Andrew Tate sought CPS assurance he would not be arrested if he returned to UK, court hears

Andrew Tate sought written assurances from prosecutors that he would not be arrested if he returned to the UK for a civil case in which he is accused of rape, a court has heard.

Lawyers for the influencer and self-described misogynist, who has been charged with ten criminal offences and is under investigation by various forces, made the submission last year.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) declined the request by Tate and his brother Tristan, who were charged together last May with rape, sexual assault and other offences.

“There is no reason why the CPS should seek to withdraw the warrants to enable your clients to return to the UK to give evidence in the civil proceedings,” the service wrote, according to a witness statement submitted to the high court by a lawyer for the alleged victims.

“It therefore follows that the CPS can give no assurances that should either of your clients voluntarily return to the UK that they would not be arrested.”

Matt Jury, a lawyer representing the four claimants in the civil case said in his statement that it “appears extremely unlikely, given the defendant’s public statements, that he will ever voluntarily return to the UK, a view further supported by the fact that he and his brother have made a formal application to give evidence remotely in these proceedings from America.”

The disclosure was made during a preliminary hearing in regard to a civil case in which four women accuse the Tate brothers of rape, coercive control and assault and battery. They deny the claims.

Vanessa Marshall KC, representing Tate, said in written submissions that more than half a million chat and SMS records, more than half a million photos, thousands of video and audio files and other messages and emails were in the police’s possession.

The Tates are seeking a stay in the civil proceedings on the basis that the case as it unfolded in the high court could “seriously prejudice” their criminal case.

A direction will be made by Mrs Justice Lambert on Wednesday, but she said the current June trial date would be delayed, that there would be a “regrouping” in July and potentially a more substantive hearing before Christmas.

A reinvestigation of criminal allegations, including, rape, made in 2015 by three women will also not be limited to the current evidence held and could lead to new witnesses and alleged victims coming forward, according to Gerard Boyle KC, who is representing the Tates in the civil case.

The CPS has already charged the Tates with 21 criminal charges in a separate case, including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking.

Andrew Tate faces 10 charges including rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain. The charges are connected to three alleged victims.

Tristan Tate faces 11 charges including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking, with the charges connected to one alleged victim. The brothers have denied all wrongdoing.

The two men were also charged in Romania with human trafficking, rape and forming an organised criminal group, after their arrest in December 2022.

The CPS has agreed that the brothers will not be extradited to the UK until those criminal proceedings are settled.

Romanian prosecutors initially held the two men in police custody as a preventative pre-trial measure, but the Bucharest court of appeal relaxed the measure to house arrest in 2023, and later to regular check-ins with the police.

Those restrictions were lifted last month, leaving the brothers free to leave the country. The high court heard that Andrew Tate was currently in the US but that he intended to return to Romania. The Tates maintain their innocence.

The high court also heard that Andrew Tate was bringing a legal challenge against the CPS, with the first high court hearing in the case scheduled for 23 June, with regard to its decision to bring charges. The claim relates to a Bedfordshire police investigation known as Operation Moonwalk.