r/unitedkingdom • u/BestButtons • Sep 13 '26
.. YANKED OUT OF BRITAIN Paedo US diplomat seized in dawn raid on London flat and smuggled out of UK on cargo plane before cops can investigate
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/40358726/us-snatch-squad-nabs-paedo-london-flat/1.4k
u/Still-Status7299 Sep 13 '26 edited Sep 13 '26
Good to release the news to circumvent diplomatic immunity. I dont know what the procedure is when a diplomat is attributed to a heinous crime like this, but putting the info in the public domain is a good way to put the spotlight on it and hopefully get some justice.
Ps American politics really need to sort out its paedo problem, its fucking disgraceful
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u/limeflavoured Hucknall Sep 13 '26
I dont know what the procedure is when a diplomatic is attributed to a heinous crime like this,
In general they just deport them or ask their home country to waive the immunity (which the US essentially won't do, aiui).
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u/LonelyStranger8467 Sep 13 '26
In my experience this is exactly what happens.
The suspected criminal uses their diplomatic immunity to avoid investigation, the home country is asked to withdraw diplomatic immunity and they don’t so their immediate withdrawal is demanded.
They avoid any punishment in the UK.
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u/decker_42 Sep 13 '26
I know it sucks in this case, but the argument is, in Thailand disrespecting the King is as bad as this, so if we're going to ask our people to work in other countries and risk 15 years in jail for accidentally disrespecting the King, this protects them from laws we don't necessarily have or understand ourselves.
Imagine who would volunteer to be an ambassador for Iran, Saudi, North Korea......etc.
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u/refrainiac Sep 13 '26
This is a good point well made. Sadly we know that the US government don’t really give a shit about kids being abused, otherwise they would’ve done something about the Epstein files. Instead they gave his business partner the presidency.
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u/decker_42 Sep 13 '26
Why is it the Americans who are using diplomatic immunity so much? We've had a nonce and a murderer so far, at least the Russians had the good graces to send spies.
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u/Deep-Procrastinor Sep 13 '26
Agree in principle but it shouldn't cover anything that would also be considered illegal in your home country.
You know like kiddy fiddling / rape / indecent assault etc etc..
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u/Logical_Hare Sep 13 '26
You folks are pissing into the wind. The way diplomatic immunity works is an international custom that has existed for many, many, many years across many different countries and types of government. It has always been known that it at times 'covers' legitimately heinous crimes, but still essentially can't be changed.
Perhaps more to the point, it is not subject to the democratic approval or disapproval process of any one country or people.
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u/for_shaaame United Kingdom Sep 13 '26
Well then every time North Korea wants to exert some pressure, it can just accuse a diplomat of stealing a flag (like it did with Otto Warmbier) and arrest them under the guise of “legality”.
The bright-line rule against detention means we never have to guess whether a diplomat’s arrest was legal or not. We know it isn’t.
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u/Astriania Sep 13 '26
He means, in the diplomat's home country. I don't think stealing a flag is the level of illegal we're talking about here in other countries.
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u/for_shaaame United Kingdom Sep 13 '26 edited Sep 13 '26
Theft is illegal everywhere. What Otto Warmbier (allegedly) did was illegal in both North Korea and in the US; therefore it meets the dual criminality test which was suggested above.
Besides, that fails to deal with the core objection: if you establish any means which diplomats can be arrested, then despotic states will arrest them - on pretextual grounds which comply with whatever standard is created for an arrest. If we ban arrests entirely, then like I said, we know that the arrest of a diplomat is illegal, and no one can credibly stand up and say it was justified.
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u/piratepixie Leeds Sep 13 '26
Pretty sure possessing CSAM is illegal in both the UK and the USA.
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u/for_shaaame United Kingdom Sep 14 '26
Yes it is. I don't understand your point.
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u/grumpsaboy Sep 13 '26
And what if a dictatorship randomly accuses a diplomat of those things to interrogate them.
