A major BBC investigation has uncovered that almost 90 flights connected to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein flew in and out of Britain over nearly three decades. The findings reveal the UK was far more central to his movements than previously known, with flight records showing unidentified women on board and raising serious questions about the absence of a full-scale British inquiry.
Flight Logs Point to Extensive UK Footprint
After analysing thousands of documents, the BBC identified 87 Epstein-linked flights arriving or departing from UK airports between the early 1990s and 2018. This figure is dozens higher than previously reported. The investigation, which examined flight records, court papers, and estate documents, shows Epstein used a mixture of commercial flights, chartered planes, and his private jets.
More than 50 of these journeys involved private aircraft, most frequently landing at Luton Airport. Other airports used included Birmingham, Edinburgh, RAF Marham in Norfolk, and London hubs like Heathrow, Gatwick, and Stansted. Alarmingly, 15 of these flights occurred after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from a minor, trips which experts say should have triggered immigration scrutiny.
Anonymous Passengers and Unquestioned Victims
The flight manifests reveal a disturbing pattern. On several private flights, women are listed anonymously, sometimes only as 'females', fuelling concerns over who was being transported. The BBC found that at least three British women who claim they were trafficked appear repeatedly in Epstein's travel records.
One of these women, known in court as 'Kate', gave crucial testimony that helped convict Ghislaine Maxwell in the US in 2021. Flight logs show she travelled on more than ten Epstein-funded journeys into and out of the UK between 1999 and 2006. Despite her pivotal role, her lawyer Brad Edwards confirmed she has 'never been asked' about her experiences by any UK authority—'not even a phone call'.
Edwards represents several British women who allege abuse in the UK by Epstein and others. Another victims' lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, stated British authorities have 'not taken a closer look at these flights' to investigate who he was with and seeing.
Systemic Failures and Unanswered Questions
The investigation exposes troubling gaps in UK border and law enforcement responses. Despite a 2008 conviction that required him to register as a sex offender in the US, Epstein was repeatedly allowed entry to Britain. Documents suggest he flew into Heathrow in 2010, shortly after completing house arrest. Home Office rules at the time stated foreign nationals sentenced to over 12 months should generally be refused entry.
Immigration experts noted that US citizens rarely needed visas for short visits, leaving decisions to individual border officers. The Home Office has said it no longer holds records older than ten years. Furthermore, the BBC discovered Epstein had used a foreign passport issued in Austria under a false name to travel internationally in the 1980s, including to Britain.
The Metropolitan Police, after being presented with the BBC's findings two months ago, issued a statement saying it had 'not received any additional evidence' to reopen its investigation. This review initially stemmed from 2015 allegations by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was trafficked and abused in London. Police concluded there was no evidence of criminal conduct by UK nationals.
Legal specialists argue that despite Epstein's death in 2019, a UK probe could still establish whether individuals based in Britain enabled his crimes. As one senior lawyer told the BBC, the UK was a 'centrepiece' of Epstein's global operation, making the lack of a robust domestic investigation all the more shocking.
