U.S. authorities secretly flew an American diplomat out of Britain after images featuring sexual abuse of children were allegedly found during a raid on his London home, without fully informing British authorities beforehand, British media reported Sunday.
The Daily Mail and The Sun reported that British authorities were formally informed about the investigation only after the diplomat had already been removed from the country, angering officials over what they viewed as an operation carried out outside normal British legal channels.
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British authorities were informed only after the operation had taken place
(Photo: Farooq NAEEM / AFP)
According to the reports, the U.S. investigation began after suspicions arose that the diplomat’s brother, who lives in the United States, had sent him images depicting child sexual abuse.
American personnel reportedly raided the diplomat’s apartment in Putney, south London, on August 25. After allegedly finding child abuse images at the property, they took him to a U.S.-linked military facility in Britain and flew him to the United States.
U.S. Marine Security Guards, who protect the American Embassy in London, are believed to have been involved in the raid, The Sun reported.
Flight records cited in the British reports appeared to support the account of the diplomat’s removal. On August 24, Kalitta Air flight K49709, a Boeing 747-4R7F cargo aircraft, flew from Chicago to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, where the U.S. Air Force maintains a significant presence.
The following day, the same aircraft, operating as flight K4529, departed Fairford at 5:33 p.m. and landed at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware at 7:44 p.m. local time after a flight lasting seven hours and 11 minutes.
‘They should have told Scotland Yard’
Britain’s Metropolitan Police confirmed that U.S. authorities informed them on August 25 about an investigation involving suspected offenses in London linked to indecent images of children.
“On August 25, U.S. authorities made us aware of an investigation they are conducting into suspected offenses in London relating to indecent images of children,” police said. “We continue to liaise with them regarding this matter.”
But the reported operation sparked anger because American personnel have no powers of arrest in Britain and there was reportedly no formal extradition request.
“They should have told Scotland Yard when they carried out the raid, and certainly when they found material,” a source told The Sun.
“Instead, we think they took him to a U.S. airbase and flew him more than 4,000 miles to where his brother was being investigated. We think it was a dawn raid before they then took him to the base in a U.S. military convoy.”
The source added that while the diplomat could ultimately face justice in the United States, the alleged offenses may also fall within British jurisdiction.
UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood
(Photo: REUTERS/Jack Taylor)
British officials are understood to have held high-level discussions over the incident, including meetings involving Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and senior government ministers, among them Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
One possibility being examined in Britain is that U.S. authorities obtained an American court order connected to the investigation of the diplomat’s brother, who is in the United States. But British legal experts questioned whether such an order could authorize American personnel to exercise law enforcement powers on British soil.
The British government offered a measured public response. “We expect all foreign diplomats in the UK to abide by our laws,” it said. “As a U.S. investigation is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
U.S. officials have not publicly detailed the operation or denied the reports. A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in London said: “We are aware of allegations concerning an individual assigned to the Embassy. The United States government expects all personnel to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, and we take these allegations seriously.”
The reported August 25 Fairford-Dover flight and the quoted statements from British police, the British government and the U.S. Embassy are also reflected in the original British reporting.