The Duchess of Sussex has said she is “deeply distressed” over reports that her father is being investigated by police on suspicion of possessing child sex abuse images.
Thomas Markle is alleged to have kept a collection of indecent images of children, discovered by his son Thomas Markle, Jr.
Meghan’s half-brother is said to have found the images in boxes at his 82-year-old father’s home in the Philippines.
Thomas Sr has denied possessing child sex images, calling his son’s accusations “sick lies”. His eldest daughter Samantha has also accused her brother of making the claims up.
A terror investigation is under way after one person was killed and four others injured in a drive-by shooting in a Paris suburb.
What do we know so far?
- Gunshots were fired in the Yvelines district and a suspect was arrested near the town of Trappes.
- The motive is currently unclear but the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office said it was investigating.
- Mayor of Trappes Ali Rabeh said a man had fired shots from his car and “appeared to be firing at random and seemed intent on carrying out a massacre”.
- Rabeh said a 12-year-old girl was also among the injured, but this has not been confirmed by police.
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The story so far in pictures
Five key takeaways from the Mercury Prize 2026
Raye has won the 2026 Mercury Prize for her second album This Music May Contain Hope, featuring the global hit song “Where Is My Husband?”
The pop record, on which Hanz Zimmer was a collaborator, beat the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Olivia Dean and Ex-Little Mix star Jade to scoop the £25,000 prize.
First pop album to win
It is the first pop record to win the prize – which has recognised the best British or Irish album of the last 12 months since 1994.
Speaking to the BBC afterwards, Raye said she’d “poured everything I had” into the record – which was delayed by almost a year after all of her songwriting books and demos were stolen.
Straying from the norm
- Of the last 35 winners, 20 have been debut albums – from artists including Arctic Monkeys, Suede and Franz Ferdinand.
- Many people have mistakenly assumed the Mercury Price is dedicated to first albums – but this year’s shortlist included only two: Dove Ellis’s , and Jade’s .
A blow to record company execs
Raye’s win acts as a symbolic blow to mainstream music executives.
In 2021, the singer publicly cut ties with her former record label after accusing them of withholding her debut album for years.
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Rewarding the gritty long-form
Across 17 tracks and 73 minutes, Raye’s record tells a cinematic story about the end of a relationship where she emerges stronger and more resilient.
This year’s awards appeared to celebrate that gritty, long-form format over bubbly singles or TikTok-trending tracks.
Florence + The Machine now joint highest nominee with no wins
Florence + The Machine are now the Mercury’s joint highest nominee without winning, tying with Radiohead on five unconverted nominations.
Paul McCartney also missed out, alongside Britpop band Suede, rapper Dave, Knats, and debut star Dove Ellis.
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Crystal Palace urged to retire bald eagle mascot – what we know
An animal rights group is urging Crystal Palace to retire their live bald eagle mascot with immediate effect.
The group, Peta, has argued that a “bright stadium filled with boisterous fans is no place for animals”.
What you need to know
- Peta asked the Premier League club to stop using the eagle, named Phoenix, in pre-match displays at Selhurst Park and to never use live animal mascots again.
- The London team, known as the Eagles since 1973, introduced a live eagle to matchdays in 2010.
- Kayla, who died in 2020, performed the role for 10 years and her replacement, Phoenix, made her debut against West Ham in 2024.
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The impact on birds
- Peta says birds can become “frightened, disoriented and panicked” in stadium environments, putting themselves and fans at risk.
- Using them for entertainment means the animals cannot engage with their natural instincts, leading to “stress”, Peta added.
The organisation has “detailed records” of incidents involving live mascots being injured in these kinds of environments.
The UK is braced for “damaging” winds and heavy downpours with two named storms expected to wreak disruption on Friday and over the weekend.
Storm Austen, the first named storm of the season, could bring gusts of up to 80mph to parts of south-west England, with 60-70mph winds expected widely in the region.
Where will be worst-hit?
The Met Office has issued an amber warning for wind, covering , and the Isles of Scilly, coming into effect from 1am and remaining in place until 10am.
- Strong winds will be combined with spells of heavy rain, though gusts will gradually ease over Friday.
- The forecaster said Storm Austen is “likely to bring some disruption and possible damaging winds” and warned of disruption on the roads.
- Flying debris is “likely”, and the storm will “probably” bring some damage to buildings.
- In coastal areas, large waves could pose a danger to life.
