Meghan's father Thomas Markle detained for allegedly cutting off ankle monitor, officials say

Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been detained in Florida for allegedly removing his ankle monitor, according to justice department officials in Los Angeles. Markle appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Tampa after allegedly removing his ankle monitor at 01:45 local time (06:45 GMT), a justice department spokesperson told the BBC. Markle, who has previously denied possessing images of child sex abuse, was arrested in Florida last week and placed under house detention.

He was also ordered to wear a location monitoring device. Inside the units the FBI says agents seized about 78 items, including film negatives, slides and books that they allege contained child sex abuse material. Markle appeared in court last week following his arrest.

No plea was taken during the appearance, which set several conditions for his pretrial release, including that he be kept in home detention. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.