Met Police Opens Audit Over Markle Letter Timeline

London's Metropolitan Police said Saturday it opened an internal audit to examine how a letter alleging misconduct against Thomas Markle was processed in 2019, a review that will determine whether to refer the matter to the police watchdog.

The force confirmed it received the correspondence in 2019. The letter contained what police described as a number of claims about Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Police forwarded the document to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness. The allegations were not shared with other law enforcement agencies, according to Scotland Yard.

The confirmation arrived amid reporting on Thomas Markle Jr.'s disclosure to Philippine authorities. The Sun reported Thursday that the elder brother reported his father to officials in the Philippines. He allegedly located child abuse materials inside storage boxes at the family home there. Philippine authorities were dealing with Thomas Markle on Friday over alleged possession of child sexual abuse materials, according to reporting that day. The Daily Mail reported Friday that Thomas Markle denied the allegations.

Meghan said Friday she was "deeply distressed" by the coverage. Her statement to CBS News said she learned of the allegations in 2018 and that they were provided to U.K. authorities that year. "In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me. It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated," she said. She added that she limited her father's contact with her children for their protection.

The year on the correspondence marks where the accounts diverge. Meghan cited 2018. Scotland Yard pointed to 2019. A spokesman for the duchess told BBC News, a CBS News partner, that "any discrepancy of a few months" was "an understandable consequence of that passage of time." Scotland Yard said the Met will review the 2019 handling and decide as part of that process whether to refer itself to the police watchdog.

The Met's audit covers the handling of the letter during 2019. Police said the document contained claims about Thomas Markle and was routed to the Sussex office.