Met refers itself to police watchdog over Meghan security letter

The Metropolitan Police has referred itself to the police watchdog over its handling of a 2019 letter that warned of dangers to the security of the Duchess of Sussex posed by her father, Thomas Markle.

The force said the letter, allegedly written by Markle's former wife, was passed seven years ago to the private office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who were then both working royals. The Guardian understands the long letter made claims about Markle's activities in the US, the Philippines and Thailand. Markle faces claims of child sexual abuse image offending linked to the Philippines, which he denies.

Why the Met referred itself

The Met said it did not investigate because the allegations related to potential unlawful activity overseas. The central problem for the force is its admission that it did not share the letter with law enforcement agencies abroad, and that decision has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). The allegations about the letter and the alleged Met failings surfaced publicly a week ago.

The Guardian understands the Met is now sending details of the letter to the FBI in the US and to law enforcement in the Philippines, where Markle lived until May, as well as to Thai counterparts. Markle, now in the US, has admitted paying for sex but denies possessing material that would be illegal.

Met Commander Adam Slonecki, who leads its Protection Command, said the letter was sent in 2019 to the Fixated Threats Assessment Centre. He said the author suggested they were raising concerns about the Duchess of Sussex's security, though the letter "did not actually contain any information specifically related to security matters" and instead carried claims about alleged offending outside the UK.

"The details of the allegations in the letter were not shared with other law enforcement agencies," he said, adding that a voluntary referral had been made to the IOPC over both the decision not to inform other agencies and the decision to pass the letter to the Sussexes' office.

The Met cannot find a copy of the 2019 letter in its systems and asked the Duchess of Sussex to send the copy she had, which she did.

An IOPC spokesperson said the watchdog had received a voluntary conduct referral and was assessing it before deciding what further action may be required. Options include an independent investigation or sending the matter back to the Met to investigate.

Investigation in the Philippines

Officials and investigators in the Philippines are examining digital images alleged to belong to Markle and alleged to have been found at his former home in the country. Meghan's half-brother, also called Thomas, reported the alleged discovery of child sexual abuse images to Philippine authorities last week.

Jonvic Remulla, the Philippine interior minister, told the Guardian on Saturday that all signs point to Markle being a "possible sex offender of the grossest kind" and that a full forensic investigation will give a "definitive picture". The scale of embarrassment for the Met will depend on whether investigators in the Philippines assess that the allegations relating to child sexual abuse images have any credence.

Source: The Guardian.