A US diplomat removed from Britain over allegations of paedophilia allegedly swapped dozens of pictures of child abuse with his brother.
The 39-year-old was arrested at his flat in Putney, London before being flown back to the US in August.
He had allegedly exchanged some 75 pictures of under 13s via Telegram with his brother, who had himself been detained two months earlier.
The operation wasn’t a formal extradition and was thought to have been carried out without first notifying authorities in the UK.
Metropolitan Police were only informed once the man was being evacuated on a cargo plane from RAF Fairford.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley is now believed to be receiving updates on the matter.
Rather than being dealt with in a civilian court, the diplomat, a US Air Force lieutenant colonel, is understood to be being tried at a military base, the Sun on Sunday reported.
A source said the incident had caused ‘angst’ here in the UK.
They added that, had he not had military ties, he would likely have faced trial on this side of the Atlantic.
Mark Stephens, an expert in international litigation, said the children involved in the case had been treated as ‘collateral damage’, with the diplomat unlikely to face any justice here.
He said the best case scenario would be a disclosure of evidence to help protect future victims.
On arrest in June, the younger brother had admitted to holding a hidden file on his phone containing pictures of ‘pretty young males’.
The brother was tracked down by the Predator Poachers, an online watch group that regularly conducts sting operations to catch adults engaging in relations with minors.
Detectives heard the group had engaged with the brother by claiming they could use AI technology to wipe the suspicious images from his phone.
The brother’s attorney argued during the bail hearing he should be allowed to live with his parents.
In a statement, the US Embassy said it was aware of the incident and that diplomats were expected to uphold the highest standards of conduct.
A spokesperson for the US Air Force said the investigation remained ongoing and that charges against the diplomat were being reviewed to determine whether to progress the case to a court-martial.
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