Essex Police is assessing information about private flights into and out of Stansted Airport following the publication of the Epstein files, as reported by the BBC.
The police force stated that it is evaluating the information, but this assessment may not necessarily lead to a full investigation. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently wrote in the New Statesman that police need to re-examine whether Jeffrey Epstein's victims were trafficked within and outside of the UK.
An Essex Police spokesperson said: "We are assessing the information that has emerged in relation to private flights into and out of Stansted Airport following the publication of the US DoJ Epstein files."
Background on Epstein's Activities
Last year, a BBC investigation found 87 flights linked to the convicted sex offender had arrived at or departed from UK airports between the early 1990s and 2018. In December, BBC News discovered that three British women who were allegedly trafficked appear in Epstein's records of flights in and out of the UK.
US lawyers representing hundreds of Epstein victims told the BBC it was "shocking" that there has never been a "full-scale" investigation into his activities in the UK. Gordon Brown said the scale of trafficking would "become apparent" if an investigation had been conducted into the flights.
Stansted Airport's Response
Stansted Airport said in a statement: "All private aircraft at London Stansted operate through independent Fixed Base Operators, which handle all aspects of private and corporate aviation in line with regulatory requirements." The airport added that these terminals are "entirely independent" and that "no private jet passengers enter the main airport terminal".
Other Investigations
The Essex Police statement comes as a new national group has been set up to support UK forces that are "assessing allegations" following the publication of the Epstein files, according to the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC). Thames Valley Police is also assessing allegations that a second woman was sent to the UK by Jeffrey Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