The story so far in pictures
The impact of the storm
Power cuts have affected more than 9,000 homes in Cornwall and Devon.
Flights to and from Exeter airport have been cancelled.
Great Western Railway (GWR) has imposed speed limits on routes between Devon and Cornwall.
Network Rail Scotland also said its trains will also be slowed down in areas with heavy rain.
The expert view
This is the first stormy weather in the south of the UK this season and we expect some disruption as it moves through. With trees in leaf, it is likely fallen branches and trees could obstruct roads and railways so take extra care on the Friday morning commute.
Neil Armstrong, Chief met office forecaster
The autumn jobs gardeners are getting wrong – and the easy fixes
Advice changes over time
Digging over the soil
Standard advice has been to dig soil every autumn. But according to organic gardener Charles Dowding, soil should be disturbed as little as possible.
Clearing dead leaves
Raking fallen leaves can be counterproductive. Leaves on flower beds are a useful source of organic matter.
Bird feeding
While new studies suggest bird feeders can spread disease.
Save birdseed for colder months
A disease called trichomonosis can spread to greenfinches and chaffinches via birdfeeders. Greenfinch numbers have dropped by 60 per cent in the UK since the 1990s, mainly due to this disease.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) said this year people should only offer birdseed and peanuts from November to April, when the cold kills off the parasite.
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A more laissez-faire approach
Leave the mess
Once flower beds have died back, it is tempting to neaten things up. But seed heads are a food source for birds, while leaves can become shelters for insects that are fodder for robins, wrens and goldcrests.
No crocks in pots
Standard advice is to put a layer of coarse material at the bottom of every pot to improve drainage. But this can actually saturate the compost even more – which we don’t want.
Europe’s record-breaking summer killed 50,000 people
More than 50,000 people are estimated to have died across Europe as a result of this summer’s record-breaking heatwaves, according to a new study.
Researchers estimate there were 4,354 excess deaths in the UK alone this summer.
Excess deaths have doubled
The number of excess deaths across Europe doubled in 2026, in comparison with last year – far surpassing the previous record of 29,000 deaths.
This was recorded in 2022 when the continent again endured exceptionally high temperatures, and the UK experienced 40°C for the first time.
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Heat worsens underlying conditions
What are excess deaths?
Excess deaths are those that occur outside of the number that would occur under normal conditions. Heat is often dubbed a “silent killer” that can worsen underlying health conditions, resulting in more deaths.
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Death toll may be higher in reality
30°C
According to the Met Office, the UK saw its hottest ever summer this year with five widespread heatwaves, and 40 days where the temperature was above 30°C.
Mainland Europe experienced its third hottest summer.
40%
Researchers looked at 854 urban areas in 30 European countries.
Because the study only looked at urban areas –roughly 40 per cent of each country’s population– researchers believe the death toll could be an underestimate.
Countries hardest hit by heat
According to the study, published in , southern and western Europe were hardest hit.
There were an estimated 22,000 deaths among those aged 85 and over. However, researchers noted that an estimated 6,000 people under the age of 65 are also likely to have died as a result of heat.
Around a third of the deaths took place in late June – before people had a chance to acclimatise to the weather, and when average temperatures across Europe were more than 5°C above normal levels.
- Italy experienced the highest number of excess deaths (13,303)
- Followed by France (7,268)
- And then the UK (4,354)
The expert view
It is yet another reminder both of the imperative of rolling out targeted interventions to protect those who are most vulnerable to this increasingly extreme heat, and of the growing need to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels.
Dr Clair Barnes, extreme weather and climate change researcher at Imperial College
NHS Mounjaro roll-out plan deemed ‘unambitious’ by MPs
Current plans for rolling out weight-loss drug Mounjaro on the NHS “are unambitious” and reach a “woefully small number of people”, MPs have said.
What you need to know
6%
Only around 6 per cent of eligible people will get or currently receive Mounjaro on the NHS in its first three years, with millions more turning to private firms, according to the Commons Health and Social Care Committee.
MPs also used their report to call for obesity to be treated as a long-term condition like diabetes, and said people suffer relapses.
- They pointed to the “two-tier system” that has developed for access to drugs, adding: “The Government must urgently reassess the pace of roll out of Mounjaro.”
As a first step, the department should hold a summit on GLP-1 access with a range of providers and healthcare professionals to open a dialogue on how best to improve the roll out.
A closer look at the detail
- In June 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) recommended Mounjaro as an option for managing overweight and obesity.
