Thomas Markle Sr denies new child abuse image claims from Mexico
Thomas Markle Sr denies new claims that child abuse images were found in a Mexico storage unit, while the Met police has referred itself to the police watchdog over a 2019 letter.
How it was covered
- Sky News was the only channel found covering it, concentrating on new Mexico storage unit claims, Markle's rehab and the IOPC inquiry.
- Channel 5, BBC News, BBC One, Channel 4, GB News, ITV and BBC Two: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
The Met police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over its handling of a 2019 letter containing child abuse allegations against Thomas Markle Sr. The force did not pass the letter's contents to other law enforcement agencies at the time. ITV reported that the letter was also handed to the protection team for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Sky News said the Met had shared it with the Duchess's office. Thomas Markle Sr denies any criminality.
ITV reported that the Met's decision followed an internal review at New Scotland Yard. Stuart Robson, at Scotland Yard, said the referral centred on two decisions: not passing the letter to other law enforcement agencies and handing it to Harry and Meghan's protection team. ITV said it had seen the letter but would not reveal its contents or its author. It described the author as someone close to the Markle family and connected to other relatives. The Met said it intended to make referrals to relevant overseas law enforcement agencies in the coming days.
Sky News reported that Daily Mail journalists said they had found a second tranche of child abuse images in a storage unit in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, about 10 miles from the US border. The newspaper said receipts confirmed Thomas Markle Sr leased the unit in 2017 and that it was abandoned after rental payments stopped. It said the material included books about paedophilia and magazines showing children being sexually abused. The Daily Mail said it had reported its findings to the FBI. Thomas Markle Sr has called the allegations sick lies and denies them all.
ITV reported that Philippine authorities had been granted a warrant to search electronic devices said to belong to Thomas Markle Sr for alleged images of child sexual abuse. The devices were said to have been stored at his former home in Cebu. Debi Edward, ITV's Asia correspondent, reported that Thomas Markle Sr had been reported to police by his own son. Prosecutors said it would not take long to determine whether there was evidence of a crime against a child.
ITV reported that an estimated one in every 100 children in the Philippines has been trafficked to produce online sexual content for profit, almost half a million children. It also heard from Patricia, who campaigns to eradicate what she calls a virus in her country and who said she was exploited as a child.
Sky News reported that Thomas Markle Sr was in rehabilitation in Florida and learning to walk again after having his leg amputated in the Philippines 11 months earlier. It said Filipino authorities were also investigating suspected child sexual abuse images found at his former home in the country.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported by a few · 2 channels | |||
| A court in Cebu, Philippines granted police permission to search and examine material taken from Thomas Markle's former home and digital devices belonging to him. | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The Met did not share the letter's contents with other law enforcement agencies at the time. | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by ITV | |
| The Metropolitan Police self-referred to the police complaints watchdog over its handling of child abuse allegations involving Thomas Markle Sr, after it received a letter with claims that it did not pass to other law enforcement agencies. | Not reported by BBC One | ||
| Only on one channel | |||
| Newspapers alleged that a second stash of child abuse images belonging to Thomas Markle was found in a lockup near his previous address in Mexico. | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | |
| The Daily Mail said it had passed its findings to the FBI. | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV1 led on the Met police's late referral to the police complaints watchdog and explained the two decisions behind it, including the 2019 letter and its handling at Scotland Yard. Its Cebu report from Debi Edward added the Philippine search warrant and a human context on child sexual exploitation, including Patricia's testimony. It did not cover the later Daily Mail report about a storage unit in Mexico.
- “the Met police has tonight referred itself to the police complaints watchdog over child abuse allegations made against the father of the Duchess of Sussex.”
- “Firstly, it is their decision not to pass on the contents of the letter to other law enforcement agencies at the time.”
- “It breaks my heart knowing that the Philippines is the hotspot.”
Sky News led with a Daily Mail report that a second tranche of child abuse images had been found in a storage unit in Mexico linked to Thomas Markle Sr, including the claim that the paper had contacted the FBI. It also gave more personal background, saying Markle was in rehab in Florida after a leg amputation in the Philippines, before summarising the Met police's IOPC referral over the 2019 letter. Its tone was allegation-led but it repeatedly noted Markle's denial.
- “A Second tranche of child abuse images have reportedly been found in a lockup in Mexico belonging to Thomas Markle senior”
- “He's learning to walk again after having his leg amputated in the Philippines 11 months ago”
- “the Met police as we know is being investigated by the IOPC the independent office for police conduct”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.