Lancashire Police is set to carry out an internal review into its handling of the disappearance of mum-of-two Nicola Bulley, who vanished three weeks ago.
The 45-year-old mortgage advisor is yet to be found since going missing while out on a walk with her dog in St Michael's on January 27. The case has attracted an "unprecedented" level of public attention across the nation, police said, as officers continue their extensive search.
The force confirmed that a date has been set for its internal review, which will be conducted by their Head of Crime, Detective Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables. It comes after police disclosed information to the public about Nicola's struggles with alcohol and the menopause, a move which was met with widespread criticism from MPs and campaign groups.
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The decision to reveal these details to the public raised concerns from the Government, with a source close to Suella Braverman saying that the Home Secretary was "concerned" that such information had been divulged. Braverman spoke to Lancashire Police to demand an explanation for the move, and has asked to be kept updated on the investigation.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak echoed the concerns, telling broadcasters on Friday: "I agree with the Home Secretary, and like her I was concerned that private information was put into the public domain. I'm pleased that the police are looking at how that happened in the investigation."
Information commissioner John Edwards said that he would also be asking Lancashire Police about its decision to disclose Nicola's personal issues. The police said in a statement on Wednesday: "We have described how Nicola had some vulnerabilities at the time she went missing and we just wanted to expand on that a little.
"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."
However, the Government's former victims' commissioner Dame Vera Baird criticised the decision by police to make Nicola's struggles public. "I'm afraid this is the biggest error that I have seen for quite a long time," she said.
"It's going to just, you know, very sadly, to undermine trust in the police yet further. I’m sure they would have explained themselves if they had an explanation… if it was relevant, it needed to be in a public domain at the start and it wasn’t. I mean, that is a really worrying error. It is frankly dreadful.
"I'm worried about future people making complaints. If one of your relatives has gone missing… and may have some weaknesses, as goodness knows we all do, then would you, first of all, go to the police at all as early as you should when you will have to tell them all the intimate details to help them with their inquiry – that’s essential.
"But would you if it's going to be on the front page of The Sun the next day or a week later? And if you do, will you tell them these details?"
Dame Vera added: "Would we have had police officers saying, you know, if it was Nicholas, he’s been unfortunately tied down with alcohol because he’s been suffering from erectile dysfunction for the last few weeks?
“I think not. You can hear all the senior police officers squirming as I say it, I would have thought. It is a dreadful error to put this in the public domain for absolutely nothing and I’m afraid I think it’s as sexist as it comes."
Earlier this week, Nicola's family issued a fresh statement on the missing mum. "It has now been three weeks since Nikki went missing. We, as a family, believe that the public focus has become distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her and Paul’s private life," they said.
"As a family, we were aware beforehand that Lancashire Police, last night, released a statement with some personal details about our Nikki. Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her. This is appalling and needs to stop.
"The police know the truth about Nikki and now the public need to focus on finding her. Due to the peri menopause Nikki suffered with significant side effects such as brain fog, restless sleep and was taking HRT to help but this was giving her intense headaches which caused Nikki to stop taking the HRT thinking that may have helped her but only ended up causing this crisis.
"The public focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life. Despite what some media outlets and individuals are suggesting, we are being updated daily and receive support from our family liaison officers.
"Nikki is such a wonderful daughter, sister , partner and mother and is missed dearly - we all need you back in our lives."
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