Metropolitan Police under fire for failing to alert FBI over 'troubling and disturbing' claims about Thomas Markle

Scotland Yard was last night under fire for failing to alert the FBI or any other police force when it warned the Duchess of Sussex seven years ago that child-sex abuse allegations had been made against her father.

In an embarrassing blow, the Metropolitan Police said it may refer itself to the police watchdog over the way it dealt with bombshell allegations made against Thomas Markle.

An extraordinary statement issued by the Met yesterday revealed that although it received a letter containing claims of 'alleged offending outside the United Kingdom' in January 2019, it did not refer the allegations to any overseas law enforcement agency.

It comes as Mr Markle told The Mail on Sunday that he believes his son – Meghan's half-brother – could have been the author of the letter, which it is understood accused him of child-sex crimes.

Thomas Markle Snr, 82, said Tom Jr, 60, may have sent the document as part of a vendetta because he was 'jealous' of his father's successful Hollywood career.

'I don't know why but he was always angry at me because I told him how disappointed I've been with him,' he added last night. Meghan's astonishing announcement on Friday that a letter sent to the Met – and subsequently shared with her – included 'troubling and disturbing' allegations against her father has sent shockwaves through royal circles.

In her statement, the duchess said that she was 'given assurances' that the allegations 'were being investigated'.

She cited this as the reason why she cut her father out of her life, to protect her children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five.

The Met faced backlash after failing to alert the FBI when it warned Meghan Markle seven years ago that the allegations had been made against Thomas Markle Snr

Thomas Markle Snr, 82, believes his son Tom Jr, 60, could have been the author of the letter, which is understood to have accused him of child-sex crimes

'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,' she said.

Just over 24 hours later – and after poring over its records – the Met confirmed it had received a letter 'containing a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom'.

However, it clarified that it received the document in January 2019 and not in 2018 as Meghan claimed in her statement.

A Met spokesman said the letter was sent to the Met's Protection Command, which includes the specialist officers who protect the Royals, because it raised concerns in relation to the duchess's security arrangements.

'The letter was reviewed and a decision was made that it should be passed to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness,' the spokesman added. But in a twist, the Met admitted that 'the details of the allegations in the letter were not shared with other law enforcement agencies'.

At the time the Met received the letter, Mr Markle was living in Rosarito, Mexico, where he retired after an award-winning career as a Hollywood lighting director.

Sources at the Met have also made it clear it did not carry out any investigation into Mr Markle – then or since.

Dai Davies, a former head of the Met Police's royal protection group, last night said its response was 'disgraceful' and 'beggars belief'.

'Given who she [Meghan] was, given she was married to the fifth in line to the Throne, surely somebody with a degree of common sense would have realised that this potentially could blow up?

'Given the seriousness of the allegations, surely they should have passed it on to their equivalent in the FBI?

'We have a liaison officer at the American embassy. This should have received the highest attention and clearly it didn't.

'What is disgraceful is that nothing seems to have been followed up. This should have been investigated properly.'

The unanswered questions

• Who sent the letter to Scotland Yard in 2019 and precisely what did it allege?

• When exactly did the Met pass the letter on to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex?

• Who at the Met knew about the letter and its allegations?

• Given the letter alleged offending overseas, why did the Met not alert the FBI or any other foreign police force?

• Who gave Meghan assurances that the allegations were being investigated?

The admission raises questions over who gave Meghan 'assurances' the allegations against her father were being investigated.

It also remains unclear when precisely she was sent the letter after it was reviewed by the Met, which at the time was led by Commissioner Cressida Dick.

In a fresh humiliation for Scotland Yard, the highly sensitive issue may now have to be examined by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). 

'The [Met] is reviewing the handling of this matter in 2019 and considering whether a referral to the IOPC is necessary to review our approach,' the Met's spokesman added.

Meanwhile, neither the Met nor the Sussexes would yesterday say who sent the letter.

But asked who he thought the author might be, Mr Markle told the MoS: 'I'm guessing it was Tom Jr. I don't know anyone else who would write that kind of letter.

'I don't know why but he was always angry at me because I told him how disappointed I've been with him.

'He's jealous and I guess he hates me because I had a successful career and he did not.

'He left school with an eighth-grade [aged 14] education. I have given him money all his life. He has never accused me of these things before. Why now?

'I would like to know how much he is getting paid to say these things about me.'

A spokesman for the IOPC last night told the MoS it had not received a referral from the Met.

The drama comes after Tom Jr told police in the Philippines that he has discovered 'hundreds' of child-sex images in boxes at his father's home.

Mr Markle is being investigated by a child-sex abuse task force in Cebu, a city in the Philippines where he lived between January 2025 and May this year, with the FBI also poised to join the probe now he is living in Florida.

According to The Sun, a hoard of alleged evidence including VHS tapes, DVDs and photographic negatives, was contained in four large cardboard boxes that were handed to police.

The alleged evidence includes an old 35mm film negative showing a bearded man, considered possibly to be Mr Markle, on a bed with an Asian girl.

Mr Markle has described the allegations against him as 'sick lies', adding: 'I'm shocked, I'm hurt and I'm very upset that my son is making these accusations against me.