The Metropolitan police have confirmed they gave a letter to the Duchess of Sussex in 2019 concerning “alleged offending” involving her father, after accusations arose on Friday about Thomas Markle Sr having child sexual abuse images.

Scotland Yard said it had received a letter in January 2019 making a number of allegations about offending outside Britain.

The police force said it had passed the information on to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s office, but it did not pass it on to “other law enforcement agencies”.

The Sun newspaper published claims that Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, claimed he had found a stash of images belonging to their father at his former home in the Philippines.

On Friday, Meghan said she had been made aware of these allegations by the Met, and that she was “deeply distressed” by them.

The duchess, who is estranged from her father said in a statement she had broken off contact to protect her children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five.…