- The NHS has also approved semaglutide (Wegovy) for obese people, though many get their prescriptions privately due to a lack of access on the NHS.
- With Mounjaro, the NHS estimated 2.8 million patients would be eligible and, if all presented within the first year of availability, the cost would be £15.2bn over five years.
The gradual roll out of Mounjaro
As a result, Nice agreed to NHS England’s request that the roll out of Mounjaro should be done gradually, MPs said.
The NHS has been giving access to 220,000 people over three years, with the Health Foundation saying this makes up only around 6 per cent of those who would be eligible based on Nice’s recommendation.
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- In their report on obesity, MPs said a new framework is needed to “include ambitious targets for the proportion of a local population that should be able to access GLP-1s”.
- Data suggests more than 2.37 million packs of GLP-1s are being prescribed every month in the UK, “with the vast majority of these being accessed privately”, the study said.
to give NHS doctors ‘second pair of eyes’ on MRI scans
A number of AI programmes are set to be used by the NHS in England to help doctors spot prostate cancer on MRI scans.
The technologies would act like a “second pair of eyes” for medics, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said.
What you need to know
The NHS spending watchdog has recommended five tools in new draft guidance, which will be used on the health service for two years while evidence is gathered on how they work.
The technologies are designed to help radiologists by highlighting areas on prostate scans where cancer may be present.
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Pressure on radiologists
- According to Nice, demand for prostate MRI has increased, as pre-biopsy scans are now included to confirm or rule out the disease.
- This has put pressure on radiology teams, which are already stretched because of workforce pressures.
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The expert view
These AI technologies have the potential to act like a second pair of eyes, helping radiologists review prostate MRI scans. They have the potential to make MRI reporting more accurate and could help identify people whose scans need priority review.
Dr Anastasia Chalkidou, programme director for HealthTech at Nice
In a statement, Meghan revealed that “disturbing allegations” about her father were first passed to her in 2018 by police. She did not detail what the allegations contained.
Royalty and Specialist Protection, a unit within the Met Police, shared a letter with her containing claims, and she was given assurances that the authorities in the UK were investigating, The i Paper understands.
Meghan was informed of allegations in the summer of 2018, after her wedding to Prince Harry in May of that year, The i Paper understands.
Meghan ‘deeply distressed’ by revelations
“I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours, and my thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed,” Meghan said.
“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.”
The Duchess said it explained why she had been estranged from her father since 2018.
“I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them,” she said. “I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.”
She added: “Although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine, my sincerest hope is that justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children.”
Claims made by ‘horrified’ son
Thomas Jr told that he had reported his father to the Philippines police after finding the images among family mementos at his father’s home in Cebu.
Meghan’s 60-year-old half-brother is also thought to have reported the matter to the FBI in the US.
“When I found this material I was horrified and I had no option but to report my dad,” he said. “I have supported, cared for him and helped him for years – but that stops now. I won’t speak to my father ever again unless I’m called to give evidence against him.”
Thomas Sr told the that the claims made by his son were “the worst thing anyone could accuse me of”.
“I’m shocked, I’m hurt and I’m very upset that my son is making these accusations against me. I could never do what I’m being accused of,” said the 82-year-old.
“This is bulls****. It’s just a bunch of lies. It’s sick. I have no idea why Tom is trying to destroy me with these lies.”
Eldest daughter ‘outraged’
Meghan’s father moved to the Philippines in 2025. In December of that year he had his leg amputated during life-saving surgery. He is reportedly now living in a rehab centre in the US state of Florida.
His eldest daughter Samantha, 61, told the she was “outraged” by her brother’s allegations, accusing his sibling of making them up in a bid to “make money” from the media.
“There is no merit in these disgusting allegations whatsoever and my brother is disgusting for making them up. He wants to destroy our dad. Shame on him.”
Meghan became estranged from her father in the run-up to her 2018 royal wedding after he was caught staging a series of paparazzi photos.
Thomas Sr did not attend the wedding, meaning the only member of her family present was her mother Doria Ragland. He has two children – Samantha and Thomas Jr – from an earlier marriage.
She penned the emotional five-page letter to her father in August 2018 in a bid to get him to stop talking to the press after taking advice from two unnamed senior royals.
Meghan “reached out” to him in the aftermath of his operation in 2025, a spokesperson for the duchess revealed.
The Metropolitan Police, FBI and Buckingham Palace have been contacted for comment.