“Getting to court and getting to where we are now has been the most monumental thing for me because I can talk to him now and tell him we've done it. Promise complete.

"I feel I can breathe easier. I don't have that guilt on my shoulders of not having done it yet.”

Read more here.

Dominic Casciani
Legal Correspondent at the Old Bailey

Charlotte Charles tells the court that Harry's twin, Niall, has been hit very hard by his brother's death.

"He’s not the proud young man he was in 2019. He is a shell of himself."