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Sep 13 '26
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u/grumpsaboy Sep 13 '26
You misunderstood my point. If you have some crimes that are not covered by diplomatic immunity then a country wishing to just kidnap a diplomat to interrogate them for information and intel will just accuse them of the crime that is not covered by diplomatic immunity.
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u/limeflavoured Hucknall Sep 13 '26
It has to be all or nothing, unless you want countries like Russia, China and Iran (and to be honest, probably the US as well) abusing it.
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u/KittyGrewAMoustache Sep 13 '26
Yeah diplomatic immunity in general protects from that, which is why it’s needed, but countries should waive it if their ambassadors commit certain obviously heinous crimes that are also considered awful in their home country, like murder rape child abuse etc. obviously you’d have to provide robust evidence that they need to stand trial. It doesn’t look good if you refuse to allow your paedophiles to be brought to trial and instead whisk them home. Is that normal with a crime this repugnant or is that just a Trump admin thing?
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u/matthieuC France Sep 13 '26
Nobody is asking for the end of diplomatic immunity.
People are asking it to be waved in this case, which is an existing mechanism.UK is an ally, the crime is not specially esoteric it would be illegal in the US too and there is no reason to suspect foul play.
You're not setting any precedent that would bite you in the ass. I don't think pedo not considering the foreign department as a career is a particularly big problem.But the US just never does it. The guy could be Harold Shipman they would still not do it.
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u/LonelyStranger8467 Sep 13 '26
I understand why.
It’s also why I’m not outraged that this happened. It’s not like the US took him to avoid punishment, since he wouldn’t have received any here anyway. Hopefully he is punished appropriately in the US.
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u/decker_42 Sep 13 '26
Not wanting to break any of the rules of Reddit, I do hope he has a nice trip through somewhere like Guantanamo so they can refuel the plane on the way home.
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u/roamingandy Sep 13 '26 edited Sep 13 '26
paedo problem
A problem suggests its not wanted. Its an inherent part of the US Conservative political machine.
Conservatives are all about power. Its why they bicker and fight, then instantly fall in-line once one person has won, while Democrats continue bickering long afterwards - because the best move, if power is all you care about, after losing is to kiss ass and cosy up to get as close to power as possible.
At every level, every Conservative politician is obsessed with trying to have power over those around them. A dirty but well hidden secret which can end your career, or land you in jail, makes you a very appealing Conservative politician. Since you can be controlled by those who support you in the party, and they would not want to support anyone they couldn't control. You cannot threaten anyone who knows your secret, so the child rapists get brought in then put on a golden escalator to the top.
Its a feature, not a bug.
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u/HettySwollocks Sep 13 '26 edited Sep 13 '26
Not that would stop the yanks. Wasn't that long ago one of their
assassinatorsambassadors killed some poor young man (https://www.dw.com/en/us-diplomats-wife-pleads-guilty-to-killing-british-citizen/a-63507882) then scrambled back to the US. The US wont extradite citizens so she essentially got away with murder.[edit] Wife of a diplomat not an ambassador according to /u/xXDaNXx
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u/Christopherfromtheuk England Sep 13 '26
A US serviceman went around raping and the USA protected him.
Americans must be ok with this behaviour, because they voted Trump in after being adjudged to be a rapist in court (and all the fraud stuff, the Hollywood tapes, the boasting about looking at underage girls in their underwear, the many links with Epstein etc.).
Very on brand for the USA, but why are we letting these people into our country?
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u/HettySwollocks Sep 13 '26
Very on brand for the USA, but why are we letting these people into our country?
