National Crime Agency supporting police forces investigating Epstein files

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has said it is supporting UK police forces investigating information in the Epstein files.

The NCA said it is supporting police to “enable a full and independent assessment of the information released”.

Meanwhile, The Times reported that West Midlands Police had become the latest force to announce it was reviewing the files released by the US Department of Justice in relation to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The developments came as Surrey Police urged people with information to come forward about claims of human trafficking and sexual assault from the 1990s.

The force said the alleged offending, set out in a redacted report released by the US Department of Justice in December, took place in Virginia Water between 1994 and 1996.

Its call for witnesses followed an FBI report from July 2020 which appeared in the files, in which somebody alleged they were drugged at night and driven to “paedophile ring parties” in the mid 1990s.

The same person also claims to have been hit by a dark blue car “driven by Prince Andrew” in which they allegedly suffered injuries to their ribs, hip and leg.

Police said they have found no evidence of allegations being reported to them after reviewing their systems.

In the same document, the woman also alleged sexual abuse against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who turns 66 on Thursday, and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell.

The woman claimed she was restrained on a table and “tortured with electrical shocks” by Maxwell, while the former prince and other men watched.

Surrey Police are not looking into these allegations, which are alleged to have taken place at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.

On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police said “initial inquiries into these specific allegations have begun” regarding protection officers after concerns from one unnamed officer that some turned a “blind eye” to Andrew’s visits to Epstein’s island, Little St James, in the US Virgin Islands.

A protection officer, speaking to LBC, said: “I’m not suggesting they definitely witnessed any criminality from Andrew… but there was concern that certain members of the royal protection team wilfully turned a blind eye to what was happening on the island.”

On Tuesday, Essex Police said officers were assessing information about private flights to and from Stansted Airport after information was released as part of the document dump on January 30.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown claimed the files showed in “graphic detail” how Epstein was able to use the airport to “fly in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia”.

A spokesperson for Stansted said the airport “does not manage or have any visibility of passenger arrangements on privately operated aircraft”.

Norfolk Police confirmed officers are reviewing documents brought to their attention, but they had not yet received any allegations and were not conducting any investigations.

West Midlands Police reportedly said officers would assess information about flights that passed through Birmingham Airport, according to The Times, while Bedfordshire Police are reportedly looking into Luton flights.

Earlier this month, Thames Valley Police confirmed officers were assessing claims that Andrew shared confidential reports from his role as the UK’s trade envoy with Epstein.

Andrew has denied any wrongdoing over his Epstein links but has not directly responded to the latest allegations.

The London and Wiltshire homes of Lord Peter Mandelson have also been searched by officers as part of the Metropolitan Police’s investigation into alleged misconduct in public office.

Scotland Yard previously said inquiries were continuing into allegations that the peer sent market-sensitive information to Epstein while he was business secretary during the financial crisis.

On Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves added her voice to those calling on Andrew to speak about what he knows about the Epstein scandal, saying he “owes it to the victims”.