A friend of Meghan Markle has said the Duchess of Sussex is "upset and frustrated" that the Metropolitan Police failed to act on a letter about her father, Thomas Markle Snr.
The 82-year-old is being investigated after the alleged discovery of boxes of child sex images that his son, Thomas Jr., claims to have found at their home in the Philippines. Thomas Markle Snr has denied possessing the images, calling the accusations "sick lies."
Met admits letter not passed on
Scotland Yard confirmed on Saturday that it had received a letter "containing a number of claims about alleged offending" outside its British jurisdiction, but admitted it had not passed it on to authorities overseas. The force is now considering whether to refer itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over how the letter was handled.
A friend of Meghan told The Telegraph: "She's obviously upset and really frustrated that, having effectively been told to stay quiet and having been given assurances it would be investigated, it appears nothing was done. She's obviously pleased that the Met is now considering referring itself to the police watchdog."
Letter sent to royal protection officers
The Met now faces questions about why the information contained in the letter was not shared. It was reportedly sent to the Met's Fixated Threat Assessment Centre, with questions over whether opportunities were therefore missed to prevent further harm to children at the centre of the questioning.
Upon receiving the letter, Scotland Yard passed it to royal protection officers. The letter was then shared with Meghan back in 2018, the same year that she married Prince Harry. It was then shared with the Met Police until early 2019.
Date discrepancy clarified
After sharing a statement just hours after the news of the discovery, Meghan shared another comment on Sunday where she was forced to issue an urgent clarification after an apparent date discrepancy regarding the allegations surrounding her estranged father. The Metropolitan Police previously confirmed that they received a letter containing a "number of claims" about Meghan's father in January 2019, contradicting Meghan's bombshell statement on Friday, which claimed she was made aware of the allegations in 2018.
A spokesperson for the Duchess defended the timeline slip, insisting she is simply "doing her best" to remember details from over seven years ago. Meghan's statement read: "In recalling events from more than seven years ago, without the benefit of a diary entry or contemporaneous record, it is understandable that she may have been mistaken by a few months.
"If the MPS holds a time-stamped record confirming that the letter was reviewed in 2019, that should be treated as the accurate reference point for when it was received and shared with the Duchess." Her team added: "I think it is reasonable to recognise that she is doing her best to recall the precise timing of events that were not diarised at the time, and that any discrepancy of a few months is an understandable consequence of that passage of time."
Former royal protection head reacts
It has been reported that she was allegedly told that everything was "all in hand". Dai Davies, who was the former head of Scotland Yard's Royal Protection Command, has since said that he was "gobsmacked" that the Met had not contacted any other law enforcement bodies about the allegations.
Speaking to The Telegraph, he said: "I'm frankly astounded that, having received this material, they did not contact other relevant forces. One of their roles is to protect the reputation of the Royal family against any allegations." Speaking of Meghan, he added: "I believe they had a duty of care not only to Meghan but to any alleged victims to investigate. They would have been duty-bound, especially given [Prince] Harry and Meghan's level of fame just after their marriage, to carry out their own initial assessment and, if necessary, take it forward."
A Met Police spokesperson said: "Following a thorough review of Met Police systems and records, we have confirmed that in January 2019, we received a letter containing a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom. It was sent to the MPS Protection Command to raise concerns about the security of the Duchess of Sussex. 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 details of the allegations in the letter were not shared with other law enforcement agencies. The MPS is reviewing the handling of this matter in 2019 and considering whether a referral to the IOPC is necessary to review our approach."
