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WorldQuiet 8d · day 8

MoD docs: Cambridgeshire police wrongly handed US pilot case to military

Freedom of Information release shows Ministry of Defence officials privately condemned the handover of a murder investigation to US forces as a breach of a decades-old bilateral agreement.

newest coverage 8d agosummary written 7d ago3 pieces NewswiresGoogle NewsReddit

What to know

  • Declassified MoD documents show UK government officials privately concluded Cambridgeshire police wrongly handed the Wulfson case to US military jurisdiction in clear breach of a decades-old bilateral agreement granting UK police primary investigative rights.
  • The US-UK agreement permits US military jurisdiction only in narrow circumstances—crimes committed on duty or against other military personnel or property—neither of which applied to Wulfson's alleged crime.
  • The case prompted a government-wide inquiry into how police forces have been systematically transferring serious crime investigations to US military police, with the MoD playing a lead role.

“deeply distressing”

Downing Street, UK government · The Guardian ↗

Captain Jacob Wulfson US Air Force officer accusedSarah Steele VictimCambridgeshire police Investigating authorityMinistry of Defence UK government departmentDowning Street UK government executive

MoD docs: Cambridgeshire police wrongly handed US pilot case to military
theguardian.com

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 3 pieces in two hours at Oct 31, 8 AM; 3 pieces over 8 days (2 articles · 1 post) Oct 31, 8 AM — 3 pieces · 2 articles · 1 post — Google News 1, Newswires 1, Reddit 1Oct 31, 10 AM — quietOct 31, 12 PM — quietOct 31, 2 PM — quietOct 31, 4 PM — quietOct 31, 6 PM — quietOct 31, 8 PM — quietOct 31, 10 PM — quietNov 1, 12 AM — quietNov 1, 1 AM — quietNov 1, 3 AM — quietNov 1, 5 AM — quietNov 1, 7 AM — quietNov 1, 9 AM — quietNov 1, 11 AM — quietNov 1, 1 PM — quietNov 1, 3 PM — quietNov 1, 5 PM — quietNov 1, 7 PM — quietNov 1, 9 PM — quietNov 1, 11 PM — quietNov 2, 1 AM — quietNov 2, 3 AM — quietNov 2, 5 AM — quietNov 2, 7 AM — quietNov 2, 9 AM — quietNov 2, 11 AM — quietNov 2, 1 PM — quietNov 2, 3 PM — quietNov 2, 5 PM — quietNov 2, 7 PM — quietNov 2, 9 PM — quietNov 2, 11 PM — quietNov 3, 1 AM — quietNov 3, 3 AM — quietNov 3, 5 AM — quietNov 3, 7 AM — quietNov 3, 9 AM — quietNov 3, 11 AM — quietNov 3, 1 PM — quietNov 3, 3 PM — quietNov 3, 5 PM — quietNov 3, 7 PM — quietNov 3, 9 PM — quietNov 3, 11 PM — quietNov 4, 1 AM — quietNov 4, 3 AM — quietNov 4, 5 AM — quietNov 4, 7 AM — quietNov 4, 9 AM — quietNov 4, 11 AM — quietNov 4, 1 PM — quietNov 4, 3 PM — quietNov 4, 5 PM — quietNov 4, 7 PM — quietNov 4, 9 PM — quietNov 4, 11 PM — quietNov 5, 1 AM — quietNov 5, 3 AM — quietNov 5, 5 AM — quietNov 5, 7 AM — quietNov 5, 9 AM — quietNov 5, 11 AM — quietNov 5, 1 PM — quietNov 5, 3 PM — quietNov 5, 5 PM — quietNov 5, 7 PM — quietNov 5, 9 PM — quietNov 5, 11 PM — quietNov 6, 1 AM — quietNov 6, 3 AM — quietNov 6, 5 AM — quietNov 6, 7 AM — quietNov 6, 9 AM — quietNov 6, 11 AM — quietNov 6, 1 PM — quietNov 6, 3 PM — quietNov 6, 5 PM — quietNov 6, 7 PM — quietNov 6, 9 PM — quietNov 6, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 3 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quietToday, 7 AM — quietToday, 9 AM — quiet 1
Nov 1Nov 2Nov 3Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6yesterdaynow · 11:49 AM ET
  1. 1

    MoD documents released; officials say handover breached agreement

    Freedom of Information Act release reveals private MoD correspondence showing officials concluded that Cambridgeshire police should "absolutely" not have transferred the investigation to US military police, as it breached a decades-old agreement granting UK police primary investigative rights over crimes by Americans in the country except in narrow circumstances.

    “as best as we understand the facts, this should absolutely have been for the UK courts…”
    — MoD official
    1. 2 outlets UK police should not have let US force take over airbase trial, MoD documents show

      first by Guardian, 8d ago · also The Guardian

  2. background

    MoD memo states case fails jurisdiction threshold — MoD officials based in Washington wrote in a memo that the Steele case "does not, on the surface, appear to meet the bar for a visiting force to be awarded jurisdiction" under the bilateral agreement.

  3. background

    Greater Manchester police officer calls handover wrongful — An unidentified Greater Manchester police officer emailed MoD officials stating that Cambridgeshire police had "wrongly, in my view" handed over the Wulfson investigation to the US military.

  4. background

    MoD officials flag case as breach of US-UK agreement — In an email, MoD officials noted that "the decision-making on this specific case seemed at odds with what is very clear" in the US-UK agreement governing jurisdiction over American military personnel in the UK.

  5. background

    Government announces high-level inquiry into police handovers — Following the June disclosure, the government established a high-level inquiry to examine how and why police forces have been transferring investigations into serious crimes to the US military police. The MoD is one of the key departments participating in the inquiry.

  6. background

    Guardian discloses Wulfson case; Downing Street responds — The Guardian's initial disclosure of the case involving US Air Force Captain Jacob Wulfson's strangling of British woman Sarah Steele prompted criticism from Downing Street, which called it "deeply distressing" and "very concerning" that UK authorities were not involved in prosecuting him.