Criticising police for Nicola Bulley investigation is ‘unfair’, says ex-chief
Criticism on how detectives have handled their investigation into Nicola Bulley’s disappearance is ‘unfair’, a former chief has said.
Lancashire Police has faced fierce backlash for its search for the missing mum.
She vanished while walking her dog in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre on January 27.
Ex-chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, Peter Fahy, told BBC Radio 4: ‘Lancashire police have been very diligent in tracing lots of witnesses, eyewitnesses, mobile phone data, huge use of CCTV.
‘That itself has closed off many potential theories about what has happened to this poor woman.
‘It’s disappointing that certain politicians have not perhaps tried to give this a more balanced view and say, yes there is a particular issue about providing personal information and that often happens in major investigations.
He said there is ‘a huge feeling in policing that the way that Lancashire police has been focused on has got to the stage of being unfair’.
Public backlash, which has included complaints from MPs, has mostly been about a police press release put out on Wednesday which went into detail about Ms Bulley’s private health issues.
The statement revealed that the 45-year-old mum had struggled with drinking problems brought on by menopause before she vanished.
Many people feel it was inappropriate for the force to expose something so private.
Former victims’ commissioner for England and Wales Dame Vera Baird previously said: ‘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.
‘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.’
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and the information commissioner has announced an investigation into the force.
It comes after social media users were slammed as ‘vigilantes’ by officers.
Some were believed to have tried to enter a number of derelict properties along the River Wyre, claiming police hadn’t been conducting thorough enough searches.
Two TikTok users have faced backlash online after they filmed themselves digging in an area near to the River Wyre, where Nicola was last seen.
One was seen digging up soil while another discussed the wider mystery surrounding the disappearance.
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