British Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy announced in parliament on Tuesday that he is confronting the United States government over a contentious court martial involving an American fighter pilot who assaulted a woman in Cambridge.
The pilot, Captain Jacob Wulfson, avoided a standard trial under English law despite committing the domestic crime while off duty outside of his base, as reported by The Guardian.
Local police transferred the investigation to the US military.
Lammy, who also serves as the justice secretary, stated that officials across multiple British government departments are thoroughly reviewing the jurisdictional dispute.
Downing Street previously described the incident involving academic Sarah Steele as deeply distressing.
During the parliamentary session, lawmakers questioned the current legal frameworks that allow foreign military personnel stationed at locations like RAF Lakenheath to circumvent local criminal courts.
"Victims of crimes on English soil should see justice served in our justice system," said Jess Brown-Fuller, Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson.
The government responded by emphasizing its national objective to significantly reduce domestic abuse and violence against women over the next decade.
"Halving violence against women and girls is a decade mission for this government," said David Lammy.
Government officials are currently coordinating across agencies to address the legal anomalies presented by the case.
"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," said Lammy.
An all-male military panel subsequently convicted Wulfson of strangling an intimate partner but acquitted him of sexual assault, resulting in a six-month sentence and dismissal from the air force.
The victim expressed severe dissatisfaction with her experience inside the foreign military tribunal system, noting that the wider British public remains unaware of these localized American jurisdictions.
Conservative MP Nick Timothy, whose constituency hosts the airbase where the pilot was stationed, formally demanded immediate administrative clarity from the justice secretary last week.
"This case should have been fully investigated by the English police and prosecuted in our courts," said Nick Timothy, Conservative MP for West Suffolk.
More than 12,000 United States military personnel currently reside across at least 15 active military bases and facilities inside the United Kingdom.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy requested a full account from the US government regarding a domestic assault case tried at an American military base.
