Police ‘assessing’ Stansted Airport private flights over Epstein links

Gordon Brown said Epstein ‘boasted’ about how cheap the airport charges were in Stansted.

Gordon Brown said Epstein ‘boasted’ about how cheap the airport charges were in Stansted (Alamy/PA)

Police are assessing information about private flights to and from Stansted Airport following the publication of millions of files relating to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

It comes after former prime minister Gordon Brown claimed that the newly published files showed in “graphic detail” how Epstein was able to use the Essex-based airport to “fly in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia”.

In an article for the New Statesman, Mr Brown wrote that files showed Epstein’s jet – the so-called Lolita Express – making 90 flights to or from UK airports, including 15 after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a child.

The politician said Epstein “boasted” about how cheap the airport charges were in Stansted compared to Paris.

Mr Brown said that Stansted Airport was where “women were transferred from one Epstein plane to another”, adding that “women arriving on private planes into Britain would not need British visas”.

He said it seemed as though authorities “never knew what was happening”, referring to evidence uncovered by the BBC which showed “incomplete flight logs, with unnamed passengers simply labelled as ‘female'”.

He wrote: “In short, British authorities had little or no idea who was being trafficked through our country, and for whom other than Epstein.”

On Tuesday, 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 (Department of Justice) Epstein files.”

A Stansted Airport 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.

“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 statement from Essex Police comes after the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said that a national group had been set up to support UK police forces that are “assessing allegations” following the publication of the Epstein files.

A spokesperson for the NPCC 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.

“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.

“We continue to support our partners and contribute in any way we can to help secure justice for victims and survivors, and urge anyone who needs support to visit whenyouareready.co.uk.”

The national coordination group will bring together affected forces to ensure consistency of approach, it is understood.

Earlier this month, Thames Valley Police confirmed it was assessing claims Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor shared confidential reports from his role as the UK’s trade envoy with Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew has previously denied any wrongdoing over his Epstein links, but has not directly responded to the latest allegations.