COPS handling the disappearance of Nicola Bulley sparked mass fury and were branded “sexist as it comes” after they revealed sensitive information about her.

The 45-year-old mum-of-two disappeared in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, on January 27, 2023, after dropping her daughters off at school.

5

5

During the search, police sparked fury when they revealed the mum’s struggle with alcohol and the perimenopause.

Nicola’s body was found in the river on February 19 – three weeks after she vanished.

The mum-of-two had to be identified through her dental records after the sad discovery was made.

An inquest at Preston’s County Hall in June the same year heard from Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour, who carried out a post mortem on Nicola, who gave her cause of death as drowning.

Lancashire Police‘s handling of the case was the subject of a 143-page report.

The review, led by the College of Policing, criticised the force for “insufficient focus” and errors of judgement.

‘AVOIDABLE & UNNECESSARY’

In its 17 recommendations, the report found the disclosure of personal details about Nicola’s life was “avoidable and unnecessary”.

The review said they should have instead released non-reportable background information to accredited journalists.

Dame Vera Baird, the former victims’ commissioner, slammed at the time the decision to reveal the personal information about Nicola “as sexist as it comes”.

‘DREADFUL’

She added the decision to divulge medical information about Nicola was “dreadful” and said it was “the biggest error that I have seen for quite a long time”.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said at the time he was “concerned that private information was put into the public domain”.

Nicola’s disappearance gripped the nation after it was revealed her mobile was found on a bench by the river still connected to a work conference call.

Her pet springer spaniel Willow was also discovered – but there was no trace of the mum.

As the case gripped the nation, amateur sleuths descended on the village as they looked for clues in an attempt to solve the case.

An inquest in the summer ruled Nicola’s death was an accident after she fell in the water and suffered “cold water shock”.

The verdict brought an end to speculation that surrounded the mortgage adviser’s mysterious disappearance.

The report found initial investigation was well handled but officers lost control of the public narrative at an early stage.

‘INFORMATION VACUUM’

This “information vacuum” was caused by senior officers failing to brief accredited reporters because of a breakdown in trust, which in turn led to unchecked speculation, it added.

The report said: “The investigating team had background information on Nicola that was not publicly available.

“The way in which this information was eventually communicated to the public proved to be the most controversial aspect of the investigation.

“The failure to brief the mainstream media on a non-reportable basis on this information, or to adequately fill the information vacuum, allowed speculation to run unchecked.

“This led to an extraordinary increase in media and public interest in the case, which was fuelled by several newsworthy elements.

“These included the apparent mystery of why Nicola had disappeared, leaving behind her dog and leaving her mobile phone still connected to a Microsoft Teams call.”

Dr Iain Raphael, who led the review, said it was “vital” this fractured relationship between the media and police was rebuilt.

He said without this, “speculation can run unchecked and result in an extraordinary explosion of media and public interest in the case”.

Dr Raphael also noted the police must “recognise the impact social media now has”.

Deputy Chief Constable Sacha Hatchett from Lancashire Police said at the time: “That media demand was at times overwhelming, and with the benefit of hindsight, there are undoubtedly things we would do differently in the future. Indeed, we have already started to do so.

“There is no doubt that the impact of social media, as experienced in this case, is an area of concern for policing generally which requires more focus in the future.

“It had a detrimental effect on the family, the investigation, and our staff along with influencing wider media reporting.”

5

5

5