Newly examined flight records show that Jeffrey Epstein traveled into and out of the United Kingdom at least 87 times over nearly three decades, raising renewed questions about why British authorities never conducted a full investigation into whether alleged victims were trafficked through the country. The findings, reported by the BBC, draw on court filings, aviation records and testimony tied to Epstein's activities from the early 1990s through 2018.
Some of those flights included British women who later reported being abused by Epstein, according to lawyers representing victims. U.S. attorneys involved in the cases described the absence of a comprehensive U.K. inquiry as "shocking," given the volume of travel and the evidence tying Britain to Epstein's operations.
The BBC's review identified three British women whose names appear in flight logs and related records. One of them, known publicly as "Kate," testified in 2021 at the U.S. trial that convicted Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell of child sex trafficking. Kate was listed on more than 10 Epstein-funded flights into and out of the U.K. between 1999 and 2006.
According to her testimony, Kate was 17 when Maxwell introduced her to Epstein in London, where she said she was abused before being trafficked internationally. Despite her role in Maxwell's conviction, Kate has never been contacted by British police, according to her attorney.
The records also show that Epstein's travel through Britain continued even after his 2008 conviction in the United States for soliciting sex from a minor. The BBC found that at least 15 U.K.-linked flights occurred after that conviction, including multiple journeys through London Heathrow following Epstein's release from prison in 2009.
At the time, U.S. citizens traveling to Britain for short stays were not required to obtain visas, leaving entry decisions largely to individual immigration officers. Private aviation faced even fewer controls. Passenger manifests were not routinely required for private jets landing in the U.K. for much of the period examined, a regulatory gap that was closed only in April of last year.
More than 50 of the identified flights involved Epstein's private aircraft, with frequent landings at Luton Airport and additional arrivals recorded at Birmingham, Edinburgh and RAF Marham. In several cases, passenger lists identified individuals only as unnamed "females," limiting visibility into who was traveling with Epstein.
Human trafficking experts say such activity rarely occurs in isolation. "It's never just one bad person," Professor Bridgette Carr of the University of Michigan Law School told the BBC, pointing to the role of professionals and systems that may facilitate movement, finances and concealment.
The BBC said it shared its findings with the Metropolitan Police earlier this year and later asked whether the force would reopen inquiries into possible British victims trafficked through the U.K. The Met declined, saying it had received no new evidence that warranted further investigation. In previous reviews involving Epstein and Maxwell, including allegations raised by Virginia Giuffre, the Met said international authorities were better positioned to pursue the cases.
