Personal information about Nicola Bulley’s health struggles disclosed to the public was “avoidable and unnecessary”, a police review has found. Lancashire Police came under fire for the way it made public details of the mum-of-two’s medical situation amid a media frenzy earlier this year, with even the Prime Minister expressing concern that private information had been disclosed.
The body of 45-year-old Ms Bulley was found in the River Wyre on February 19, about a mile from where she vanished, while walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre on January 27. An inquest concluded her death was accidental, that she fell into the river on the day she disappeared and died almost immediately in the cold water.
Ms Bulley’s family say they continue to grieve her loss and do not want to comment on the report. A review, published on Tuesday, found that in policing terms the missing persons investigation was well handled, but that the force had lost control of the public narrative at an early stage.
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Senior officers failed to brief mainstream accredited reporters because trust between police and media had broken down – leading to an information vacuum and unchecked speculation. The 143-page report, which concludes with 17 recommendations, criticises senior officers at Lancashire Police, details “insufficient focus” and errors of judgment, and questions the culture of the force, with claims chief officers “observed but did not act” and failed to show sufficient support to lower ranks.
A huge level of interest coupled with wild speculation on social media put the force under intense pressure during the investigation into Ms Bulley’s disappearance. The frenzy of speculation saw 6,500 international articles written about the hunt in the space of one day, and TikTok videos with the hashtag of her name had 270 million views.
Lancashire Police press office logged more than 500 media calls and 75,000 inbound social media comments on the case in about one month. A review of the investigation led by the College of Policing found that as levels of public confidence in the force were falling, the case should have been declared a critical incident, due to the effect of public confidence in the police, with greater focus on the media and earlier use of family liaison officers.
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