Lancashire Police have come under fire for releasing deeply personal details about Nicola Bulley when they said she previously suffered from “significant issues with alcohol” brought on by ongoing struggles with menopause.
They added that police and health professionals were called to her home on January 10 after concerns for her welfare were raised – 17 days before she disappeared. No arrests were made but police are continuing investigations into the incident.
The force has received backlash, including from Labour MP Stella Creasy who said there is “no evidence that this is assisting in finding her”.
It comes after investigators said in yesterday’s press conference that personal information given to them about Nicola’s “vulnerabilities” by partner Paul Ansell meant the case was immediately graded “high risk” – though initially refused to elaborate.
At the briefing, it was added officers had still found no evidence of a “criminal aspect or third party involvement” in the disappearance.
Follow all our live updates on the search for Nicola…
‘Deeply troubling’
Meanwhile, Stella Creasy, Labour MP for Walthamstow, said: “The decision to disclose this level of detail on a missing person’s private life, with no evidence that this is assisting in finding her, is deeply troubling.
“The police need to be much clearer as to why any of this helps find Nicola Bulley or support this investigation.”
‘This will help people victim blame’
Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Twitter: “I am deeply uncomfortable with the police releasing Nicola Bulley’s so-called ‘vulnerabilities’ on menopause and alcohol.
“I struggle to ascertain how this will assist police in their search & investigations. I do see how it would assist those wishing to victim-blame or diminish.”
Silkie Carlo, director of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, tweeted: “Lancashire Police broadcasting missing Nicola Bulley’s health issues and hormone status to the world is a serious invasion of her privacy with no obvious benefits for the investigation.
“A shocking decision when the police’s treatment of women is rightly in the spotlight.
“It’s not at all clear how the police are justifying this disclosure, which seems to be aimed at shoring up public support for Lancashire Police’s own forgone conclusions.
“The ramifications of this invasion of medical privacy could be really serious, including for Nicola’s safety.”
‘Too easy to write a woman off’
Many have expressed their disgust at the police releasing details about Nicola’s alcohol use.
Broadcaster Fern Cotton said it was “uncomfortable” and that it was “too easy to write a woman off”.
I am uncomfortable with the latest news suggesting that Nicola Bulley has an issue with alcohol and menopause. The undertone is that she maybe ‘ a bit unstable’ or perhaps even ‘not in her right mind.’ Too easy to write a woman off like this. What lies behind it?
— Fern Britton (@Fern_Britton) February 15, 2023
Fury at police releasing private medical information
I have just seen the statement from police about #NicolaBulley & her alleged vulnerability
It should NOT have been issued
It does NOTHING to find herIt does, however, give fuel to the victim blamers, armchair sleuths & conspiracy theorists
We don’t need ANY of them— nazir afzal (@nazirafzal) February 15, 2023
Dashcam appeal to public in search for Nicola Bulley
Police are appealing for dashcam footage from drivers or cyclists on the day Nicola Bulley disappeared due to a lack of CCTV footage.
Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, the lead investigator in the case, said that all footage so far has been looked at but there have been no images of Ms Bulley found.
And due to little CCTV on the river path, road users could have vital information over the disappearance, it is believed.
“From the iron bridge to the school there is nothing there, which is why it’s so important for the dash cam.
“Because even though they’re going to be tiny bite-size information, they’re not going to be as good as CCTV – we need to be able to piece together as much of that road as we can.”
MP Alicia Kearns says details on Nicola Bulley’s health will increase ‘victim-blaming’
Conservative MP Alicia Kearns believes that the release of information on Nicola Bulley’s health will “assist those wishing to victim-blame or diminish”.
She is among those who have criticised the decision of Lancashire Police to reveal “vulnerabilities” that Ms Bulley had, later on Wednesday following a press conference.
Police said she had faced “significant issues with alcohol” brought on by “ongoing struggles with the menopause”.
And Ms Kearns said she didn’t see how revealing the information would help the search.
“I am deeply uncomfortable with the police releasing Nicola Bulley’s so-called “vulnerabilities” on menopause & alcohol,” she tweeted.
“I struggle to ascertain how this will assist Police in their search & investigations. I do see how it would assist those wishing to victim-blame or diminish.”
‘Three hypotheses’ are main focus of police’s Nicola Bulley investigation
Nicola Bulley went missing while walking her dog in the village of St Michael’s on Wyre after dropping her children off at school, and police have confirmed that their investigation is focusing on three hypotheses.
They have said that there has been an “unprecedented amount of work” put into the search with 40 detectives involved.
Senior investigating officer Detective Supt Rebecca Smith said: “As any senior investigating officer does, you form a number of hypotheses, that is scenarios which are possible from the information to hand.
“Those hypotheses included the one that she possibly could have gone into the river, that there could have been third-party involvement, and lastly, that she could have left the area voluntarily.”
