Report Says Jeffrey Epstein Flew Nearly 90 Times to UK With Alleged British Victims on Board — Why Has Britain Never Fully Investigated?

Nearly 90 flights linked to Jeffrey Epstein passed through UK airports over almost three decades, according to a BBC investigation that raises fresh questions about Britain's failure to fully examine the convicted sex offender's activities on British soil.

Flight logs, court records and other documents reviewed by the BBC show at least 87 journeys into and out of the UK connected to Epstein between the early 1990s and 2018 — dozens more than were previously known. Some of those flights, lawyers say, included British women who later reported being abused by Epstein.

US attorneys representing hundreds of Epstein victims shared that it was 'shocking' that no full-scale UK investigation has ever been launched, despite evidence suggesting Britain was a central hub in his operations.

British Victims Named in Records

The report confirmed that three British women who say they were trafficked by Epstein appear in flight records and related documents. One of them, known publicly as 'Kate,' testified in 2021 at the US trial that convicted Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell of child sex trafficking.

Kate was listed on more than 10 Epstein-funded flights into and out of the UK between 1999 and 2006. She told the court she was 17 when Maxwell introduced her to Epstein in London, where she says she was sexually abused at Maxwell's home before being trafficked abroad.

Despite her testimony helping secure Maxwell's conviction, Kate has never been contacted by UK police, according to her lawyer, Brad Edwards.

Flights Continued After Epstein's Conviction

The investigation found that 15 of the UK-linked flights occurred after Epstein's 2008 US conviction for soliciting sex from a minor. During that period, Epstein was required to register as a sex offender in multiple US jurisdictions.

Records suggest Epstein flew commercially and privately, including multiple trips through London Heathrow after his release from prison in 2009. At the time, US citizens did not need visas for short UK visits, leaving entry decisions primarily at the discretion of individual immigration officers.

Private flights posed even fewer checks. Lawyers said Epstein appeared to favour private jets, which were not required to submit passenger manifests to UK authorities during much of the period examined. That loophole was only closed in April last year.

Unidentified Women and Limited Oversight

In several private jet logs, passengers were listed only as unnamed 'females.'

The investigation revealed that more than 50 flights involved Epstein's private aircraft, frequently landing at Luton Airport, with others recorded at Birmingham, Edinburgh, and RAF Marham.

Human trafficking experts say such operations typically rely on networks of enablers, not just one individual. 'It's never just one bad person,' Professor Bridgette Carr of the University of Michigan Law School told the BBC, pointing to the roles of professionals who may have facilitated travel and finances.

Metropolitan Police Response

According to the BBC, they shared the flight data with the Metropolitan Police earlier this year and later asked whether it would investigate possible British victims trafficked through the UK. But the Met declined to reopen the case, stating it had received no new evidence warranting further action.

In past reviews of allegations involving Epstein and Maxwell, including claims by Virginia Giuffre, the Met said international authorities were better placed to pursue the cases.

Meanwhile, for victim advocates, the lack of action sends a troubling message. Lawyer Sigrid McCawley said it suggests victims reporting powerful figures can expect their claims to go unexamined.

As US authorities prepare to release additional Epstein-related files under new transparency rules, questions remain over why Britain has never fully scrutinised the role its airports, homes, institutions and allegedly the people who facilitate these affairs may have played.