Philippine minister says signs point to Thomas Markle Sr being sex offender of the grossest kind

Philippine interior minister Jonvic Remulla says all signs point to Thomas Markle Sr, the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex, being a 'possible sex offender of the grossest kind.' Forensic analysis of material seized at Markle's former home in Cebu will be complete within a week, Remulla told the Guardian, and he told Agence France-Presse that the national police had found a 'trove of child pornography materials as well as a laptop.' The accusation comes from a serving cabinet minister, not from the tabloids that usually carry the Markle family's disputes.

The investigation began with the family itself. Markle's son, Thomas Markle Jr, reported to Philippine police last week that he had found a stash of child abuse images mixed with family mementos at the house where his father lived until returning to the United States this year; according to the Sun, which first reported the allegations, he had contacted the FBI in July.

Markle Sr, now learning to walk again at a Florida nursing facility after his leg was amputated last year, denies the accusations as 'sick lies.' He concedes that when single he travelled to the Philippines and paid for sex with prostitutes, says he has never had sex with anyone under 18, and welcomes a forensic examination of the computer — on which, he says, anything bad was put there by someone else. His eldest daughter Samantha calls the case a set-up.

In Britain the story is a police file. On Saturday the Metropolitan Police confirmed it received a letter in January 2019 containing claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom. The letter was reviewed and passed to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness; the details were shared with no other law-enforcement agency. The Met is now reviewing its handling and considering whether to refer itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

Meghan says she was made aware of disturbing allegations about her father in 2018 and was shown the letter sent to Scotland Yard, with assurances that it was being investigated. Her spokesperson now concedes that in recalling events from more than seven years ago she 'may have been mistaken by a few months.' She has said she cut off contact with her father to protect her children, Archie and Lilibet, whom he has never met.

The allegations reached a police force in 2019 and were routed to the family concerned. The investigation that finally started was triggered by the suspect's son walking into a Philippine police station in the middle of a family feud — a feud Remulla acknowledges: 'In these cases where family disputes are mixed up, we have to consider all the angles.'

Remulla wants a week for the forensics. Scotland Yard has had the letter since January 2019.