Police assess information around private flights to and from Stansted Airport after Epstein files released

Essex Police are assessing information around private flights to and from Stansted Airport following the release of the Epstein files.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown last week called for UK police to "urgently" re-examine claims women or girls were trafficked to the country aboard flights.

In an article for the New Statesman, Mr Brown said the recently published files relating to Jeffrey Epstein showed the paedophile financier's jet making 90 flights to or from UK airports, including 15 after his 2008 sex offence conviction.

A spokesperson for Essex Police 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."

Stansted Airport 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."

Mr Brown also said that information in the Epstein files suggested "a number of British girls were on 90 Epstein flights organised from UK airports on what was called his [Epstein's] 'Lolita Express'".

The former politician demanded a full inquiry and wrote: "I have asked the Met urgently to re-examine their decision-making in their investigation and the subsequent reviews."

He claimed the files showed in "graphic detail" how Epstein was flying "in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia" to Stansted, where "women were transferred from one Epstein plane to another", adding they "would not need British visas".

He said it also seemed as though UK authorities "never knew what was happening" and "had little or no idea who was being trafficked through our country".

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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, which 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."

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.

The claims being examined by Thames Valley Police are separate from the assessment of flights by Essex Police.

Andrew has previously denied any wrongdoing over his Epstein links, but has not directly responded to the latest allegations. Being named in the files does not suggest wrongdoing.

(c) Sky News 2026: Police assess information around private flights to and from Stansted Airport after Epstein