Keir Starmer has been urged to challenge Donald Trump over extraditing misogynist online influencer Andrew Tate.
He and his brother Tristan have been unable to leave Romania since their arrest in December 2022 over allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering.
But following US government involvement in his case after the election of President Trump, the pair of British-American dual nationals yesterday flew in a private jet from Bucharest to Florida.
According to the brothers’ lawyer, the ‘primary’ reason the Tates feel safe to return to the US is that ‘Donald Trump is the president’. But Florida governor Ron DeSantis said the Tate brothers were ‘not welcome’ after they arrived.
Four British women who are bringing separate civil claims against Andrew Tate in the UK, accusing him of rape and coercive control, yesterday said his flight from Romania has ‘retraumatised them’ – and their lawyer called for Sir Keir to intervene.
The brothers were already subject to an extradition order to bring them back to Britain, but only once Romanian legal proceedings are concluded. While they are supposed to return to Bucharest for more hearings, there are no guarantees they will – or that US authorities would compel them to do so.
In a joint statement the British women said: ‘We are in disbelief and feel retraumatised by the news that the Romanian authorities have given in to pressure from the Trump administration to allow Andrew Tate to travel around Europe and to the US.
‘We can only hope that the British authorities finally take action, do something about this terrifying unfolding situation and ensure he faces justice in the UK.’
Andrew Tate posted a photo after landing, showing him inside the private jet with his pet dog on his lap
The brothers arrived in the US after authorities lifted travel restrictions
Matthew Jury, the lawyer for the four women, said Sir Keir should raise with the Trump government the issue ‘on behalf of the many British women who Tate is alleged to have raped and sexually assaulted who may now be denied justice’.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister’s office insisted: ‘More widely, the Prime Minister has been clear that human trafficking should be viewed as a global security threat, similar to terrorism.’
Speaking after landing in the US, Andrew Tate, a former Luton resident, claimed that he and his brother are ‘largely misunderstood’.
He added: ‘We have yet to be convicted of any crime in our lives. We have no criminal record on the planet ever. Our case was dismissed on December 19 in Romania under the Biden administration and our prosecutor recently decided that we have no acting indictment, so they let us go and return [to the US].’ Former kickboxer Andrew Tate, 38, found fame in 2016 when he appeared on the Big Brother reality television show – but was booted off after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.
He turned to social media to promote his often misogynistic and divisive views.
As his notoriety grew, he was banned from Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.
But since the acquisition of Twitter (now X) by Trump right-hand-man Elon Musk, Tate has been free to tweet again, and is now followed by more than ten million people.
Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate left Romania while under criminal investigation over a string of allegations
The pair have denied all wrongdoing in the criminal cases against them
His posts are denounced as racist and homophobic by critics. His arrest alongside his 36-year-old brother in Romania seemed to spell doom for his empire. Last year, the Tates were sentenced in a tax fraud case in Britain, while still forbidden from leaving Romania, with their assets seized.
Romanian foreign minister Emil Hurezeanu said Richard Grenell, special envoy for President Trump, raised the case with him this month. Romanian prosecutors approved a ‘request to modify the obligation preventing the defendants from leaving Romania’ – with a requirement to return ‘whenever summoned’.
Seized assets including five properties, plus two Audis, a Nissan, a Mercedes-Benz, and a Ferrari, as well as company shares, were returned to the brothers.
