FBI backs Philippines inquiry into Thomas Markle as Met reviews 2019 letter

The Duchess of Sussex has said she is deeply distressed by allegations that her estranged father, Thomas Markle, possessed child sexual abuse images at a former home in the Philippines. Mr Markle, 82, denies the claims and has called them sick lies.

The claims were first published by The Sun after Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, said he found four boxes of photographs and videos at his father's former home in Cebu. He handed material to the Philippine authorities. The Philippines Department of Justice and National Police have confirmed an investigation. Police say they have secured a computer and other devices and are conducting digital forensic examinations. The anti-human trafficking and child sexual exploitation task force in Cebu is involved. Prosecutors have said initial findings could come within a week. The FBI has said it is aware of the allegations, will support the Philippine authorities and will investigate any possible violation of US law. No charges have been filed.

Meghan's statement said her thoughts were with any children who may have been harmed. She said that in 2018 a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection, and that the letter was later shared with her. She said it made troubling and disturbing allegations against her father and that she was given assurances they were being investigated. She said any distance from her father and her choice not to allow him contact with her children was to protect them. She added that the breadth of what had been uncovered was more sickening than she could have imagined and that she hoped justice would be fully served.

Further reporting said Meghan wrote a separate letter to her father last year while he was in hospital in the Philippines for a leg amputation. According to sources, she told him he would never meet his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, and that she would not contact him again. The letter was reported to say she knew he had abused young girls. Mr Markle denies all abuse allegations. In an interview, he admitted paying for sex but denied sleeping with underage girls or possessing child abuse images.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed that it received a letter in January 2019 containing claims about alleged offending outside the UK. It said the letter was sent to its protection command over concerns about the Duchess's security and was passed to the office of the Duke and Duchess for their awareness. The Met said the details were not shared with other law enforcement agencies. It is reviewing its handling and considering whether to refer itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. The IOPC said no referral had been received at that stage.

The letter was reported to have been written by Thomas Markle's first wife, Roslyn Loveless, also known as Roslyn Markle. She divorced him in 1975 and has since died. The handwritten letter ran to about six pages and was addressed to the Met's Fixated Threat Assessment Centre. It reportedly alleged that Mr Markle was a paedophile and that he had said he travelled to Thailand and the Philippines for underage sex. Mr Markle denies the allegations.

Meghan initially said she was informed in 2018. After the Met's statement, a spokesperson for the Sussexes said that, without a diary entry or contemporaneous record, she may have been mistaken by a few months. The spokesperson said the Met's time-stamped record showing the letter was reviewed in 2019 should be treated as accurate. The discrepancy does not affect the central questions about why the letter was not passed to agencies abroad.

Meghan and Harry returned to the UK recently and have made their first joint public appearance since the move. They are no longer working royals. Meghan has not seen her father since their wedding in May 2018, when King Charles, then Prince of Wales, walked her down the aisle. Buckingham Palace has not commented. Mr Markle is reported to be in a rehabilitation centre in the US after surgery. The allegations remain unproven and the investigations are continuing.