'Justice must be done' in Tate case, says PM

Andrew Tate (right) and his brother Tristan arrived in Florida on Thursday after a travel ban was rescinded

The prime minister is facing calls to "urgently" request the extradition of Andrew Tate and his brother to the UK.

Sir Keir Starmer was asked whether the government would step in by the leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey.

The influencers, who grew up in Luton, flew to Florida from Romania last week after a travel ban was rescinded.

Sir Keir said he would "tread carefully" but added: "Justice must be done in all cases, including in this case."

The brothers are now under criminal investigation in three countries. They deny all wrongdoing.

Andrew, 37, and Tristan, 35, were detained last year in Bucharest after Bedfordshire Police said it had obtained an arrest warrant in relation to allegations of rape and trafficking dating back to between 2012 and 2015 .

The pair also face allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering in Romania.

A Romanian court ruled they could be extradited to the UK once the proceedings in that country had been concluded.

The PM said: "Justice must be done in all cases, including this case"

The Florida Attorney General, James Uthmeier, said on Tuesday that he had ordered a criminal inquiry into the pair.

He said he had directed the Office of Statewide Prosecution "to execute search warrants and issue subpoenas in the now-active criminal investigation into the Tate brothers".

Andrew Tate told reporters that the US authorities were "trying to find crimes on an innocent man".

There is also a civil action in the UK brought against him by four women, after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to prosecute in 2019.

Three of the British accusers were the subject of an investigation by Hertfordshire Constabulary, which was closed in 2019.

'Live case'

Sir Ed said he was "delighted" the pair were now subject to a criminal investigation in Florida.

In the Commons, he asked the PM whether he would agree "that people who are wanted by British police for such appalling (alleged) crimes should stand trial in our country".

Sir Keir responded: "This is a live issue, as he'll appreciate," but added that "the principle is absolutely clear" in relation to whether the brothers should face justice.

"But I won't go into the detail as it's a live case, as he knows," the prime minister added.

The Romanian government was reportedly pressed to lift travel restrictions on the brothers earlier this month by the Trump administration.

US President Donald Trump has denied any knowledge of the case.

Romania's anti-organised crime agency, DIICOT, said prosecutors had cleared a request to "modify the obligation preventing the defendants from leaving Romania".

Its statement continued: "The defendants have been warned that deliberately violating these obligations may result in judicial control being replaced with a stricter deprivation of liberty measure."

In separate proceedings last December, Devon and Cornwall Police was given permission to seize more than £2m from the siblings.

A magistrate ruled they had failed to pay any tax on £21m of revenue from their online businesses.