‘Legal first’ as ex-councillor convicted and sentenced remotely in US

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. But the arrest warrant was rescinded after lawyers claimed the case of US citizen Anne Sacoolas, who was sentenced remotely for causing the death of Harry Dunn by careless driving, “undermined any suggestion that the same could not be done the other way round in this case”. I am so pleased to see that is still helping to restore the power imbalance and having an impact on the relations between the USA and UK in this case Charlotte Charles Barwell, who represented the Wheatley Hills and Intake ward on the council, made his first appearance before Westminster Magistrates’ Court on February 3 last year when extradition proceedings against him began. Court documents suggest he was detained in London for nine months pending his extradition to the US, before being released on an “extradition bond” to live with his mother. “It gives us some comfort that his legacy will be that the USA will never behave like this towards a British citizen again and they are now paying the price for treating us so badly.” Her words come after law firm Doughty Street Chambers, which represented Barwell in the UK, claimed the US government was “initially reluctant to set a precedent” for the remote proceedings, until the position was “overtaken” by the Sacoolas case.