‘Nicola Bulley case will be used to train police in what not to do,’ says ex-cop

A former top undercover detective has raged at the handling of Nicola Bulley's disappearance, saying it will be "used on senior officer training courses" as an example of what not to do.

Mum Nicola went missing on January 27 while walking her dog in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire.

Police's main working hypothesis remains that Nicola went into the River Wyre, but the search continues.

READ MORE: Government demands Nicola Bulley cops explain release of bombshell personal info

Lancashire Police were criticised yesterday (Wednesday, February 15) after revealing that Nicola was considered a high-risk missing person because of a "number of specific vulnerabilities".

They followed that up by revealing police visited Nicola's home 17 days before she went missing after a "report of concern for welfare", which came "as a result" of "significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause".

Ex-Metropolitan Police officer Peter Bleksley, who hosted Channel 4's Hunted, described the handling of Nicola's case as a "catastrophe".

He said during an appearance on Talk TV yesterday: "Almost from the moment Nicola disappeared, in terms of communicating with the public and the media, Lancashire Constabulary have got this catastrophically wrong.

"Today isn't just the first occasion when they've tried to suppress speculation, when all they've done is fuel it.

"Today was utterly ludicrous when they said there were 'private and personal matters', which were the vulnerabilities around Nicola, but of course [they also said] 'don't speculate about them, we're not going to discuss them'.

"And six hours later they have to do a complete and very embarrassing U-turn. It's been a catastrophe from start to finish.

"This case will be remembered for years. It will be used on senior officer training courses as the finest example of how not to communicate."

When asked why Lancashire Police might have decided to release the information, Bleksley explained: "I'm absolutely sure that the police would have consulted with the family over this – if they haven't, then that would be just another disastrous error.

"Right from the very start, I'm sure the police would have known about this but had decided to keep the genie in the lamp.

"What was unusual was at a very early stage in this investigation they said 'she's gone in the river', as opposed to adopting the more pragmatic and perhaps more appropriate 'keeping an open mind'.

"It really has been very ham-fisted. Virtually at every turn they've got it wrong and I think some people will – when the dust settles – need to be held accountable for this."

This evening (Thursday, February 16) Lancashire Police referred themselves to the independent police watchdog over their meeting with Nicola on January 10, before she disappeared.

Explaining the decision to release the information about Nicola, the force said yesterday: "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.

"We have explained to Nicola’s family why we have released this further information and we would ask that their privacy is respected at this difficult time."

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READ NEXT:

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