UK police accused of breaching US‑UK agreement by handing investigation to US military

Ministry of Defence officials have privately accused Cambridgeshire police of breaching a US‑UK deal by allowing US military police to take over a murder investigation involving an American fighter pilot. According to documents obtained by the Guardian, the pilot, Capt Jacob Wulfson, was accused of strangling a British woman, Sarah Steele, in his Cambridge flat. The papers say Cambridgeshire officers handed the case to US military police shortly after the accusations were made, a move officials say violated the bilateral agreement that governs jurisdiction over service personnel. The Guardian reports that the officials view the handover as a wrongful transfer of authority. The episode raises questions about how UK authorities manage serious crimes when foreign service members are involved.

Why it matters

The case highlights possible breaches of an international agreement and raises concerns about the handling of violent crimes involving foreign military personnel on UK soil.

Key details

Location

United States · Americas

Reported by

The Guardian

First reported

31 Oct 2026, 19:00 IST

Key names

UK, MoD, Guardian, Cambridgeshire

Section

World

Sources

This is an independent summary. Read the full, original reporting from the publisher:

• The GuardianUK police should not have let US force take over airbase trial, MoD documents show 31 Oct, 19:00

Read the full story at The Guardian ↗

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