Police didn’t share claims against Meghan’s father with other law enforcement: report

British police have confirmed the letter it received detailing child abuse allegations against Meghan Markle’s father was not shared with other law enforcement agencies.

Scotland Yard said the Metropolitan Police passed the letter on to the office of Prince Harry and Meghan, who were then senior working royals, in 2019.

However, it did not share the letter or details of the allegations made against Thomas Markle Sr. with any other law enforcement agencies at the time.

“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,” a statement from Scotland Yard read.

“It was sent to the MPS Protection Command to raise concerns in relation to 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.

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"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."

The allegations against Markle, 82, first made headlines earlier this week, when The Sun reported that a letter penned by a close friend of the family detailing child abuse allegations against him was sent to British police in 2018.

Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers told Today the letter was sent around the time of Meghan’s wedding to Harry and was later passed on to royalty protection officers, then shared with Meghan herself.

The revelations come as authorities in the Philippines investigate separate allegations concerning suspected child sexual abuse material allegedly found among belongings at Markle’s former home in Cebu.

Markle, who is recovering in the United States following a leg amputation, has strongly denied the accusations and called them “sick lies”.

Meghan broke her silence in a statement, where she confirmed she had been made aware of the allegations in the letter years ago.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

Meghan has been estranged from her father for years, and he did not attend her 2018 royal wedding.

Initial reports and Meghan’s statement dated the letter as having been received by British police and shared with the royals in 2018.

The latest update from Scotland Yard clarified that the letter arrived in early 2019, and a spokesman for the duchess said “any discrepancy of a few months” in her original statement was “an understandable consequence of that passage of time”.

The Metropolitan Police told nine.com.au it is conducting internal enquiries to establish if its royal protection officers gave the letter to Meghan in 2018.

It is understood the force has not previously investigated Markle over the allegations and is not currently doing so.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).