Britainupdated 53m ago2 min read
Met Police Received 2019 Letter With Claims About Thomas Markle, Did Not Share With Other Forces
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Metropolitan Police received a 2019 letter alleging Thomas Markle possessed child sexual abuse material. Letter details were shared with Meghan and Harry's office, not with other police forces.
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Met letter, not shared
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that in January 2019 it received a letter containing a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom involving Thomas Markle, the father of the Duchess of Sussex. The Met said it sent the letter to the MPS Protection Command to raise concerns in relation to the security of the Duchess of Sussex, and then it passed the information to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness. The Met also said the details of the allegations in the letter were not shared with other law enforcement agencies, and it was reviewing the handling of the matter in 2019 while considering whether to refer itself to the police watchdog.
“The details of the allegations in the letter were not shared with other law enforcement agencies.”
Meghan said she was informed about “disturbing allegations” about her estranged father in 2018, and she said she was given assurance that the allegations were being investigated. The Sussexes’ spokesperson said it was “understandable” that Meghan “may have been mistaken” about the date and that the Met’s record “should be treated as the accurate reference point.”
Philippines investigation follows
Philippine authorities said they were investigating Thomas Markle over allegations he possessed child sexual abuse images, and Thomas Markle, 82, denied the allegations.
Col. Allen Rae Co said investigators were looking into the nature and origin of the materials and whether they may be connected to any violation of law, after Thomas Markle Jr. turned over personal items to law enforcement.
Meghan said she was “deeply distressed” by the news and that she had been aware of the allegations against her father since 2018.
The Metropolitan Police said it was considering whether a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct was needed to assess its approach.
The Guardian said the Met had received a letter in January 2019 making a number of allegations about offending outside Britain and passed it to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s office but not to “other law enforcement agencies.”
Timeline dispute and stakes
The dispute over timing centered on Meghan’s account that she was told about the letter in 2018, while Scotland Yard confirmed the letter was received in January 2019. The BBC quoted a spokesperson for the duchess saying “any discrepancy of a few months” was “an understandable consequence of that passage of time”. The Metropolitan Police said it was reviewing its handling of the matter in 2019 and considering whether a referral to the IOPC was necessary to review its approach.
Meghan said she broke off contact with her father and did not allow him to have contact with her children, Archie and Lilibet, “for one reason: to protect them”. Reuters said the Met passed the letter to Meghan after she said she had been informed of allegations about her father in 2018, and it said the police force was considering whether a referral to the police watchdog was needed.