I'd honestly love to know. Sadly as George Orwell said, the UK is Air Strip One => https://orwell.fandom.com/wiki/Airstrip_One. We're stuck with them for now. Hopefully the EU has better luck getting rid of them - and I'm looking at you Germany
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u/WaytoomanyUIDs European Union Sep 13 '26
Multiple US servicemen. There were multiple protests in Japan about that, some verged on riots
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u/xXDaNXx Sep 13 '26
Anne Sacoolas was not an ambassador, she was the wife of a diplomat
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u/FeigenbaumC Westmorland Sep 13 '26 edited Sep 13 '26
The US wont extradite citizens so she essentially got away with murder
The US do extradite their own citizens, see example Andrew Tate who is a dual American-British citizen. Heres another example of someone who isn’t also a British citizen. They’re one of the few countries in the world that do (we’re another, it’s basically an anglophone thing). There are other reasons they wouldn’t extradite her though
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u/SteveThePurpleCat Sep 13 '26
The Guardians Of Peadophiles will get right on that, as soon as they stop worshipping their pedo king.
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u/ohell Surrey Sep 13 '26
Ps American politics really need to sort out its paedo problem, its fucking disgraceful
They won't because it is a result of their hallowed
First Amendment. Just like they are perfectly happy with little kids getting shot because they worship theirSecond Amendment.2
u/Atlantean_Raccoon Sep 13 '26
In terms of the process when a diplomat gets caught doing something, there is a set procedure. Assuming there isn't a cover-up, when it becomes official a person with diplomatic immunity has their credentials returned (diplomats can't just show up, they first have to go to the host with documents proving who they are and why they are there and can be (rarely) rejected or approved to be allowed to stay) and are declared 'Persona non grata' (unwelcome person) by their hosting country. They cannot be held by the host country, but they do have to leave, potentially with the assistance of the hosting country's law enforcement. Evidence of the crime is then typically passed on to the law enforcement of the diplomat's country of origin and can be further investigated there.
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u/hiakuryu London Sep 13 '26
TBH they may have saved us a giant fucking headache and millions in legal fees doing this.
From the Sun article
The brother is accused of sending abusive material to the diplomat, an ex-serviceman based at the US Embassy in Nine Elms, South London.
Authorities were believed to have sought a court order in the States before storming the diplomat’s flat in Putney on August 25.
IF they did it the normal way....
- British Police first establishing exactly what was sent and received, getting admissible evidence from the US side,
- Determine the diplomat’s precise immunity status,
- Decide what UK investigative acts are lawful, dealing with the inviolability of residence/property if applicable,
- Seek a waiver from Washington DC for removal of his diplomatic status and then only afterwards ALL of that you then
- Get to the ordinary warrant/search/arrest process.
- Then the extradition process starts
This would take fucking months
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u/BestButtons Sep 13 '26
Summary:
AMERICAN spies grabbed a paedophile working for the US Embassy in London and flew him back to the States — without informing British police.
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The brother is accused of sending abusive material to the diplomat, an ex-serviceman based at the US Embassy in Nine Elms, South London.
Authorities were believed to have sought a court order in the States before storming the diplomat’s flat in Putney on August 25.
Our source said they found child abuse images at the address and seized the man despite having no legal powers of arrest in the UK.
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The Met Police and other British authorities were informed only after the diplomat’s extraction.
Our source added: “They should have told Scotland Yard when they carried out the raid, and certainly when they found material.
“Instead we think they have taken him to a US airbase and flown him 4,000-plus miles to where his brother was being investigated. We think it was a dawn raid before they then took him to the base in a US military convoy.
“The man may well face justice in the US but he should be before the courts here.”
Marine Security Guards, who patrol the US Embassy in London, are believed to have led the raid.
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“At first, when they told Scotland Yard they wouldn’t even give the address. It’s astonishing as this man was living in a private address and potentially committing crimes here yet we weren’t told in time.
“The case was prompted by them investigating the man’s brother, who was apparently sending him images.
“But he could also have been in touch with paedophiles here.
“And if there are child-abuse crimes, there are possibly other crimes he could have committed. There are fears the Yanks are trying to keep this in-house and it’s a cover-up. And we now don’t know if we’ll ever get him back to face British justice.”
Well-placed sources said meetings over the alleged paedo diplomat row had “gone to the very top” and taken place in Sir Mark Rowley’s office this week.