Police repeat ‘no evidence’ of criminal aspect in Nicola Bulley disappearance
Police have repeated that there is “no evidence” to suggest that there is a criminal aspect to Nicola Bulley’s disappearance.
At a press conference, Police Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson defended the investigation which has centred around the theory that Nicola fell into the water.
He stated that still there is “no evidence to indicate a criminal aspect or third party involvement”.
Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith denied that they hadn’t been looking at other possibilities as well.
She said: “At the initial stages based on the information received I made it clear that it was my working hypothesis at that time based on all the fact that the main hypothesis I was working on at that time was that Nicola had gone in the river. This has been misconstrued in the press over what I said.
“I said that was my main working hypothesis at that time and that is my main working hypothesis. We have always been open minded.”
Ex-Chief Crown Prosecutor says details of Nicole Bulley’s health issues ‘fuel’ rumours
Former Chief Crown Prosecutor Nazir Afzal said details of Nicole Bulley’s health problems should not have been released and “fuel” social media speculation and conspiracy theories.
Police released a further statement in relation to the “vulnerabilities” mentioned in Wednesday’s press conference.
In the release, they refer to Nicola having previously had “significant issues with alcohol” brought on by ongoing struggles with the menopause.
These struggles had recently resurfaced.
It led to Mr Afzal to tweet: “I have just seen the statement from police about #NicolaBulley & her alleged vulnerability. It should NOT have been issued. It does NOTHING to find her.
It does, however, give fuel to the victim blamers, armchair sleuths & conspiracy theorists. We don’t need ANY of them.”
Dive expert says Nicola Bulley’s health problems ‘should not have been made public’
A dive expert involved in the search for Nicola Bulley said her health issues should never have been made public by the police.
SGI chief Peter Faulding has told the Mirror he was just as surprised as anyone when Lancashire Police revealed Nicola had problems.
He said his team’s strategy would have been completely different if police had told them about her health issues.
But he claimed it is one thing for his team to be given the details and another for it to be announced to the public.
“From my point of view…this information should never have been made public this afternoon at all. It’s not fair,” Mr Faulding said.
“If we were given that information on the search, she is a vulnerable ‘misper’, which is normal for me to get that information, and she’s had alcohol issues etcetera, I’m not going to tell you.
“If I’m told to keep quiet I keep it between us. Our whole approach to the media may have different from day one.”
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Social media speculation ‘really hurtful’ for Nicola Bulley’s family, says police
Social media speculation has been “really hurtful” for Nicola Bulley’s family said the lead detective investigating her disappearance.
Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith said that the rumours and conspiracy theories are the worst that she has experienced in the job.
“Yes, it has significantly distracted the investigation. In 29 years’ police service I’ve never seen anything like it. Some of it’s been quite shocking and really hurtful to the family,” she told a news conference.
“Obviously, we can’t disregard anything and we’ve reviewed everything that’s come in but of course it has distracted us significantly. But as long as we are prioritising, which we do constantly on the information that’s coming in, that will not distract us from the priority actions that we’ve been completing.”
The detective added: “The family are the most important part of this, and all this speculation and rumour is affecting them. They’ve got a loving daughter, sister, partner and mother who is missing, and that is my priority and the priority of the investigation team, and always has been.”
Labour MP says decision to release new details on Nicola Bulley ‘deeply troubling’
Labour MP Stella Creasy has slammed the decision by police to reveal health issues about Nicola Bulley as “deeply troubling”.
The Lancashire Police statement came after a press conference today where police said that Nicola had some “vulnerabilities” which were being taken into account as part of the search for her.
The force divulged that the “struggles” had caused “real challenges” for her partner Paul Ansell and the rest of the family.
But the update has been criticised by many, including Ms Creasy.
She tweeted: “The decision to disclose this level of detail on a missing person’s private life, with no evidence that this is assisting in finding her, is deeply troubling. The police need to be much clearer as to why any of this helps find Nicola Bulley or support this investigation.”
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Forensic expert questions if police are holding back more information
An independent dive specialist is now questioning if the police are holding back more information after saying his team’s approach for looking for Nicola Bulley would have been different if they had known of her alcohol issues.
Peter Faulding, of Specialist Group International, said it is more likely that Nicola had been swept out to sea or simply wandered off, knowing about her health situation.
His team spent 72 hours scouring an area of water near where the missing mum’s phone was found on a bench, with police investigators allegedly working on the hypothesis she had accidentally fallen into the water but was of sound mind.
The underwater forensics expert is now wondering if there is other information being withheld by the police.
“Do they know something else again that they are not telling us?” he said.
“Is there another snippet of information here that actually we don’t know?”
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Nicola Bulley dive expert says if told of health issues search would have been different
An independent dive specialist involved in the search for Nicola Bulley said his team’s strategy would have been completely different if police had told them about her health issues.
