UK examining Epstein’s use of airports for trafficking

By Muvija M

LONDON, Feb 18 (Reuters) – British police are assessing whether Jeffrey Epstein trafficked women through two London airports on private flights as part of a now nationally-coordinated effort to investigate the late sex offender’s ties to Britain. 

Two regional police forces said on Wednesday they were reviewing information about private flights linked to Epstein following the publication by the U.S. government of millions of documents on the disgraced financier at the end of January.

Essex Police said it was looking at flights in and out of Stansted Airport, northeast of London, while Bedfordshire Police said it was assessing flights in and out of Luton Airport, northwest of the capital.

NATIONALLY-COORDINATED EFFORTS

Their assessments, which do not constitute a full investigation, follow the establishment of a national coordination group to support individual police forces in examining Epstein’s ties to Britain or British people. 

“We continue to work collaboratively to assess the details being made public to allow us to understand any potential impact arising from the millions of documents that have been published,” the National Police Chiefs’ Council said in a statement.

The BBC reported last year that incomplete flight logs and manifests showed that 87 flights linked to Epstein had arrived or departed from British airports between the early 1990s and 2018, with unidentified “females” listed among the passengers.

Documents in the Epstein files show multiple references to Stansted, including one that discussed whether a Russian woman with a U.S. visa could switch planes at the airport. The files also include dozens of references to UK visas.     

Stansted Airport said in a statement that private flights were not managed by the terminal it operates, and that Border Force was responsible for immigration and customs checks.

Border Force did not respond to a request for comment, but according to its rules all individuals arriving in Britain are subject to thorough checks.

The Epstein furore has already had a major impact in Britain. 

Two police forces are looking into Peter Mandelson, the former British ambassador to the U.S., and the younger brother of King Charles, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, over allegations of misconduct in public office. The Epstein files suggested both had forwarded confidential government documents to the late U.S. financier.

Both men have denied any wrongdoing and said they regret their friendships with Epstein, but they have not responded to specific requests for comment after the latest files were published.

(Reporting by Muvija M; additional reporting by Sam Tabahriti; writing by Kate HoltonEditing by Tomasz Janowski)