Caroline Flack’s mum received a letter after the Metropolitan Police failed to keep full records amid her daughter’s case (Picture: REX/ITV)
Caroline Flack’s mum has received an apology from police over their handling of a complaint following her daughter’s suicide.
TV presenter Flack took her own life in February 2020 at the age of 40, amid a media storm as she awaited a court appearance on charges of assaulting Lewis Burton, her boyfriend at the time.
Now, the Metropolitan Police force has told Christine Flack that they are ‘sincerely sorry’ for failing to maintain full records of their reasons for wanting to charge Flack with assault.
She was told that Scotland Yard had since improved record-keeping, allowing them to make more informed decisions on whether or not to proceed with prosecutions.
The apology comes after Flack’s mum raised concerns about the impact of the investigation on the star’s mental health, requesting further investigation into the decision to charge Flack.
Christine launched a formal complaint against the Met, who previously pressed for the former Xtra Factor host to face a charge of assault by beating.
The Love Island presenter died by suicide in 2020 (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
She claimed that Detective Inspector Lauren Bateman specifically decided to appeal the Crown Prosecution Service’s recommendation that Flack only receive a caution.
Flack’s mum said the detective did so without reviewing key pieces of evidence, including not discussing the case with former tennis pro Burton, the alleged victim.
Scotland Yard initially concluded that there was no wrongdoing on their part.
But, Christine escalated her complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which has now written to her with the results of their findings.
The ruling stated that Flack did not receive different treatment from the Met because she was a celebrity.
Christine raised a complaint following the Met’s handling of her daughter’s assault charge (Picture: Instagram)
However, the Met was criticised for the way the complaint was handled, branding their investigation into the matter ‘not reasonable and proportionate.’
Chief Superintendent Andy Carter, the Met Police’s borough commander for central north London, sent a letter to Christine to outline the measures now in place to prevent a repeat of history and improve the ways in which appeals against CPS decisions were approached.
His letter read: ‘I am sincerely sorry for our inability to previously capture an adequate contemporaneous record of streamlined, balanced and transparent decision-making regarding the CPS appeal and statistical data.’
Flack’s mother said the police should apologise to her daughter, not her (Picture: Mike Marsland/Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Although, Christine believes the apology should have been directed to her late daughter.
She told the Eastern Daily Press: ‘They have apologised for how they handled my complaint – but what they really should be apologising for is the way Carrie was treated.
More: Trending
‘The fact new guidelines have been brought in means something was wrong. I believe if I had not said anything, nothing would have changed either.
‘A lot of the apology letter felt copied and pasted and I feel like they have only done it because the IOPC suggested they ought to.’
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
‘They really should be apologising for the way Carrie was treated,’ she said.