With the new information known, he predicts she is more likely to have been swept out to sea or simply wandered off.
The 45-year-old mum disappeared while on a dog walk along the River Wyre on January 27 – with Specialist Group International drafted in 10 days later.
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Nicola Bulley cops spark fury by revealing mum’s ‘recently resurfaced’ health issues
Police investigating missing Nicola Bulley have been slammed after revealed the missing mum’s health issues that ‘recently resurfaced’.
The statement came after a press conference today where police said that Nicola had some ‘vulnerabilities’ which were being taken into account as part of the search for her.
The force divulged that the ‘struggles’ had caused ‘real challenges’ for her partner Paul Ansell and the rest of the family.
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Police called to Nicola Bulley’s home 17 days before disappearance amid health concerns
Officers attended Nicola Bulley’s home 17 days before her disappearance, police have revealed.
Lancashire Police said the 45-year-old had alcohol issues as a result of “ongoing struggles with the menopause” and that those struggles had recently resurfaced.
It comes after Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson and Detective Superintendent Becky Smith told a press briefing Nicola was a “high risk” missing person with “specific vulnerabilities” – but refused to elaborate.
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Detectives explain why mum’s social media profiles may show as ‘online’
Police investigating the disappearance of Nicola Bulley have told friends not to panic if they see activity on her phone in the coming days.
Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, the lead investigator in the case, said further “digital enquiries” needed to be made.
She said: “I want to make this really clear, we have control of this phone.
“This will be the police that is doing these enquiries and nobody needs to be concerned or contact the incident room about this.”
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Nicola Bulley police reveal missing mum’s health issues that recently resurfaced
Police have revealed Nicola Bulley previously suffered with “significant issues with alcohol” brought on by ongoing struggles with the menopause – and these struggles had recently resurfaced.
They added that police and health professionals were called to her home on January 10 after concerns for her welfare were raised – 17 days before she disappeared.
No arrests were made but police are continuing investigations into the incident.
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Police elaborate on ‘vulnerabilities’ remarks from briefing
Police have now released a further statement in relation to the “vulnerabilities” mentioned in today’s press conference.
In the release, they refer to Nicola having previously had “significant issues with alcohol” brought on by ongoing struggles with the menopause.
These struggles had recently resurfaced.
It adds police and health professionals were called to her home on January 10 after concerns for her welfare were raised.
Here is the statement in full:
Nicola’s family continue to be our absolute focus and our thoughts remain with them.
We have specially trained officers who continue to support them and update them daily.
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 10th. 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.
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.
‘Persistent myths’ police are keen to debunk
During today’s press briefing, police said there are “persistent myths” circulating which are “distracting” their investigation.
Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, who is leading the case, said she and her staff are being “inundated with false information, accusations and rumours”.
The main myths are:
- Derelict house
There has been speculation about a house on the other side of the River Wyre to where Nicola’s phone was found.
However, Ms Smith said it has been searched three times, with the permission of the owner, and the missing mum was not there.
Reports from witnesses described seeing a red van in the area around the time of the disappearance.
Police say they are continuing to make enquiries to track it down, but it is not believed to be suspicious.
Two men carrying fishing rods were allegedly spotted in the area, with one said to be trying to hide his face with his hood.
Ms Smith said: “I myself don’t find it suspicious that fisherman would be in the area of a river that morning or carrying fishing rods.”
However, she said officers have trawled CCTV and contacted angling clubs in an effort to identify the men.
A TikToker allegedly found a glove caught on a tree branch near to where Nicola disappeared in the days after the search began and was handed to police.
Ms Smith said: “A glove has been recovered that is not believed to be relevant to the investigation, it is not Nicola’s but we have got that in our possession.”
- Caravan site
Rumours have circulated about CCTV at a nearby caravan site not working.
Lancashire Police says this is not the case and officers have been helped “beyond all belief” by owners of the site.
What is the current focus of the police investigation?
Lancashire Police have said there is no evidence to suggest any crime has been committed or there was any third-party involvement.
Here’s what investigators are doing, as per today’s press briefing:
Det Supt Smith said officers have viewed a “substantial” amount of CCTV, which has helped them “pin down” some of Nicola’s movements.
However, they cannot “complete” every step she made as the area has footage that covers just parts of the route she took.
- Dashcam footage
Due to the lack of CCTV, the force has appealed for dashcam footage from motorists and cyclists.
Det Supt Smith said every piece of footage has been reviewed after appealing to over 700 drivers known to be in the area at the time.
Officers have spoken to a number of dog walkers known to Nicola, who were in the area at the time, described by Det Supt Smith as “key witnesses”.
They have “thoroughly” looked into the possibility of Nicola’s colleagues, who were on a Microsoft Teams call with her, knowing what happened, which is “not the case”.
