The police inquiry into the Duchess of Sussex’s estranged father has widened to include his son Thomas Markle Jr.

The dramatic development was announced by the interior minister of the Philippines, where officers are investigating possible child sexual abuse offences.

Meghan’s half-brother Thomas Jr, 60, had reported their father to police in the Philippines, where he had been living, after finding a hoard of disturbing images in boxes of his possessions.

Today, Interior minister Juanito Victor Remulla gave a press conference about the case in the capital Manila and reportedly said: ‘There are indications suggesting that the son may also be involved in the crime. But only as a person of interest so far, he is not yet treated as a suspect.

‘We have witnesses that underaged girls are brought to his house and we are following it up.’

However it has been claimed that the girls in question were relatives of Mr Markle Jr's fiancee. 

Mr Remulla is the country’s equivalent of a Home Secretary. He described Thomas Markle Sr, 82, as ‘a possible sex offender of the grossest kind’ when the story first broke last week.

Meghan's father, who has since returned to the United States, has denied the allegations, calling them ‘sick lies’. Mr Markle Jr has been contacted for comment by the Daily Mail.

Asked about Mr Markle Jr, the minister said that he had become a 'person of interest' due to his 'act of surrendering' his father's alleged child porn stash.

But he said police had then been contacted by witnesses who claim to have seen 'underage girls being brought to his house' with 'dreamlights’, which are portable lighting rigs which social media influencers use to light up their faces as they make videos.

The minister said police had asked Mr Markle Jr about these claims. 'He claimed to be merely doing TikTok [videos],' said the minister, adding: 'But nowhere did we find underage girls, when we examined his TikTok account, so he is a person of interest.'

Mr Remulla said: 'We’re determining if the son is involved…There are signs that point that the son is involved in the crime as well but only as a person of interest so far. We will know in the next few days.'

The Sun newspaper, which has been speaking to Mr Markle Jr for weeks, said the claim about ‘underage’ girls had been made by a neighbour who had seen young relatives of Mr Markle Jr’s Filipina fiancée at the property.

It said his partner of two years, Rose, had told police her younger siblings aged 11, 14, 16, and 17, were regular visitors to her and Mr Markle Jr at the property, as well as a three-year-old niece.

She is said to have shown officers TikTok videos which she and her siblings made inside and outside the house.

A legal source in Manila told the Mail: 'Person of interest is an investigative term used by police officers. It usually refers to someone they consider has important information about a crime that they are investigating. 

'That person isn't a suspect, although there may be circumstances where they later become one. It can also refer to a person who the police have received a complaint about which they are looking into to establish whether a crime might have been committed.' 

The police investigation was launched last week when Thomas Jr reported his father to officers in the Philippines city of Cebu. 

The Duchess of Sussex then revealed she had cut her father off in 2019 after receiving a letter accusing him of child abuse, to protect her own children from him. 

That letter was sent by Mr Markle's first wife to the Metropolitan Police which passed it to Meghan and Prince Harry. She wrote that he told her he visited the Far East because '12-year-olds are legal there'.

Then last week, the Daily Mail discovered a stash of vile images in a lock-up rented by Meghan's father in Rosarito, Mexico, where he used to live.   

Now the authorities are trawling through both troves of child abuse images that allegedly belong to Mr Markle.

Mr Markle Sr, who returned to the US in May, has admitted paying for sex in the Philippines but denied possessing child abuse imagery.

Mr Remulla said Mr Markle Jr was still in Cebu City.

Meghan was 'deeply distressed' by the allegations and revealed she was sent a letter via the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection seven years ago.

The letter, allegedly sent by Roslyn Loveless – Mr Markle's first wife – claims he admitted that he travelled to the Far East to have sex with young girls. 

The seven-page letter, seen by The Sun and sent to the Met Police in 2019, details a conversation which Ms Loveless, who died two years ago, claims to have had with the Duchess of Sussex's father. 

She reportedly wrote: 'I questioned Thomas Sr. He denied accusation but stated that he went to the Philippines and Thailand because 12-year-olds are legal there.'

Mr Markle has admitted travelling to the Far East for sex in the past but has strenuously denied claims of underage girls and accused his son of making up allegations for money. 

Thomas Jr has reportedly told the FBI the location of two storage units at a site in Los Angeles.

'I dread to think what they might find,' he said earlier this week, as investigations continued in the Philippines and Mexico.

A stash of alleged child abuse images was discovered by the Daily Mail inside a storage locker rented by Meghan's father in Rosarito, Mexico. The Mail alerted the FBI to the find last week, prompting a raid by Mexican authorities.

Police in the Philippines are also said to be 'very close' to bringing formal charges against Mr Markle after child abuse images were allegedly found at his apartment.

Thomas Jr claims his father told him around 2011 that he had two lock-ups 'stuffed to the brim' with Meghan's former furniture and possessions from her time at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

The former Hollywood lighting director also stored boxes of memorabilia from his own career in the units, which are now expected to form part of the investigation.

Thomas Jr, who is said to have been interviewed by the FBI for two hours, told The Sun: 'My father told me about the two units years ago. He's had them for about 15 years.

'One is stuffed to the brim with Meghan's old furniture. The other is packed with boxes, books, photos, memorabilia from his Hollywood career, items from Meghan's college days and God knows what else.

'I dread to think what the FBI might find, especially given what has already been found in the Philippines and Mexico.'