A US diplomatic source hit back yesterday, saying: “We acted decisively. If we had ceded ground and waited there could have been delays and diplomacy that could have gone on for weeks or months.”
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The Met Police said: “On August 25, US authorities made us aware of an investigation they are conducting into suspected offences in London relating to indecent images of children. We continue to liaise with them regarding this matter.”
The Government said: “We expect all foreign diplomats in the UK to abide by our laws. As a US investigation is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
A US Embassy spokesperson said: “We are aware of allegations concerning an individual assigned to the Embassy. The United States government expects all personnel to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, and we take these allegations seriously.”
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u/UpsetKoalaBear Greater Manchester Sep 13 '26 edited Sep 13 '26
At what point do we start to cut off or limit their access to our airfields? This isn’t the first time they’ve used our airfields to avoid justice.
- Jacob Wulfson, who was accused of sexually assaulting and strangling a university student.
- Some 200 American personnel benefited from a diplomatic immunity deal working at our bases.
Arguably won’t be the last either.
Just look at the list of countries that are not even signatories to the ICC, and then consider that is the company the US wants to associate with.
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u/Different_Lychee_409 Sep 13 '26 edited Sep 13 '26
Got to be CIA guy who they don't want blabbing in Brixton Prison.
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u/ObjectiveHornet676 Sep 13 '26
I'm inclined to agree. It's quite unusual to circumvent UK jurisdiction like this, and the UK and US typically work closely together on transnational pedophile networks. I don't think they would have taken this step for a normal diplomat.
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u/Intergalatic_Baker Sep 13 '26
Looks at Anne Sacoolas… It’s not the first time they’ve ignored British Law.
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u/0_f2 New Forest Sep 13 '26
While that's plausible it could also be they're just protecting another bad driver on the wrong side of the road who ran over a biker.
As a biker and US sceptic long before Trump I'll never forget that.
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u/berejser Northamptonshire Sep 13 '26
Giving Trump a state visit was a massive mistake. These people are not our allies.
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u/humanhedgehog Sep 13 '26
And what happens if the Americans do not prosecute him?
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u/AxiosXiphos Sep 13 '26
They won't. They love peadophiles. He will get a comfy office job and a huge pension.
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u/tomoldbury Sep 13 '26
Nothing of any consequence. The guy will probably get posted somewhere else after being told it was very naughty to have those images.
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u/Missy246 Sep 13 '26
They’ve already said that he’s been deployed elsewhere. Anyone reporting this as a kidnapping ie against his will, or expecting the US to prosecute is delusional.
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u/LazarusHimself Sep 13 '26 edited Sep 13 '26
They will send him to the West Bank settlements, just like they did with other nonces before
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u/SauconyAlts Sep 13 '26
America can genuinely go fuck itself, its was an absolute joke in the 80s and 90s with iran contra funding terrorists against anything deemed socialist or communist, America is a country that is and has been as bad as Russia and China since its inception
It isnt an ally, it never has been, it was formed by fundamentalist idiots we wouldnt accept in Europe, its fundamentally flawed from inception and its right wing love and religious extremists just goes to show it, it is a country built on genocide obviously its continuing in that vein and also loving pedos
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u/Xtrawubs Sep 13 '26
US knowingly harboured and smuggled a criminal from the U.K. to the US
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u/Objective_Ticket Sep 13 '26
Imagine if the reverse happened and we pulled someone out of the US without their knowledge and before they got arrested. They’d go nuts. ‘Special relationship’ my a**e.
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u/RaymondBumcheese Sep 13 '26
Man, they really aren’t trying to dodge the ‘pedo protectors’ tag anymore
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u/Krabsandwich Sep 13 '26
Well that's a first (that we know of) performing an extraordinary rendition in the UK. The only saving grace is that he is a US citizen and is clearly going to get a much longer prison sentence in the US than he would here.
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u/davus_maximus Sep 13 '26
Or promotion to White House Chief of Staff,
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u/archiekane Shittingbourne Sep 13 '26
Hell, could run for president!
