Met refers itself to watchdog over Meghan's father letter

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 29 Oct, 17:27 · Archive

The Metropolitan Police has referred itself to the police complaints watchdog over its handling of a 2019 letter containing allegations about Thomas Markle.

The Metropolitan Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over its handling of a letter containing allegations about Thomas Markle, the Duchess of Sussex's father. The letter was written by Markle's first wife Roslyn Loveless and received by the Met's Protection Command in January 2019, addressed to the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre, which assesses threats to public figures.

According to the Met, the author said they were raising concerns about Meghan's security. However, officers assessed that the correspondence did not contain information relating directly to security matters. Instead, it included allegations concerning alleged offending outside the UK. The letter was then passed to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness, but details were not shared with other law enforcement agencies.

The Met said it has now referred itself to the IOPC in respect of the decision not to inform other law enforcement agencies and the decision to pass the letter to the Duke and Duchess's office. The force also intends to make further referrals to relevant overseas law enforcement agencies, a process it expected to be completed in the coming days.

How it is being reported

• Metropolitan police refers itself to watchdog over Meghan warning letterAnnouncement made as Philippines police investigate suspected child sex abuse images reportedly found at her father’s former home The Metropolitan police says it has voluntarily referred itself to the official watchdog for failing to pass on a letter detailing allegations against the Duchess of Sussex’s father. Continue reading...The Guardian · 29 Oct, 17:36
• Met refers itself to watchdog over handling of letter about Meghan Markle's fatherThe Met Police says it failed to pass on allegations from a 2019 letter about the Duchess of Sussex's father to overseas police forcesEvening Standard · 29 Oct, 17:09
• Met refers itself to watchdog over letter about Meghan's fatherThe police force faces scrutiny over its handling of a letter containing allegations about Meghan's father.BBC News · 29 Oct, 16:42

In this story: Metropolitan Police · Thomas Markle · Meghan, Duchess of Sussex · Roslyn Loveless · Independent Office for Police Conduct

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