UK Considers Its Own Epstein Inquiry
A UK minister has told the BBC that the government is reviewing the possibility of a public inquiry into Jeffrey Epstein’s activities and associated flights to the UK. Ministers say the prime minister will meet victims and consider options to ensure lessons are learned, following a BBC probe that identified around 90 Epstein-linked flights to UK airports.
The UK government is reviewing the possibility of its own public inquiry into the affairs of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, officials told the BBC and other outlets this week. Victims minister Davies-Jones said she discussed a potential public inquiry with the prime minister and Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo after being reappointed last month.
She told Newsnight: "We are looking at this, we are reviewing what is possible. I have been assured that the prime minister is taking this very seriously. He will meet with those victims and he is looking at what is possible, now he has access to all of the information as prime minister to see what action we can take." Davies-Jones also said that Burnham had already agreed to meet Epstein’s victims, a move she described as part of early engagement with survivors.
Justice Minister Jake Richards separately told Sky News that an inquiry was "on the prime minister’s radar," adding: "He’ll take his time, no doubt, to think about the best route for victims, but also to crucially ensure lessons are learned, to make sure that these sorts of things never happen again." The renewed scrutiny follows a BBC investigation last year which reported that around 90 flights linked to Epstein arrived at and departed from UK airports, with some flights allegedly carrying British victims.
That probe renewed public and political calls for fuller examinations of how Epstein operated and how institutions and officials responded. Relevance for the Virgin Islands is immediate. Epstein’s ownership of Little Saint James in the neighbouring United States Virgin Islands and his known travel around the Caribbean tied the region into wider inquiries about his activities.
Any UK-led inquiry could prompt requests for evidence, cooperation with overseas authorities and fresh attention on flight logs, passenger lists and the movement of people between the Caribbean and Europe. Survivors with ties to or living in the British Virgin Islands may also seek access to information or support as UK authorities determine the scope and mechanisms for inquiry.
At this stage ministers have indicated that no formal decision has been announced and that options are being reviewed. For victims and residents in the region, the government’s next steps — including meetings with survivors, the decision whether to launch a full public inquiry, and the arrangements for international cooperation — will be closely watched.
Reporting referenced statements to the BBC and Sky News and a BBC investigation into Epstein-linked flights.
Primary source: VINO