Piers Morgan defended himself by writing that he did not know that Thomas Markle was a paedophile.
Piers Morgan has faced criticism online after the arrest of Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, on a charge of keeping child sexual abuse material in storage units in California.
Commenting on his arrest, Morgan wrote on X, “Horrifying — how many more did he allegedly abuse after the warning letter was sent in 2019 by his first wife?”
A user replied, “You were the one helping him.”
The X user then backed up his claim by sharing a screenshot of Piers Morgan’s old column where he had praised Thomas Markle, writing: “I’ve changed my mind about Meghan’s dad Thomas Markle — he’s just a shy, decent man struggling to deal with the mayhem of his little princess marrying a prince.”
Piers Morgan then defended himself by writing, “Nobody sent me a warning letter that he might be a paedophile, nor let the media know there had been a warning. The failure to do so looks increasingly serious.”
The 82-year-old estranged father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was arrested Friday at a senior care facility in Florida.
Thomas Markle Sr. was in a wheelchair wearing handcuffs when he was transported by ambulance with federal agents.
Markle’s arrest followed the seizure of “approximately 78 items, including slides, film negatives, and books” that contained suspected child sexual abuse images in storage in the Los Angeles area, said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.
Some images appear to depict him with children, according to an FBI affidavit filed in court.
“These allegations are extremely serious, and we will prosecute Mr. Markle to the fullest extent of federal law,” Essayli said.
After his arrest in Polk County, Markle appeared in federal court in Tampa and was released back to a senior care center with the condition that he be electronically monitored.
