MoD Documents Show UK Police Allowed US Force to Take Over Airbase Trial

Ministry of Defence officials privately criticised a British police force for transferring the investigation of an American fighter pilot to the US military, according to government files. Cambridgeshire police permitted US military police to assume control of the probe into Captain Jacob Wulfson after he faced accusations of assaulting Sarah Steele inside his Cambridge flat. This transfer meant Wulfson avoided trial in an English criminal court, facing prosecution instead through a US military tribunal located at a Suffolk airbase. Government files obtained via freedom of information laws show that MoD personnel concluded the Cambridgeshire force violated a long-standing accord between the two nations. Officials noted that the agreement is unambiguous and permits foreign jurisdiction only when suspects are on duty or offences involve fellow service personnel. An internal memorandum stated that the case failed to meet the threshold required for a visiting force to claim legal authority. ## Official Concerns and Inquiry The disclosure prompted criticism from Downing Street following reporting by the Guardian, leading authorities to establish a cross-departmental inquiry. This investigation examines how police forces across the nation transferred serious criminal matters to foreign military authorities. Officials from the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, and Foreign Office are participating in the review to determine why personnel avoided British justice. > MoD officials privately stated that handing the pilot's case to the US military violated bilateral agreements. Wulfson was off-duty during the December 2023 incident after meeting the victim via a dating application. He was subsequently convicted of strangling an intimate partner while being acquitted of sexual assault by an all-male military jury. The sentence resulted in dismissal from the air force and six months of confinement in a military jail. ## Why it matters This case alters how British authorities oversee criminal investigations involving foreign military personnel stationed domestically. The ongoing government inquiry directly impacts victims seeking transparent proceedings within domestic courts rather than unfamiliar tribunals. While the events center on British jurisdiction, the situation highlights broader questions regarding accountability and international agreements affecting local communities globally.