Caroline Flack’s mum does not accept Met Police apology
According to the BBC, Caroline Flack’s mother, Christine Flack, has stated that she does not accept the apology made by the Metropolitan Police regarding the handling of her daughter’s case.
In February 2020, Caroline, a TV star, died by suicide while facing charges for assaulting her boyfriend.
Last month, the Met apologised to Christine for not recording the reason behind Caroline’s charge. However, Christine rejected the apology while the police stated that Caroline’s arrest had been appropriately handled.
It’s now been three years since the TV presenter’s death, she was most known for presenting Love Island.
Caroline had been scheduled to appear in court for allegedly assaulting her then-boyfriend, Lewis Burton, in the weeks before her passing.
‘I don’t know whether they’re covering something’
Initially, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had decided to issue a caution to Caroline Flack after her arrest. However, a senior officer from the Metropolitan Police appealed the decision, resulting in Caroline being charged with assault by beating instead.
Later, a coroner determined that Caroline had taken her own life because she was aware of the impending prosecution and was afraid of the public attention that a trial would bring.
After Caroline’s death, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) conducted a review of the Metropolitan Police’s decision to charge her, but found no evidence of wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the IOPC did request that the police apologise to Caroline’s family for failing to record their reason for appealing the CPS decision.
Last month, the Metropolitan Police issued an apology for not officially documenting the basis for charging the presenter.
Caroline’s mother, Christine, has previously alleged that her daughter was treated differently because of her celebrity status.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight’s Victoria Derbyshire, she said she does not accept that apology, adding: “It just seems wrong. They haven’t said why there were no notes taken, why nothing was recorded. I don’t know whether they’re covering something.”
When asked if she thought her daughter would still be alive if the caution had remained and Caroline had not been charged, Christine told Newsnight: “I do, I really do.”
“Once all the pictures came out in the newspapers and things were written about her on social media – they just picked up the bad,” she said. “There was a lot of good, but Caroline wasn’t reading the good – she was only reading the bad.”
She added: “She lost her job straight away, without even being found guilty or going to court. She had another series axed.”
Christine has said she will continue advocating for a more extensive apology from the Metropolitan Police regarding their handling of her daughter’s case leading up to her death.
After Caroline’s arrest, she was taken by ambulance to the hospital due to self-harm, and subsequently, she was detained in a cell for 24 hours, which Christine believes was unwarranted.
Christine told Newsnight her biggest regret is not speaking out publicly in the hours after her daughter’s arrest to correct what she describes as “lies'” printed by the press.
“Things that went into the press that she hit someone with a lamp or a fan – that was just totally untrue,” she says. “And nobody ever came out and said, ‘No, that didn’t happen.'”