U.K. Police Misplaced Letter Accusing Meghan Markle’s Dad of Child Sex Offenses, Then Asked Her for Copy: Report

London’s Metropolitan Police reportedly asked Meghan Markle for a copy of a letter containing serious allegations about her estranged father Thomas Markle Sr. after it was misplaced.

On Monday, Oct. 26, UK newspaper The Times reported that the Met failed to act on a tip-off and was unable to locate the original letter, which was addressed to its Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC), a specialist unit that assesses potential threats to the royal family and other public figures.

Meghan kept a copy of the letter and shared it with police at their request, according to the newspaper.

The Met previously confirmed to PEOPLE that it received the letter, written by Markle Sr.’s ex-wife Roslyn Loveless, in January 2019, and passed it to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Loveless, who was married to Markle Sr. from 1964 to 1975, accused him of child sexual offenses and claimed he could pose a security risk to Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, according to UK newspaper The Telegraph, which saw a copy of the letter.

She said she felt it “useful for security and threat assessment units in the U.K.” to be aware of her ex-husband’s alleged “true and unsavoury background,” adding that she believed he was “a high risk to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and to [Meghan’s mother] Doria Ragland.”

Loveless, who died in 2024, also claimed her ex-husband told her he traveled to the Philippines and Thailand “because 12-year-olds are legal there,” The Telegraph reported.

The Met admitted it had not shared the claims in the letter with any authorities overseas. Following the apparent failings, the police force has not yet announced whether it will refer itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

“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,” a Met Police spokesperson previously told PEOPLE.

In an Oct. 23 statement to PEOPLE, Meghan, 45, revealed that she had been made aware of “troubling and disturbing allegations” against her father following her May 2018 wedding to Harry, 42.

Meghan said she had been given assurances that the allegations were being investigated. According to The Telegraph, she was told not to discuss the letter amid the probe.

The Sun was first to report that former Hollywood lighting director Markle Sr. was being investigated for alleged possession of child pornography in the Philippines, after his son reported him to the authorities.

Markle Jr., 60, said he alerted the authorities after allegedly finding a child abuse video on a phone he claimed belonged to his father, and further alleged he found “hundreds if not thousands” of child sex abuse images, including one of his father with a girl who appeared to be underage, the outlet reported on Oct. 22.

Police in the Philippines are currently investigating the contents of four cardboard boxes found at his former home in the country’s Cebu province. His father has denied the claims, describing them as “sick lies” and claiming he had been “set up,” per The Times.

Philippine Interior Minister Jonvic Remulla confirmed that local authorities are analyzing the evidence, and said Thomas Sr. could be a “sex offender of the grossest kind.”

In Meghan’s statement shared with PEOPLE, she said she was “deeply distressed at the news that has come to light,” adding, “My thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.”

Thomas Sr. has not been allowed to see Meghan and Harry’s children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. The Duchess wrote to him while he was in the hospital last year, accusing him of being unsafe around children and urged him to get help, per The Telegraph.

After a leg amputation in December 2025, he left the Philippines and moved back to the U.S., where he now lives in a rehabilitation center in Florida.

In a statement previously given to PEOPLE, the FBI said it would support the Philippine authorities and investigate whether he had committed any offenses under U.S. law.

It’s believed Markle Sr. was living in Pennsylvania when the alleged offenses occurred, The Telegraph reported.

PEOPLE reached out to representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment but did not immediately hear back.