A spokesman for the Daily Mail’s parent company has strongly rejected claims that a reporter breached ethical boundaries while supporting Thomas Markle in hospital, insisting suggestions of wrongdoing are “demonstrably false and vehemently denied”.
The Daily Mail Group media spokesman told GB News: “When Thomas Markle was taken ill in the Philippines he contacted Caroline Graham and asked her to travel from LA to be with him.
“As well as being a journalist, Caroline has been friends with Mr Markle since 2018.
“She has been with Mr Markle in hospital every day, providing him with care and support.
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“As soon as Mr Markle gave consent for his contact details, the name of his hospital and his room number to be provided to his daughter’s spokesman, Caroline shared them.
“It is entirely untrue that each interaction has been broadcast, and the suggestion that Caroline has breached ethical boundaries is demonstrably false and vehemently denied.”
Mr Markle, 81, is currently recovering in a hospital in the Philippines after undergoing major surgery to amputate his left leg.
The operation followed a serious medical emergency, and he remains under the care of doctors while beginning early physiotherapy.
Thomas Markle’s ‘friend’ disputes ‘ethical breach’ claim after Meghan Markle statement
|GETTY / GB NEWS
The Mail statement was issued after an earlier intervention from the Sussexes on Wednesday morning, in which a spokesman for the Duchess of Sussex accused the newspaper of obstructing Meghan’s attempts to contact her father privately.
A spokesman for the duchess said: “Given that a Daily Mail reporter has remained at her father’s bedside throughout, broadcasting each interaction and breaching clear ethical boundaries, it has been exceedingly difficult for the Duchess to contact her father privately, despite her efforts over the past several days.
“With the support of reliable and trusted contacts, her correspondence is now safely in his hands.”
The comments marked the latest escalation in a long-running and highly public rift between Meghan and her father, who have been estranged since the run-up to her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry.
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Both sides agree that the duchess has been trying to make contact with her father in recent days, and that a written message from California has now reached him in hospital.
However, they sharply disagree over the role played by the Mail and Ms Graham.
The Sussex camp argues that having a reporter “at her father’s bedside throughout” amounted to an intrusion that made private communication almost impossible at a time when Mr Markle was seriously ill.
DMG Media, by contrast, insists Ms Graham has acted both as a long-standing friend and with Mr Markle’s full consent.
Thomas Markle has received a letter from his daughter in hospital, according to Meghan's spokesman
| ITVThe company claims she travelled to the Philippines at his request, has been providing “care and support”, and shared his contact details and hospital information with Meghan’s team as soon as he authorised her to do so.
The duchess has previously taken legal action over the disclosure of a letter she sent to Mr Markle, winning a High Court privacy case against the Daily Mail’s publisher.
Mr Markle has never met his son-in-law or his grandchildren, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
The renewed public dispute over access and media involvement comes as scrutiny of the couple’s relationship with the press intensifies ahead of Prince Harry's legal battle involving the Mail’s publisher.