Met Police confirm sharing 2019 letter on Meghan's father with her office

The Metropolitan Police confirmed on Friday that they provided a letter to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2019. The document contained allegations of offending involving Thomas Markle Sr, the father of Meghan Markle. Scotland Yard stated the letter was received in January 2019 and included claims about activities outside Britain. The force said it passed the information directly to the ducal office but did not share it with other law enforcement agencies.

The disclosure follows reports from The Sun that Markle Sr possessed images of child sexual abuse. The newspaper cited Markle Sr’s 60-year-old half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, who said he found the images at their father’s former home in Cebu, Philippines. Markle Jr told local detectives he discovered hundreds, if not thousands, of such images on computers and mobile phones stored in four large boxes. Markle Sr lived in the Philippines until returning to the United States in May following a stroke. Markle Jr also said he contacted the FBI.

Markle Sr has denied the claims. He told the Daily Mail that the accusations were sick lies. A spokesperson for the Met said the force conducted a thorough review of its systems and records. The letter was sent to the Protection Command of the Metropolitan Police Service to raise security concerns for the Duchess. The spokesperson noted that the letter was reviewed and a decision was made to pass it to the ducal office for their awareness. The Met is now reviewing how the matter was handled in 2019. It is considering whether to refer itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

On Friday, Meghan spoke through a spokesperson about the news. She described herself as deeply distressed and said her thoughts were with any children who may have been harmed. She confirmed that a letter containing troubling and disturbing allegations about her father had been shared with her. She stated that she was given assurances the matter was being investigated. Meghan said her decision to limit his contact with her children was made to protect them. She is estranged from Markle Sr, who has never met Prince Archie, seven, or Princess Lilibet, five. The couple recently moved back to the UK from the US.

Meghan’s initial statement said the letter was sent in 2018. She later corrected this, confirming the year was 2019. Her spokesperson explained that it was understandable she could be mistaken by a few months when recalling events from more than seven years ago without a contemporaneous record. The spokesperson said that if the Met holds a time-stamped record showing the letter was reviewed in 2019, that should be treated as the accurate reference point. Sources said Meghan could not speak publicly about the allegations in 2019 to avoid jeopardizing any future investigation or facing legal action.

The Met’s review aims to determine if its handling of the letter followed proper protocols. The force acknowledged the letter raised specific security concerns for the Duchess. It did not specify the exact nature of the offending alleged in the document beyond the reference to activities outside Britain. The Independent Office for Police Conduct may examine the timeline of the decision-making process. The ducal office did not respond immediately to further questions about the specific dates of communication in 2019.