UK police band together to assess Epstein revelations as scandal rocks royals and politics
LONDON (AP) — British police forces are working together to assess potential crimes revealed in documents from the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including allegations of wrongdoing by the former Prince Andrew.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council, which brings together police leaders from across the U.K., said on Wednesday that it had set up a national coordination group to support forces looking into issues arising from the more than 3 million pages of documents released late last month.
“It may take some time due to the volume of material and the complexity of international jurisdictions, but policing and its law enforcement partners are taking this matter extremely seriously, and will assess all information thoroughly,” the council said in a statement.
While the council didn’t specify the police forces involved in the effort, at least eight have said they are “assessing” information in the files. They are looking into issues ranging from concerns that Epstein’s private jet may have been used in sex trafficking to allegations that the former Prince Andrew sent confidential reports to the financier when he was Britain’s international trade envoy.
Police in Surrey, the county south of London, on Wednesday said the documents contained allegations of sex trafficking in the village of Virginia Water between 1994 and 1996. The force didn’t provide any details about the alleged perpetrators or victims.
The force encouraged anyone with information about the alleged crimes to contact police.
“Where relevant, and via the national coordination group, we will engage with law enforcement agencies to obtain access to further information which may support our enquiries,” Surrey Police said in a statement.
Another force, Essex Police, said Tuesday it was assessing information about private flights to and from Stansted Airport following information in the latest document dump.
The Epstein scandal has rocked the royal family and British politics in recent months because of his links to the former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and Peter Mandelson, the U.K.’s former ambassador to Washington.
King Charles III in October stripped his younger brother of his royal titles, including the right to be called a prince, in an effort to insulate the royal family from the continuing revelations about his friendship with Epstein.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer was criticized for poor judgment and faced a challenge to his leadership after the documents revealed Mandelson had a closer relationship with Epstein than he acknowledged at the time Starmer sent him to Washington.