Defence Secretary John Healey has ordered Ministry of Defence officials to “leave no stone unturned” in a review of all records relating to whether Jeffrey Epstein used RAF bases during visits to the UK,the Telegraph reports.
The search will examine military records and emails to determine if the sex offender booked RAF airfields, using details of Epstein’s jet issued by US officials. An MoD spokesman stated: “The defence secretary has ordered a review of all records that the department may hold relating to Epstein flights landing at RAF bases to ensure that any information which relates to Epstein’s crimes is uncovered and provided to the relevant authorities.”
The spokesman added: “The MoD will support any civilian police investigations. Our thoughts are with all the victims of Epstein’s vile crimes.”
The review comes after police began assessing information about private flights to and from Stansted Airport following publication of millions of files relating to the paedophile financier. An Essex Police spokesman confirmed: “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.”
Former prime minister Gordon Brown claimed earlier this month that files showed in “graphic detail” how Epstein used the Essex-based airport to “fly in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia.” Writing in the New Statesman, Brown stated 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.
Brown claimed Epstein “boasted” about how cheap airport charges were at Stansted compared to Paris. He stated Stansted 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.”
A Stansted Airport spokesman responded: “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.”
The spokesman added: “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 MoD review will determine whether RAF bases were used as arrival or departure points for Epstein’s flights, potentially revealing new information about the financier’s movements in the UK. Officials will examine whether proper procedures were followed if RAF facilities were accessed.
