Prime Minister Andy Burnham is looking into whether to hold a public inquiry into Jeffrey Epstein's activities in the UK, according to victims minister Alex Davies-Jones. BBC News

A public inquiry is a formal investigation set up by the government, usually led by a judge, to look at serious matters of public concern. It can call witnesses and demand documents.

Davies-Jones told BBC Newsnight she raised the idea of an inquiry covering both Epstein and the alleged behaviour of former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed. She did so during talks with the prime minister and cabinet secretary Dame Antonia Romeo, at the point of her re-appointment as victims minister. Burnham has agreed to meet Epstein's victims, she said.

"We are looking at this, we are reviewing what is possible," Davies-Jones said. "Again, same with Harrods survivors." She said she had been assured the prime minister is taking the matter seriously.

The minister's role in this story matters because of her own recent history. Davies-Jones resigned from Sir Keir Starmer's government in May. She later accused the government of failing to listen to Epstein's survivors. In June she told Parliament that people whose lives were devastated by Epstein's abuse had "too often been reduced to a footnote." She was reappointed to the victims role when Burnham succeeded Starmer as prime minister.

Discussions about the Epstein survivors began before Burnham moved into Downing Street. Davies-Jones said she raised the issue with him before he became prime minister, and that he agreed to meet victims at that stage.

The political background is important. In February 2026, Starmer apologised to Epstein victims over his appointment of Peter Mandelson, saying he was sorry he had believed Mandelson's "lies" before appointing him. Reuters The episode damaged trust in the previous government's dealings with survivors. Davies-Jones's return to the victims role under Burnham was seen by campaigners as an attempt to repair that relationship.

BBC Newsnight understands that Burnham was sent a document by leading Labour campaigners on Violence Against Women and Girls as he prepared to become prime minister. The document proposed a full public inquiry covering three areas: Epstein's UK activities, the alleged behaviour of Mohamed Al Fayed, and allegations from a BBC Panorama and Times investigation that West Ham co-owner David Sullivan preyed on women. BBC News

Sullivan has described the claims as false. "I was absolutely not the person the media has decided to paint me as," he said.

The document called for an "impunity" inquiry, meaning one that examines how powerful men were able to carry out the alleged behaviour without facing consequences. On Epstein, it proposed a focus on UK borders, asking how he was able to fly in and out of UK military bases on his private jet, often with allegedly trafficked women. Former prime minister Gordon Brown raised the same issue in February. Davies-Jones is understood to be familiar with the document sent to Burnham.

The proposed scope goes beyond a single person's conduct. The border and military-base angle raises questions about which government departments and security agencies were keeping track of Epstein's movements, and what, if anything, was done to check them. An "impunity" approach would ask institutional questions: not only what happened, but who helped it happen or failed to stop it.

Survivors have responded with cautious optimism. Anouska di Georgiou, an Epstein survivor, welcomed reports that Burnham is considering public inquiries into the Epstein and Maxwell, Harrods/Mohamed Al Fayed, and David Sullivan cases. She noted that survivors have heard promises before and that what matters now is action. Another Epstein survivor described Burnham as "the most supportive" as she seeks a public inquiry. Sky News

Several key questions are still unanswered. No formal scope has been published. The government has not said whether an inquiry would be led by a judge, whether it would have legal powers to force witnesses to give evidence, or whether it would be one inquiry covering several areas or separate inquiries. The Al Fayed dimension adds complexity, because he is dead and there are already civil legal claims against his estate. The inclusion of the Sullivan allegations, which he denies, would mean the inquiry has to handle disputed claims against a living person.

The wider picture here is as much about politics as principle. Davies-Jones is using her return to government to push a cause she fought for from the back benches. Burnham, who became prime minister after Starmer's fall over the Mandelson affair, has every reason to show he is listening. The real test will be whether "looking into" turns into a formal announcement with the full weight of government behind it.