Minister to raise airman strangulation case with US

Justice Secretary David Lammy says he will raise the case of an American fighter pilot, who avoided an English trial for strangling a university academic, with the United States government.

Capt Jacob Wulfson, who was based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, was tried by court martial, despite his alleged crime taking place in Cambridge while he was off duty.

He was convicted of strangulation, dismissed from the military and given six months' detention, but was cleared of sexual assault by an all-male panel at the USAF military hearing.

Lammy told the Commons on Tuesday his thoughts were with the victim, Dr Sarah Steele, and his officials were working to "establish the full facts".

Lammy described the case as "extremely concerning".

He was responding to a question from the Liberal Democrat justice spokeswoman, Jess Brown-Fuller, who argued that "victims of crimes on English soil should see justice served in our justice system".

As first reported by the Guardian, the case was not investigated by the local police and was instead handed to the US military.

Steele, who works at the University of Cambridge, met Wulfson via a dating app, and they arranged to meet for the first time at his flat in Cambridge in December 2023.

He was an F-35 pilot from the 495th Fighter Squadron.

The researcher described leaving the next day feeling that something untoward had happened.

Steele waived her right to anonymity when speaking to the newspaper and the BBC.

Previously, she told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme she had been the victim of "a character assassination" when she was cross-examined during the proceedings at RAF Lakenheath in April.

A Cambridgeshire Police spokesperson said it had contact with USAF in early December 2023 and it was agreed the American force would "take investigative primacy, with support provided by Cambridgeshire Constabulary as required".

"At that stage, information shared by the USAF indicated that the victim did not wish to be contacted by Cambridgeshire Constabulary and that key investigative steps had already been undertaken by USAF," they said.

"The constabulary's approach was therefore guided by a victim-led consideration."

The spokesperson added Steele confirmed with its officers she wished the matter to stay with the USAF investigation in February 2024.

But Steele told the Guardian that Cambridgeshire Constabulary did not get in touch to discuss whether she wanted the case to be handed over.

Calling for clearer guidance on who should prosecute such cases, she said: "I think it's really important that for the interests of justice and for the rights of victims, that we have clear framework discussion around this."

Speaking in the Commons, Lammy, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister, said: "Halving violence against women and girls is a decade mission for this government.

"This case is extremely concerning, and our thoughts, of course, are with the victim, Sarah, but given the cross-agency nature of this case, my officials are working across government and we're raising this case with the US government to establish the full facts."

Downing Street previously said it was "very concerning that a case like this never reached the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service)".

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