LONDON — Britains’ new Prime Minister Andy Burnham is considering holding a public inquiry into the U.K. activities of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones said Tuesday evening.
Davies-Jones told the BBC she had discussed a potential public inquiry with the prime minister and Cabinet Secretary Antonia Romeo when she was reappointed victims minister last month.
Davies-Jones, who accused the previous Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government of failing to listen to Epstein’s survivors, said Burnham had already agreed to meet the late financier’s victims.
“We are looking at this, we are reviewing what is possible,” Davies-Jones told Newsnight. “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.”
Justice Minister Jake Richards also confirmed Wednesday morning that an inquiry is on Burnham’s radar. “The prime minister will look into it,” he told Sky News Wednesday morning. “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.”
A BBC investigation last year found around 90 flights linked to Epstein arrived and departed at U.K. airports, some with alleged British victims on board.