Police Reviewing Private Flights at Stansted Airport After Release of Epstein Files

Essex Police has confirmed that it is reviewing information about private jets flying in and out of Stansted Airport after the latest release of files linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The force said it is looking at details contained in documents published by the US Department of Justice. A 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.”

While the review does not automatically mean a full criminal investigation will follow, it is the first time that the Essex Police has publicly acknowledged that it is examining claims that Epstein used UK airports as part of a trafficking operation.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown has urged police to take another look. Writing in the New Statesman, he said officers should “urgently” revisit whether women and girls were trafficked into or out of the UK on Epstein’s planes.

Brown said the newly released files show Epstein’s jet made 90 trips to or from British airports, including 15 after his 2008 conviction. He claimed the documents described in “graphic detail” how Epstein was flying “in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia” to Stansted. 

According to Brown, Stansted was a place where “women were transferred from one Epstein plane to another” and that “women arriving on private planes into Britain would not need British visas”. He also argued that authorities “never knew what was happening” and appeared to have “had little or no idea who was being trafficked through our country”.

A previous BBC investigation found 87 Epstein-linked flights connected to UK airports between the early 1990s and 2018.

In response to the investigation, Stansted Airport said private aviation operates separately from its main terminal. In a statement, a spokesperson said: “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: “All immigration and customs checks for passengers arriving on private aircraft are carried out directly by Border Force. They use entirely independent terminals not operated by London Stansted and no private jet passengers enter the main airport terminal. The airport does not manage or have any visibility of passenger arrangements on privately operated aircraft.”

The review by Essex Police comes after the National Police Chiefs' Council confirmed a national coordination group has been formed to help forces dealing with allegations emerging from the files. A spokesperson said: “A national coordination group has been set up to support a small number of forces assessing allegations that have emerged following the publication of the US DoJ Epstein files.”

Several forces are now involved in examining different strands of the case. Thames Valley Police is assessing claims that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor shared sensitive information with Epstein during his time as a UK trade envoy, and is also reviewing an allegation that a second woman was sent to the UK for sex with him in 2010. He has denied any wrongdoing. 

The Metropolitan Police has also launched a criminal investigation into Peter Mandelson over claims that he passed market-sensitive information to Epstein while serving in government. Lord Mandelson’s position is that he did not act criminally and was not motivated by financial gain. He has previously apologised “to the women and the girls who suffered” and expressed regret for maintaining contact with Epstein.

Police sources say more allegations could surface as investigators work through the 3.5 million pages released by US authorities. A panel of experts appointed by the UN human rights council said the material suggested the existence of a “global criminal enterprise”.

The experts added: “So grave is the scale, nature, systematic character and transnational reach of these atrocities against women and girls that a number of them may reasonably meet the legal threshold of crimes against humanity.”

For now, Essex Police says it is still assessing the information to determine whether further action is needed.