Met Police confirm 2019 abuse letter sent only to Sussex office
Scotland Yard states the document detailing claims about Thomas Markle Sr was not shared with other law enforcement agencies.
By Sarah Montgomery ·
The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Friday that they forwarded a 2019 letter containing allegations against Meghan Markle’s father directly to her office without involving other police forces. The letter detailed claims of alleged offending involving Thomas Markle Sr outside of Britain. The force received the document in January 2019 and reviewed its contents regarding the security of the Duchess of Sussex.
A Met spokesperson stated that the letter was sent to the Protection Command of the Metropolitan Police Service. The force reviewed the material and decided to pass it to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness. Officials confirmed that the information was not passed to other law enforcement agencies at the time.
The revelation follows reports from The Sun that Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, discovered images of child sexual abuse belonging to their father. Markle Jr, 60, told detectives in the Philippines that he found hundreds or thousands of such images on computers and phones. He stated the items were stored in four large boxes at his father’s former home in Cebu, where Markle Sr lived until returning to the US in May after a stroke.
Thomas Markle Sr has denied the accusations, describing them as sick lies in an interview with the Daily Mail. Markle Jr also told The Sun that he contacted the FBI in the United States regarding the discovery.
Meghan Markle said through a spokesperson on Friday that she was deeply distressed by the news. She stated that a letter with troubling and disturbing allegations about her father had been shared with her and that she was given assurances an investigation was underway. The duchess said she decided to limit her father’s contact with her children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, to protect them. She and Prince Harry recently moved back to the UK from the US.
The Met is currently reviewing how the 2019 matter was handled. The force is considering whether to refer itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Meghan initially said the letter was sent in 2018 but later confirmed it was 2019, noting she had no contemporaneous record to verify the date.
Sources indicated that Meghan could not speak about the allegations in 2019 to avoid jeopardizing a potential investigation or facing legal action. The Met spokesperson said the force carried out a thorough review of its systems and records to reach this confirmation.
