Pressure intensified on Prince Andrew, the former Duke of York, on Tuesday evening as Essex Police confirmed it had launched a fresh investigation into allegations connected to Jeffrey Epstein's activities within the United Kingdom. This development marks the fourth police force in recent days to initiate an inquiry following the explosive release of Epstein-related documents.
Essex Police Assess Stansted Airport Flights
Essex Police authorities stated they are currently 'assessing information' that has emerged from the trove of documents, which suggests the convicted paedophile financier trafficked sex victims to the UK on private flights via Stansted airport. A spokesperson for the force clarified: '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 Department of Justice Epstein files.'
Flight logs reveal that Epstein's aircraft, infamously dubbed the 'Lolita Express,' landed or departed from UK airports on approximately ninety occasions between the 1990s and 2018. This revelation has sparked growing demands for a comprehensive criminal investigation into Prince Andrew, who features prominently in the newly released documents.
Multiple Police Inquiries Underway
Thames Valley Police is already examining claims that Epstein dispatched a young woman to the UK for a sexual encounter with Prince Andrew at his Royal Lodge residence in Windsor during 2010. Additionally, detectives are investigating whether Andrew should face scrutiny for misconduct in public office, relating to allegations he forwarded confidential reports while serving as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment from 2001 to 2011.
Emails appear to indicate that Andrew, alongside former business secretary Peter Mandelson, utilised his official position to transmit sensitive documents to Epstein. The disgraced financier took his own life in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in a US prison.
Surrey Police is also understood to be seeking unredacted files concerning a separate historic abuse allegation against Andrew found within the documents. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police has initiated a criminal probe into Mandelson over claims he leaked confidential information to Epstein during his tenure as business secretary in 2009.
National Coordination and Political Pressure
Police chiefs have established a 'national co-ordination' group through the National Police Chiefs' Council to manage the series of allegations unearthed in the files. This unit, likely chaired by Met Police assistant commissioner Louisa Rolfe, could gain access to unredacted Epstein documents and facilitate collaboration among detectives and experts.
Former prime minister Gordon Brown emphasised last week that police must 'urgently' examine whether victims were trafficked on Epstein's flights to the UK, noting Stansted as an airport 'where women were transferred from one Epstein plane to another.' He asserted that Prince Andrew should be interviewed as part of any inquiry.
On Tuesday, Labour MP Liam Byrne, chairman of the cross-party business and trade committee, indicated that MPs might investigate Andrew's conduct during his time as trade envoy, stating: 'I can guarantee you that MPs are not in the market for letting anything slip through the cracks.'
Legal Calls for Testimony
US lawyer David Boies, who represented Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, called for Prince Andrew to be granted 'safe passage' to provide evidence regarding Jeffrey Epstein. Boies remarked: 'He's got an obligation to tell what he knows. If he's afraid of being arrested in the US, we ought to give him safe passage to come to testify, because we don't want there to be any excuse for him not coming. We know he knows a lot… and he has an obligation to share that.'
Prince Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing. The mounting police probes and political scrutiny underscore the escalating pressure on the former royal as investigations into Epstein's UK network deepen.
