British police said on Thursday they would refer allegations about Meghan Markle’s father to overseas law enforcement agencies, after a review found the claims had not been passed to other authorities when they were first received in 2019.
Authorities in the Philippines said last week they were investigating Thomas Markle Sr. over allegations he possessed child sexual abuse images.
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Thursday it had received a letter in January 2019 in which the author said they “were writing to raise concerns relating to the security of the Duchess of Sussex.”
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“While the letter did not actually contain any information specifically related to security matters, it did contain a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom,” the Metropolitan police said in a news release.
“The letter was assessed and subsequently passed to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness. The details of the allegations in the letter were not shared with other law enforcement agencies,” said Metropolitan Police’s Protection Commander Adam Slonecki.
Slonecki said that an internal review had led to the matter being referred to the police watchdog and that the force was now sharing the allegations with overseas authorities.
“In recent days, the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards has carried out an initial review into our actions following receipt of the letter in 2019,” Slonecki said.
“Following that review, a voluntary referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in respect of the decision not to inform other law enforcement agencies and the decision to pass the letter to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” he said.
“In addition, it is our intention to make a number of referrals to relevant overseas law enforcement agencies in relation to the allegations contained within the letter. That process is underway and will be completed in the coming days,” Slonecki added.
Meghan’s father denied the allegations against him in a statement to the Daily Mail last week, saying, “I’m shocked, I’m hurt and I’m very upset that my son is making these accusations against me.”
“I could never do what I’m being accused of. It’s the worst thing anyone could accuse me of,” he added.
The Duchess of Sussex said she was “deeply distressed” by allegations that a collection of child sexual abuse images had been found at her estranged father’s former home.
Markle issued the statement last week after The Sun, a British tabloid newspaper, reported that her half-brother allegedly found the images while cleaning out the home of their father, Thomas Markle Sr., in the Philippines.
“I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed,” Meghan said in a statement to The Associated Press.
She also addressed the letter sent to the Metropolitan Police Service’s Royal and Specialist Protection unit.
“In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me. It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated,” she continued.
Meghan went on to say that she has not had a relationship with her father to protect her children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.
“I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them,” Meghan said. “I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.”
“Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children,” her statement concluded.
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Thomas Markle Sr., 82, was living in the Philippines earlier this year when he suffered a stroke and had his left leg amputated. That forced him to return to the U.S., The Associated Press reports.
The Sun alleged that Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., had recently found “hundreds, if not thousands” of child sex abuse images in boxes at his father’s home in the Philippine city of Cebu when he was clearing out the property.
He told the newspaper that he reported the alleged images to police in the Philippines.
Markle Jr., 60, told the outlet that he contacted FBI investigators in the U.S. who are reportedly set to launch their own probe.
“The FBI is aware of the allegations and will provide support, as appropriate, to the Philippine authorities. We will also investigate any related allegations of federal violations of U.S. law,” an FBI spokesperson told Global News.
—With files from Reuters and The Associated Press
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