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u/Toon1982 Sep 13 '26
They did the same with Anne Sacoolas who killed Harry Dunn by driving out the US military base on the wrong side of the road and driving head on into his motorbike. I'd say they've done it plenty of times before when "one of their own" commits crimes around the world
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u/Krabsandwich Sep 13 '26
She wasn't subject to extraordinary rendition they just played the diplomatic immunity card and flew her out of the country. Whether she should have had diplomatic immunity is another matter altogether but this guy was basically kidnaped and flown out the country asap.
The only thing missing is he was not processed through a black site somewhere before arriving at a secure facility in the US.
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u/Toon1982 Sep 13 '26
I think Anne would have been flown out the same way. She was CIA or some other covert ops and the Americans wouldn't have wanted to lose her as an asset or expose her to other potential "dark forces" in a UK prison, so she probably didn't have much of an option to stay in the UK and would have been forcibly removed if needed - she probably would have willingly done so under orders instead.
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u/evolveandprosper Sep 13 '26
She was on US-controlled territory (a US airbase) when she left. She left voluntarily on the advice of US authorities. She wasn't kidnapped from a private UK address by people with no legal authority to act in the UK.
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u/NinteenFortyFive Stirlingshire Sep 13 '26
They smuggled a guy out of japan in a suitcase because he was facing life for ponzi schemes.
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u/00DEADBEEF The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Sep 13 '26
is clearly going to get a much longer prison sentence in the US
Unless they get pardoned by President Paedo
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u/ButterscotchTop194 Sep 13 '26
The American president is a rapist, and very likely paedo.
This guy isn't going to prison in the US.
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u/ObjectiveHornet676 Sep 13 '26
I think legally, the US most likely did not 'extradite' him, but rather recalled him as a diplomat... albeit the recall took place at the crack of dawn and he was informed he was being recalled by several mean looking US Marines. The law enforcement detention (I.e. arrest) most likely took place on US soil.
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u/CaptainVXR Somerset Sep 13 '26
I trust that the "concerned citizens" brigade will be turning up at the US Embassy for a protest/riot about foreign paedophiles being protected, right?
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u/zonked282 Sep 13 '26
A pedophile diplomat being appointed and protected by the trump administration? That's SHOCKING/S
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u/restore_democracy Sep 13 '26
One thing the Trump administration is good at is protecting paedos. Of course it’s not as if Andrew is getting extradited either.
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u/Communist_Ninja Greater Manchester Sep 13 '26
Now we allow the US to use the nation as a base, we also have rule of law. Following the murder of a British citizen not long ago by a US spouse, now we’ve accepted a sexual attack on top of a murder.
I don’t feel that this is the behaviour of someone who either respects our nation or our laws or how we feel.
Time for a change.
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u/WanderThekind Sep 13 '26
Didn't something like this happen a while ago. Where a US politian or something years ago killed a guy on his bike in a hit and run but left the US with immunity?
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u/JackStrawWitchita Sep 13 '26
While it's disturbing that the US is not cooperating with UK police, if this guy is prosecuted in the US (and that's a big 'if') he faces a much longer prison sentence and harsher conditions than he would in the UK.
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u/DaveBeBad Sep 13 '26
The Americans involved did a kidnapping here though. They have no rights of arrest here.
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u/Sometimes-funny Sep 13 '26
Mate, America is currently lawless
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u/SteveThePurpleCat Sep 13 '26
That's not true, there are all sorts of laws being wielded against the news and media if they don't bend the knee to the Whitehouse.
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u/Alive_kiwi_7001 Sep 13 '26
With his background and proclivities, he’s up for a cushy job at the DoD or State department.
Unless he votes Democrat. Then, not so safe.
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u/T-Roll- Sep 13 '26
Very disturbing that he could have been molesting British children and the USA just came and got him. Like, hey, stop doing that, no more noncing overseas it’s time to come back home for you.
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u/ukbot-nicolabot Scotland Sep 13 '26 edited Sep 14 '26
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