Andy Burnham considers public inquiries into Epstein and Al Fayed abuse cases
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Andy Burnham has said he is "looking into" ordering full public inquiries into the abuse scandals linked to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed. The move signals potential government-level scrutiny of two cases that have drawn sustained public and political pressure over how allegations of sexual abuse were handled and whether powerful figures escaped accountability.
As reported, no further detail has been confirmed beyond the initial statement, with no timeline, terms of reference or scope set out for either potential inquiry. Both scandals have previously prompted calls from victims' groups and MPs for statutory inquiries into how allegations against the two men were investigated and why concerns were not acted upon sooner.
- Burnham says he is considering inquiries into Epstein and Al Fayed abuse scandals
- No timeline or scope confirmed yet for either potential inquiry
- Both cases have long faced calls for statutory investigation
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Andy Burnham is the Mayor of Greater Manchester, a senior figure in local government with responsibility for policing in the region. He has said he is looking into ordering full public inquiries into two long-running abuse scandals: one linked to the American financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges, and the other linked to Mohamed Al Fayed, the former owner of Harrods department store, who died in 2023. Both men were accused, after their deaths, of sexually abusing women and girls over many years.
Neither scandal is new. Epstein's case has drawn global attention over his connections to wealthy and powerful figures and questions about who else may have known about or enabled his conduct. Al Fayed faced allegations from former Harrods employees that he abused them and used his position and staff to help cover it up. In both cases, victims and campaigners have long argued that warning signs were missed or ignored for years.
A full public inquiry is a formal, government-backed investigation with powers to gather evidence and compel witnesses, typically used to establish what went wrong and who bears responsibility. Calls for such inquiries into both cases have been building from victims' groups and politicians, who want clearer answers on how the allegations were handled by those in a position to act. Burnham's statement raises the possibility of that scrutiny happening, though at this stage nothing has been confirmed about scope, timing or how the inquiries would work.
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The case for
Advocates for full public inquiries argue that survivors of these two scandals have waited years for a thorough, independent account of how warnings were missed or ignored, and that only a statutory inquiry has the power to compel documents and testimony that voluntary reviews cannot. They contend that the wealth and status of both men allowed alleged abuse to continue unchecked, and that a formal inquiry is essential to expose institutional failures, deliver a measure of justice to victims, and ensure such warning signs are acted upon in future.
The case against
Sceptics of launching full inquiries at this stage caution that they are lengthy, expensive and can take years to report, during which survivors may be required to relive traumatic experiences with no guarantee of new accountability, since both men are dead and beyond prosecution. They also note that without agreed terms of reference, timeline or scope, it is premature to commit to a statutory process, and that existing police reviews or prior investigations may already address much of the ground, meaning resources might be better directed towards current safeguarding concerns rather than a costly retrospective exercise.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Andy Burnham ‘looking into’ ordering public inquiries into Jeffrey Epstein and Mohamed Al Fayed abuse scandals”.