Piers Morgan has hit back after a social media user told him he owes Meghan Markle an apology. The exchange came after allegations emerged that Meghan's father, Thomas Markle Snr, 82, has been accused of possessing thousands of indecent images of children.
After the allegations against her father were made public, Meghan said she was "deeply distressed" by them, adding that she had been made aware of the claims since 2018. This led Piers, 61, to question why Meghan, 45, had not gone public with the information to protect others.
Morgan's response to apology demand
The former Good Morning Britain presenter has been a vocal critic of Prince Harry, 42, and Meghan over the years, and has regularly criticised the Duchess of Sussex for not wanting to build bridges with her estranged father. On X, Piers recently reshared the front page of The Sun, which revealed further reported revelations about Thomas Snr.
In a subtle dig at Meghan, Piers wrote: "The police, and everyone else who read that letter 8 years ago, must explain why nothing was apparently said or done to stop the alleged child abuser from continuing to allegedly abuse."
"You owe Meghan an apology," one social media user responded to Piers' comment. He then snapped back: "I'm very sorry her father is an alleged paedophile and that she knew this while falsely accusing the Royal Family of being callous racists."
Allegations against Thomas Markle Snr
Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jnr, allegedly reported their father to authorities after claiming he found thousands of indecent child sex abuse images inside four boxes at a former residence in Cebu, Philippines.
Thomas Snr has vehemently denied the allegations, describing them as "sick lies" and insisting it was "the worst thing anyone could accuse me of". He has also offered to take a lie detector test, insisting any illicit files were planted.
Meghan's statement on the allegations
In response to the allegations against her father, Meghan said: "I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.
"In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me.
"It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated.
"I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications' distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them. I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.
"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."
