British Police Examine Epstein's Use of U.K. Airports and Other Lines of Inquiry

Several British police forces are examining the logs of Jeffrey Epstein’s private jet, nicknamed the “Lolita Express,” amid concerns the convicted sex offender may have trafficked women through U.K. airports. Bedfordshire Police told TIME it “is reviewing materials published as part of the DOJ Disclosures Under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, in relation to private flights in and out of London Luton Airport.” A spokesperson for Essex Police confirmed similar investigations were underway, telling TIME: “We are assessing the information that has emerged in relation to private flights into and out of [London] Stansted Airport.” Emails released in the most recent drop of files show Epstein discussing traveling to and from Stansted in 2012. In one email chain titled “Paris/London train,” which references Stansted, a sender, whose name has been redacted, tells Epstein: “If you come via private, I’ll need photo copies emailed to me of passport and U.S. visa, I fwd [forward] to U.K. immigration… once Boeing isready to depart she is escorted to aircraft.” Another email sent to Epstein references a flight to Luton Airport in 2018. Highlighting the coordinated efforts among the authorities, the West Midlands Police force is also looking at the private flights in and out of Birmingham Airport, following the publication of the Epstein files, a spokesperson told TIME. A spokesperson from Police Scotland confirmed that while it has “not received any report or complaint in relation” to Epstein’s jet using Edinburgh Airport, it would be “keen to speak to anyone with information.” Former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has voiced deep concern over Epstein’s frequent travel in and out of the U.K. “How the flights were allowed to continue should have been fully investigated,” he wrote in an op-ed for the New Statesman last week. “The evidence suggests some in the U.K. were complicit in trafficking. This demands a full inquiry.” He did not specify who may have been “complicit.” Appearing in the Epstein files is not an indication of wrongdoing, nor is being listed on the flight logs. Speaking before news of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Thursday morning, Brown said he had been “told privately that the investigations related to the former Prince Andrew did not properly check vital evidence of flights.” He claimed “at least one” of Epstein’s messages about private flights to the U.K. was linked to Andrew. “I have asked the police to look at this as part of the new inquiry,” he said. TIME has contacted the relevant authorities for further information. Separate to Andrew, Brown highlighted emails sent to and from Epstein concerning “the logistics of registering trafficked girls for English-as-a-foreign-language courses, as a route to obtaining U.S. visas.” He argued: “We need to know if and to what extent this was also happening in the U.K.” Additionally, Surrey Police announced on Wednesday that, following a batch of Epstein files released in December, it had become aware of “a redacted report alleging non-recent human trafficking and sexual assaults on a minor in Virginia Water, Surrey, between 1994-1996.” The force is encouraging “anyone with information in relation to these allegations” to make contact. Another police investigation is currently underway regarding Peter Mandelson, the former U.K. ambassador to the U.S., for alleged misconduct in public office offences. In one resurfaced email, Mandelson appeared to tell Epstein he would lobby other government officials in an effort to reduce a tax on bankers’ bonuses. In another, he appeared to have forwarded an internal government report to Epstein which showed ways the U.K. might raise funds after the 2008 financial crisis. He has not been charged.