Meghan Markle receives new update on letter about her father

Meghan Markle has received a new update on a letter she was sent detailing allegations against her father. 

The Metropolitan Police said on Thursday that it has voluntarily referred itself to the police watchdog because it failed to pass on the correspondence to relevant overseas law enforcement agencies.

It comes as police in the Philippines investigate suspected child sex abuse images reportedly found at the former home of Thomas Markle Snr, the Duchess's father.

Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, told The Sun last Friday that he allegedly found a stash of child sex abuse images belonging to their father at his former home in the Philippines and reported it to local police and the FBI. Thomas Markle Snr denies the allegations.

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In 2019, the Met said it received a letter about "alleged offending outside the United Kingdom", which was passed on to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but not to other law enforcement agencies.

Metropolitan Police's latest statement in full

Following a review, a voluntary referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct "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", the Met said.

Commander Adam Slonecki, who leads the Metropolitan Police’s Protection Command, said: "In January 2019, the Met received a letter addressed to our Protection Command, specifically the Fixated Threats Assessment Centre.

"The author of the letter suggested 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 letter was assessed and subsequently passed to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness."

However, Adam added: "The details of the allegations in the letter were not shared with other law enforcement agencies. 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.

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"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.

"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 under way and will be completed in the coming days."

Meghan leaves the country amid Thomas Markle allegations

Meghan and Prince Harry are currently abroad on a half-term break with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, HELLO! understands. 

Meghan said last week that she was made aware of "disturbing allegations" about her father in 2018, later correcting this to 2019.

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She said she was shown a letter sent to Scotland Yard eight years ago making "troubling" allegations against Thomas Markle Sr and she was assured that these were being investigated.

It's believed that Meghan and her family were already abroad when the allegations were made public last week.