Meghan Markle's request to have Thomas Markle letter destroyed rejected 'at this stage'

Meghan Markle's request for the Mail on Sunday to destroy the electronic copies of her handwritten letter to her father Thomas Markle has been rejected.

During a virtual hearing the Duchess of Sussex's legal team also demanded that Associated Newspapers Limited return the physical copies of the letter.

"This case is a paradigm example of one in which there is a very real need for an injunction," Meghan’s representative Ian Mill said.

"It is required in order to protect the claimant's rights and stop the continuing acts of infringement."

"The defendant has offered no undertaking, the defendant has failed to deliver up copies it has of the letter such that the threat to infringe and further to misuse her private information remains real and, inexplicably, the defendant has still not removed the infringing articles from MailOnline."

"This is in the face of a judgment which has found, in the clearest possible terms, that the defendant's acts of publishing those articles infringes the claimant's rights."

"Accordingly, at the time of writing, the defendant defiantly continues to do the very acts which the court has held are unlawful."

In a later update, it was reported that Lord Justice Warby rejected Meghan's request for "delivery up or destruction" of the copies of the Duchess’ letter to her estranged father "at this stage”.