Lancashire Police has faced a huge storm after revealing personal details about Nicola Bulley (Picture: PA)
Police have been slammed for revealing personal details about Nicola Bulley including that she suffered ‘significant issues with alcohol’ in the past.
Senior officers said yesterday that Ms Bulley was ‘vulnerable’ and classed by police as a ‘high-risk’ missing person after her partner Paul Ansell reported her disappearance.
After Lancashire Police revealed her issues with alcohol ‘brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause’, the force was condemned by MPs and campaign groups.
Former chief crown prosecutor for the North West, Nazir Afzal, said the statement ‘should not have been issued’ as it gives ‘fuel to the victim blamers, armchair sleuths & conspiracy theorists’.
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper stopped short of criticising the police decision but admitted she had concerns about the release of such details, calling it ‘very unusual’.
She said: ‘I do have a lot of questions and concerns about that.
‘I would want to speak directly to Lancashire Police about their reasons for doing so before commenting further, because I know there can be complicated reasons for police decisions.’
Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, said: ‘I am deeply uncomfortable with the police releasing Nicola Bulley’s so-called ‘vulnerabilities’ on menopause and alcohol.
‘I struggle to ascertain how this will assist police in their search & investigations. I do see how it would assist those wishing to victim-blame or diminish.’
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Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson (left) and Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith gave a full update to the press today (Picture: PA)
Nicola vanished on the morning of January 27 (Picture: Lancashire Constabulary / SWNS)
Nicola Bulley’s final movements – and the CCTV blackspots in the area (Picture: Metro.co.uk)
Silkie Carlo, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, tweeted: ‘Lancashire Police broadcasting missing Nicola Bulley’s health issues and hormone status to the world is a serious invasion of her privacy with no obvious benefits for the investigation.
‘A shocking decision when the police’s treatment of women is rightly in the spotlight.
‘It’s not at all clear how the police are justifying this disclosure, which seems to be aimed at shoring up public support for Lancashire Police’s own forgone conclusions.
‘The ramifications of this invasion of medical privacy could be really serious, including for Nicola’s safety.’
Timings around the last time Nicola Bulley was last seen
Lancashire Police released a timeline of events for Nicola Bulley‘s last known movements.
Friday, January 27th
8.43am – Nicola walked along the path by the River Wyre, having dropped her children off at school
8:50am (approximately) – A dog-walker – somebody who knows Nicola – saw her walking around the lower field with her dog. Their two dogs interacted briefly before the witness left the field via the river path
8.53am – She sent an email to her boss
9.01am – She logged into a Teams call
9.10am (approximately) – A witness – somebody who knows Nicola – saw her on the upper field walking her dog, Willow. Work is ongoing today to establish exactly what time this was.
9.30am – The Teams call ended but Nicola stayed logged on
9.35am (approximately) – Nicola’s mobile phone and Willow were found at a bench by the river by another dog-walker.
10.15am – She was reported missing after a walker found her dog loose along the local river.
Police officers search along a footpath in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire (Picture: PA)
Meanwhile, Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow, said: ‘The decision to disclose this level of detail on a missing person’s private life, with no evidence that this is assisting in finding her, is deeply troubling.
‘The police need to be much clearer as to why any of this helps find Nicola Bulley or support this investigation.’
Ms Bulley vanished after dropping off her daughters, aged six and nine, at school on January 27 in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.
She was last seen at 9.10am taking her usual route with her springer spaniel Willow, alongside the River Wyre.
Her phone, still connected to a work call was found just over 20 minutes later on a bench overlooking the riverbank, with her dog running loose.
On Wednesday, Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, the lead investigator for Lancashire Police in the case said: ‘As soon as she was reported missing, following the information that was provided to the police by her partner Paul, and based on a number of specific vulnerabilities that we were made aware of, Nicola was graded as high-risk.’
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A later statement on the force website said: ‘Sadly, it is clear from speaking to Paul and the family that Nicola had in the past suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause and that these struggles had resurfaced over recent months.
‘This caused some real challenges for Paul and the family.
‘As a result of those issues, a response car staffed by both police and health professionals attended a report of concern for welfare at Nicola’s home address on January 10.
‘No-one has been arrested in relation to this incident, but it is being investigated.
‘It is an unusual step for us to take to go into this level of detail about someone’s private life, but we felt it was important to clarify what we meant when we talked about vulnerabilities to avoid any further speculation or misinterpretation.’
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Former chief crown prosecutor for the North West, Nazir Afzal, said the statement ‘should not have been issued’ as it gives ‘fuel to the victim blamers, armchair sleuths & conspiracy theorists’.
