Meghan Markle calls MP to thank her for open letter about abuse
Female MPs said in letter they stand in solidarity against 'often distasteful and misleading nature of stories'
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Your support makes all the difference.Meghan Markle has expressed her gratitude towards female members of parliament who said in a letter they stand in “solidarity” with the Duchess of Sussex.
On Tuesday, more than 70 MPs announced their support for Meghan in taking a stand against the British tabloid press.
In the letter, the members of parliament said they supported the duchess in “taking a stand against the often distasteful and misleading nature of the stories printed in a number of our national newspapers concerning you, your character and your family”.
The MPs of different political backgrounds also called out “what can only be described as outdated, colonial undertones to some of these stories”.
Labour MP Holly Lynch, who shared the open letter on Twitter, has since told ITV that she received a phone call from Meghan regarding the gesture.
“It was Buckingham Palace asking me was I available to speak to the Duchess of Sussex,” Lynch said. “She was calling to thank myself and other women MPs for standing with her.
“Although in very different public roles, we stand with her in solidarity to say that we shouldn’t be tearing down women in public life through the press or otherwise,” Lynch continued, adding that the duchess was “pleased to have seen” the letter.
According to the MP, she explained to Meghan that she is also a “fairly new mum” and so understands the challenges of being in the public eye while managing childcare and public responsibilities.
Lynch also touched on the “xenophobic undertones” in the press coverage of Meghan, and pledged to do “everything we can at this end” to change the situation.
“I’m really concerned about some of the narratives, some of the articles, that have been incredibly sexist but also that she is not from this country, she’s from elsewhere and that we’re not happy about that,” Lynch said. “I’m afraid that’s unacceptable in this day and age.
"She's here, she's married our prince, they've got a young son. We really want to welcome her to our society and I'm afraid not all of the articles in our national press really reflect that and it's time that that stops."
The letter from parliamentary members comes after Meghan revealed how difficult she has found it adjusting to the tabloid coverage during an interview for a documentary about her and Prince Harry’s royal tour of Africa.
This month, Prince Harry and Meghan announced they had filed a lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday after the newspaper published one of the duchess’ private letters.
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