The police watchdog will investigate the Metropolitan Police's failure to pass on a letter detailing allegations against the Duchess of Sussex's father to relevant overseas law enforcement agencies.
It comes as police in the Philippines investigate suspected child sexual abuse images reportedly found at Thomas Markle Sr's former home.
Allegations and admission
Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, last week told The Sun he found a stash of child sexual abuse images belonging to their father at his former home in the Philippines and reported it to local police and the FBI.
Mr Markle Sr has admitted paying for sex in the south-east Asian country but denies ever possessing a hoard of such material.
Watchdog's decision
An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) spokesperson said: "Following a voluntary conduct referral from the Met Police, we have decided an independent investigation is required into its failure to pass on allegations of serious offending, contained in a letter it received in 2019, to relevant overseas authorities at the time.
"We have decided that a further conduct matter – relating to an alleged data breach where information was passed on to a third party – should be returned to the force to be appropriately dealt with including via its data breach policies if required."
