Essex Police assessing Stansted Airport private flights tied to Epstein files
Essex Police are assessing information about private flights departing and landing at Stansted airport following the publication of the Epstein files.
From the early 1990s to 2018, nearly 90 flights linked to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein had landed or departed from airports in the United Kingdom, according to a BBC investigation in December; Some of these included British women who said they were abused by Epstein.
Last week former prime minister Gordon Brown called on British police to “urgently” re-examine claims that women or girls were smuggled into the UK on these flights. New Statesman.
Mr Brown said recently released files showed the pedophilia financier’s jet, dubbed the Lolita Express, made 15 round-trip flights to UK airports after he was convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from a child.
An Essex Police spokesman said: “We are assessing information that has emerged in relation to private flights to and from Stansted airport following the release of the US Department of Justice Epstein files.”
Stansted Airport has previously said that all private aircraft at the airport operate through independent operators and that immigration and customs checks for passengers arriving by private aircraft are carried out directly by border forces.
The BBC’s investigation in December found that the names of three women allegedly trafficked by Epstein appeared on his flight records in and out of the UK.
Mr Brown said: “The emails tell us in graphic detail how Epstein was able to use Stansted airport to fly in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia (bragging about how cheap airport fares were compared to Paris).
“Stansted was also where women were transferred from one Epstein plane to another; women arriving in Britain on private planes would not need a British visa.”
The former prime minister said that if an investigation into the flights had been carried out, the extent of the smuggling would have been revealed.
“Apparently the authorities never knew what had happened: evidence uncovered by the BBC shows incomplete flight records where unnamed passengers were simply labeled as “female”.
“The names of many of the male passengers are unknown to this day because their names are kept secret. In short, British authorities had little or no idea on whose behalf other than Epstein the smuggling was being carried out in our country.”
A Stansted airport spokesman said: “All private aircraft at London Stansted operate through independent Fixed Base Operators who handle all aspects of private and corporate aviation in accordance with regulatory requirements.
“All immigration and customs checks for passengers arriving by private plane are carried out directly by the Border Force.
“They use completely independent terminals not operated by London Stansted and no private jet passengers enter the main airport terminal.
“The airport does not manage or have visibility into passenger arrangements on privately operated aircraft.”
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said on Monday that a group had been set up to support UK police forces “assessing the allegations” following the publication of the Epstein files.
Thames Valley Police are investigating new allegations that Epstein sent a woman to have sex with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in 2010.
A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: “We deal with information in accordance with our established procedures. We take any reports of sexual offenses extremely seriously and encourage anyone with information to come forward.”
The force also held talks with experts from the Crown Prosecution Service over allegations that Andrew shared secret reports with Epstein about his role as Britain’s trade envoy.
Andrew has previously denied any wrongdoing regarding his Epstein connections but has not responded directly to the latest allegations.
