Metropolitan Police reports itself to watchdog over handling of Thomas Markle allegations

Scotland Yard has voluntarily reported itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over its failure to forward allegations concerning the Duchess of Sussex's father, Thomas Markle Sr., 82, to law enforcement bodies abroad. The force received correspondence in January 2019 that included multiple claims of alleged criminal conduct outside the United Kingdom. Thomas Markle Sr. has categorically denied possessing child sexual abuse images, telling the Daily Mail the accusations are "sick lies". Rather than alerting the appropriate overseas agencies, the Metropolitan Police instead handed the letter to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The self-referral follows a recent internal examination by the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards into how the correspondence was dealt with at the time. The letter had been directed to the Met's Protection Command, specifically its Fixated Threats Assessment Centre. Its author indicated that the purpose of the correspondence was to flag concerns regarding the security of the Duchess of Sussex. However, as Commander Adam Slonecki, head of the Met's Protection Command, explained: "While the letter did not actually contain any information specifically related to security matters, it did contain a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom." The nature of the specific allegations has not been disclosed, nor has the identity of the individual who sent the correspondence been revealed. After assessing the correspondence, the Met opted to forward it to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex so they would be aware of its contents. Crucially, however, the details of the allegations contained within the letter were never passed on to other law enforcement bodies. Commander Slonecki confirmed that the force's Directorate of Professional Standards had recently conducted a preliminary review of the decisions taken after the letter arrived in 2019. LATEST ROYAL DEVELOPMENTS That review prompted the voluntary referral to the IOPC, which covers both the choice not to alert overseas agencies and the decision to share the correspondence directly with the Sussexes' office. Commander Slonecki stated that the force now plans to share the allegations with the relevant law enforcement agencies overseas. "It is our intention to make a number of referrals to relevant overseas law enforcement agencies in relation to the allegations contained within the letter," he said. "That process is underway and will be completed in the coming days." The Met's decision to refer itself to the IOPC was described as voluntary, reflecting the seriousness with which the force views its earlier handling of the matter. It remains to be seen what action, if any, the police watchdog or foreign agencies may take in response. Last week, a Met Police spokesman 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 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. "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." Follow related topics: