Holly Lynch, the Labour MP for Halifax, revealed the Duchess of Sussex called her just hours after she wrote an open letter to Meghan, signed by dozens of female MPs. She told ITV political correspondent Joe Pike: “She was calling to thank myself and other women MP for standing with her and sending the open letter to say that we, as women in public office, absolutely understand what she is going through. 

“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, so she was pleased to have seen that letter.” 

When asked what she discussed with the Duchess of Sussex, Ms Lynch said she and Meghan share motherhood.

The MP said: “As a fairly new mum myself [I know] the challenges of both being in the public eye and managing childcare, managing public responsibilities… it can all be a challenge, so we discussed that.”  

The Labour quickly returned to speak about the letter and her 71 female colleagues who signed it. 

She said: “But yes, we were all quite happy to stand with her and recognise that, in what she is going through, there have been on occasion xenophobic undertones and we are not happy about that at all, we stand with her in challenging that and we will look to do everything we can at this end, if some of our national press do not have a healthier interest in her life.” 

Asked about the “colonial undertones” mentioned in the letter, Ms Lynch said she believed “some of the narratives” in the national press have not made Meghan feeling welcome in the UK.  

She continued: “I have been very concerned at some of the narratives and the articles that have been incredibly sexist but also that she is not from this country, that she is from elsewhere and we are not happy about that.

“I am afraid that is unacceptable in this day and age.

“She is here, she has married our prince, they got a young son, we want to welcome her to our society and I am afraid not all of the articles in our national press reflect that, and it’s time that stops.” 

The open letter expressing “solidarity” to the Duchess of Sussex was published yesterday and signed by a cross-party group of 72 out of the 208 female MPs sitting in the House of Commons. 

Among those who signed the letter were Labour MP Diane Abbott, Lib Dem MP Angela Smith, and Tory MP Tracey Crouch. 

The full letter read: “As women MPs of all political persuasions, we wanted to express our solidarity with you 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. 

“On occasions, stories and headlines have represented an invasion of your privacy and have sought to cast aspersions about your character, without any good reason as far as we can see.

“Even more concerning still, we are calling out what can only be described as outdated, colonial undertones to some of these stories.

“As women Members of Parliament from all backgrounds, we stand with you in saying it cannot be allowed to go unchallenged.”

This show of support comes after Meghan opened up on how she was finding difficult to cope with the media attention and public scrutiny as a newlyweds and young mother of Archie Harrison. 

The Duchess spoke to broadcaster Tom Bradby, who filmed a documentary focused on the Sussexes’ 10-day tour to Africa and their personal struggles. 

In the heartfelt interview, Meghan revealed her British friends had warned her about the media attention her wedding to Prince Harry would have created. 

Meghan also said that “not many people” had asked her in the past months whether she was okay. 

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