An investigation has been called in the United Kingdom to ascertain whether convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein used Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) bases to land private jets while he trafficked women and girls.
British daily The Telegraph has reported that UK Defence Secretary John Healey has told officials to search through two decades of Ministry of Defence files and “leave no stone unturned” in the hunt. He has asked the investigators to find any links between Epstein's private jets and the RAF facilities.
The investigation has been ordered by UK Defence Secretary John Healey, the report said. The development comes days after former prime minister Gordon Brown had urged police to investigate whether former Prince Andrew had used taxpayer-funded jet travel and RAF bases to meet with Epstein.
Also Read: King Charles Breaks Silence On Ex-Prince Andrews' Arrest: 'Law Must Take Its Course...'
Brown has raised concerns about a particular private flight Epstein took on a Gulfstream jet that landed at an airbase in Norfolk in December 2000, before he visited the royal retreat of Sandringham with Andrew.
While Brown raised the concerns, Andrew was released after being arrested last week for “misconduct in public office” while he served as the UK trade envoy. He has been accused of sending confidential government documents to Epstein.
Following his arrest, his brother King Charles issued a statement and said that the “law must take its course” while assuring that his “full and wholehearted support” was with the authorities.
The Epstein storm has refused to die down in the United Kingdom following the arrest of former prince Andrew.
On Thursday, following the orders by Healey, the Intelligence and Security Committee of the UK hoped it would soon be able to publish documents shedding light on Peter Mandelson's Epstein ties.
The committee said that Mandelson, a political insider, was appointed as the UK's ambassador to the United States by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, despite his long-time ties to Epstein being well known.
A spokesperson of the committee said that it was proceeding at pace to publish the first tranche of documents in early March. Mandelson was briefly detained by London's Metropolitan Police as part of their investigation.
Starmer might have sacked Mandelson as the ambassador, but more details and revelations in the case will bring about a political fallout for the UK Prime Minister.
Also Read: Epstein Files Fallout: UK Police Arrests Ex-US Ambassador Peter Mandelson
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