Andrew Tate sought CPS assurance he would not be arrested if he returned to UK, court hears | UK news
Andrew Tate has sought written assurances from prosecutors that he will not be arrested if he returns to the UK for a civil case in which he is accused of rape, a court has heard.
Lawyers for the influential and self-described misogynist who has been charged with ten crimes and is under investigation by various forces made the declaration last year.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) rejected the request last May from Tate and his brother Tristan, who were charged with rape, sexual assault and other offences.
“There is no reason for the CPS to seek to withdraw permissions to enable your clients to return to the UK to give evidence in civil cases,” the service wrote, according to a witness statement submitted to the high court by a lawyer for the alleged victim.
“Therefore, the CPS can give no assurance that if any of your clients voluntarily return to the UK they will not be arrested.”
Lawyer Matt Jury, representing the four plaintiffs in the civil case, said in his affidavit that “given the public statements the defendant has made, it appears extremely unlikely that he will voluntarily return to the UK”; “This view is supported by the fact that he and his brother have made a formal application to give evidence remotely in these proceedings from America.”
The statement was made during a preliminary hearing in a civil lawsuit in which four women accused the Tate brothers of rape, coercive control, assault and battery. They deny the allegations.
Vanessa Marshall KC, representing Tate, said in written submissions that police were in possession of more than half a million chat and SMS recordings, more than half a million photographs, thousands of videos and audio files and other messages and emails.
Tates is asking for the civil case to be postponed on the grounds that the case before the high court could “seriously prejudice” the criminal proceedings.
Mrs Justice Lambert will make an order on Wednesday, but said the current hearing date in June would be postponed, there would be a “reconvening” in July and a fuller hearing would probably take place before Christmas.
The re-investigation into allegations of crimes, including rape by three women in 2015, will not be limited to existing evidence and could lead to new witnesses and alleged victims coming forward, according to Gerard Boyle KC, which is representing the Tates in the civil case.
The CPS had already charged Tates with 21 offenses including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking in a separate case.
Andrew Tate faces 10 charges, including rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain. The charges are linked to three alleged victims.
Tristan Tate faces 11 charges, including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking, and the charges are linked to an alleged victim. The brothers denied all wrongdoing.
The two men were also charged with human trafficking, rape and establishing an organized crime group in Romania following their arrest in December 2022.
The CPS agreed that the brothers should not be extradited to the UK until the criminal case was concluded.
Romanian prosecutors initially kept the two men in police custody as a preventive pre-trial measure, but the Bucharest appeals court relaxed the measure to house arrest in 2023 and regular checks with police thereafter.
These restrictions were lifted last month, giving the brothers the freedom to leave the country. The high court heard Andrew Tate is currently in the US but intends to return to Romania. The Tates maintain their innocence.
The high court also heard Andrew Tate lodged a legal challenge against the CPS, with the first high court hearing of the case scheduled for June 23 over its decision to bring charges. The allegation relates to a Bedfordshire police investigation known as Operation Moonwalk.
