UK police assess Epstein flight records after US files reveal Stansted links

British police are evaluating information regarding private flights linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that used London's Stansted Airport, following the release of thousands of pages from US Justice Department files. An Essex Police spokesperson confirmed Tuesday: "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."

Brown's Allegations and BBC Findings

The announcement follows former Prime Minister Gordon Brown's claim that the documents show in "graphic detail" how Epstein used the Essex hub to "fly in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia." Writing in the New Statesman last week, Brown urged police to urgently re-examine whether Epstein's victims were trafficked within and outside the UK. He has written to chief constables of Essex, Thames Valley, and the Metropolitan Police. A BBC investigation in December found 87 flights linked to Epstein arrived at or departed from UK airports between the early 1990s and 2018.

Airport Response and Further Probes

Stansted Airport stated that private aircraft operate through independent fixed-base operators handling all aspects of private aviation "in line with regulatory requirements," noting these terminals are "entirely independent" and that "no private jet passengers enter the main airport terminal." Separately, Thames Valley Police are assessing allegations that a second woman was sent to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew. Virginia Giuffre first publicly accused Mountbatten-Windsor of similar encounters in 2014.

Document Release Context

The review follows the Jan. 30 release of over 3 million pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law last November. Though many pages remain heavily redacted, Epstein's 2019 death by suicide in a New York jail while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges continues to generate investigative scrutiny.