Key facts
- The Metropolitan Police received a letter in January 2019 concerning allegations against Thomas Markle Sr.
- The letter was passed to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's office but not to other law enforcement agencies.
- The Met has voluntarily referred itself to the IOPC over its handling of the letter.
The Metropolitan Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) after it failed to pass on allegations contained in a 2019 letter about Thomas Markle Sr, father of the Duchess of Sussex, to other law enforcement agencies. The force instead passed the letter, which reportedly contained 'troubling and disturbing' claims about alleged offending outside the UK, to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's office. Commander Adam Slonecki stated that the decision not to inform other agencies and to pass the letter to the Sussexes' office prompted the voluntary referral to the IOPC following a review. The Met now intends to make referrals to relevant overseas law enforcement agencies regarding the allegations.