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Police watchdog to investigate Met’s handling of Meghan warning letter

IOPC launches independent investigation after referral by Scotland Yard over 2019 letter about Thomas Markle

Scotland Yard faces an independent investigation into its failure in 2019 to pass claims alleging wrongdoing by Thomas Markle, the father of the Duchess of Sussex, to law enforcement agencies overseas.

The force had referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over its handling of a letter written by Markle’s former wife, Roslyn Loveless. Markle, 82, is now facing claims of child sexual abuse in the Philippines, which he denies, and is under investigation by authorities there.

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© Photograph: Cyril Zingaro/KEYSTONE/AP

© Photograph: Cyril Zingaro/KEYSTONE/AP

© Photograph: Cyril Zingaro/KEYSTONE/AP

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The White House Farm massacre phone calls: could a single disputed digit set Jeremy Bamber free?

He has been in prison for 41 years for killing five members of his family. But if a phone call was made to the police by Bamber’s father on the night of the murders – as his team believes – one of the UK’s most notorious criminals could be exonerated

On 7 August 1985, five people were found dead at White House Farm in Essex, England: 28-year-old Sheila Caffell (known to her family as Bambi); her six-year-old twin sons, Daniel and Nicholas; and her 61-year-old adoptive parents, June and Nevill Bamber. All five had been shot with a rifle. Caffell’s 24-year-old brother, Jeremy Bamber, who was also adopted, had called to alert Essex police to a disturbance inside the farmhouse – he said his father had called to tell him – and had been outside with the police for four hours before the bodies were discovered. Caffell, who had recently been hospitalised with schizoaffective disorder and is said to have feared her children were going to be taken into foster care, was found with the rifle lying on her chest, pointing towards her neck. There were two gunshot wounds to her neck and chin and a bloodied Bible by her side.

The case was initially thought to be open and shut, a tragic murder-suicide committed by Caffell. But a month later, Bamber was arrested after relatives went to the police to voice their suspicions about him; his former girlfriend Julie Mugford then told police he had made a confession to her. The relatives went on to inherit from Nevill and June Bamber’s considerable estate after Bamber’s convictions. It was later discovered that Mugford had agreed to sell the story of their relationship to the News of the World for £25,000 if Bamber was convicted. Essex police and crown prosecutors had also agreed to drop charges against her for burglary, chequebook fraud and selling cannabis, because “prosecuting her could jeopardise her availability or credibility as a key witness” against Bamber.

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© Composite: Guardian Design; Sinenkiy/Getty

© Composite: Guardian Design; Sinenkiy/Getty

© Composite: Guardian Design; Sinenkiy/Getty

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Met refers itself to police watchdog over Meghan warning letter

Move comes as Philippines police investigate alleged child sexual abuse images reportedly found at Thomas Markle Sr’s former home

The Metropolitan police has referred itself to the police watchdog over potential errors in its handling of a 2019 letter warning of dangers to the security of the Duchess of Sussex posed by her father.

The letter made allegations about Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, who is facing claims of child sexual abuse images offending linked to the Philippines, which he denies.

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© Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA/AP

© Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA/AP

© Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA/AP

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Met refers itself to police watchdog over Meghan warning letter

Move comes as Philippines police investigate alleged child sexual abuse images reportedly found at Thomas Markle Sr’s former home

The Metropolitan police has referred itself to the police watchdog over potential errors in its handling of a 2019 letter warning of dangers to the security of the Duchess of Sussex posed by her father.

The letter made allegations about Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, who is facing claims of child sexual abuse images offending linked to the Philippines, which he denies.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA/AP

© Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA/AP

© Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PA/AP

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One Agent’s Doubts

ICE pays local police to help with deportations. What’s it like for them?

© Kirsten Luce for The New York Times

Jaron Alexander, of Ingram, Texas, is one of more than 29,000 local police officers on the front lines of the Trump administration’s deportation campaign.
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Unrest Erupts Again in France, but This Time, With Less Property Damage

After largely peaceful marches on Saturday, clashes broke out in the evening. But a large-scale police presence, 1,000 arrests and the rerouting of protest routes kept a lid on wholesale vandalism.

© Philippe Lopez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Protesters amid tear gas near Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux, western France, on Saturday.
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