- Digital devices
Officers, along with digital experts, have carried out an “exhaustive amount of work” on Nicola’s phone.
Det Supt Smith said the Fitbit device did not provide further information because it had not been “synced for a number of days” and she was not wearing headphones.
Police were also analysing her social media accounts, which the family is aware of.
Officers will continue searching the river this week, but is an “inherently challenging medium” to investigate, Mr Lawson said.
He went on: “The reality is there will be a point in which I need to review the extent of proportionality of continuing to deploy significant search resources around the River Wyre.”
TikToker arrested and fined for filming in St Michael’s
A social media influencer has been arrested and fined after travelling to film footage of the location where Nicola Bulley went missing.
It comes as the lead investigator in the case, Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, has condemned amateur sleuths coming to the area acting as ‘wannabe detectives’.
Dan Duffy, from Darwen, was detained by police on Friday on a public order offence and issued with a £90 fine.
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Senior investigating officer not appointed for 72 hours
Lancashire Police didn’t appoint a senior investigating officer to the Nicola Bulley case for 72 hours.
The missing person case was considered ‘High Risk’ with police revealing her partner Paul Ansell made them aware of specific “vulnerabilities”.
Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith was made SIO on Monday, January 30, with the 45-year-old mum having disappeared the previous Friday morning.
A reporter questioned why this wasn’t done sooner during a press briefing today, referring to how the first 48 hours in a missing person case are considered crucial.
Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson said he was “satisfied” at how things progressed.
He said with Nicola’s case being graded as high risk so early it meant there was a “focused attention and significant resources” implemented from day one.
Mr Lawson said there was “no evidence of any crime” in the first report, which meant an SIO was not necessarily a priority.
He continued: “It was handled appropriately, but as the days began to progress, as would be normal with any high risk missing person investigation, [when she] hadn’t been found by Monday we began to layer in the expertise of a senior investigating officer with all the infrastructure that comes with that.”
What makes a missing person case ‘high risk’?
Investigative journalist and former detective for Surrey Police, Mark Williams-Thomas has tweeted the following:
ACC Lawson of Lancashire Police stated that the Nicola Bulley was categorised as ‘High Risk’ when the investigation began in the press release this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/ePMzCX4yPz
— Mark Williams-Thomas (@mwilliamsthomas) February 15, 2023
Police explain why Nicola’s social media profiles may show as ‘online’
DS Rebecca Smith said that “further work” was being carried out into Ms Bulley’s social media accounts this morning.
She added: “The family is totally aware of this but this work might show Nicola as being online.
“I want to make this really clear, we have control of this phone, this will be the police that is doing these enquiries and nobody needs to be concerned or contact the incident room about this.”
She also mentioned Nicola’s pale blue Fitbit, which she was wearing at the time of her disappearance.
Although there has been a lot of interest surrounding the Fitbit, it has unfortunately provided “no further information” because it had not been synced for a number of days.
Nicola’s ‘vulnerabilities’ are a ‘personal, private’ matter
Police would not be drawn further on the exact nature of Ms Bulley’s “individual vulnerabilities”.
A police search involving specialist officers was launched within an hour of her partner Paul Ansell speaking to officers, and she was deemed “high-risk” based on the information he had given them.
DS Rebecca Smith, the lead investigator for Lancashire Police in the case, told reporters: “As soon as she was reported missing, following the information that was provided to the police by her partner Paul, and based on a number of specific vulnerabilities that we were made aware of, Nicola was graded as high-risk.
“It’s normal in any missing person investigation that you obviously gather as much information at an early stage about the person in question, which is no different, and we did that with Paul.
“I’m not going to go into the details of those individual vulnerabilities. I’ve asked you to respect the family, who are going through unimaginable pain and distress at this moment.
“But those vulnerabilities based our decision-making in terms of grading Nicola as high-risk, and have continued to form part of my investigation throughout.”
Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson added that the “vulnerabilities” mentioned are “personal, private information”.
Social media sleuths have ‘distracted’ police investigation
Social media sleuths have “distracted” the investigation into the disappearance of Ms Bulley, police have said.
The force said “TikTokers have been playing private detectives” near the scene of the 45-year-old’s disappearance.
DS Rebecca Smith said investigating officers have been “inundated with false information, accusations and rumours” relating to the case.
Asked if “social media video-makers and wannabe detectives have been an annoyance or a hindrance in the inquiry”, she said: “Yes, it has significantly distracted the investigation. In 29 years’ police service I’ve never seen anything like it.
“Some of it’s been quite shocking and really hurtful to the family.
“Obviously, we can’t disregard anything and we’ve reviewed everything that’s come in but of course it has distracted us significantly.”
Police give update on dog harness theory
Police have said it was “totally normal” for Willow to be off her harness, as she was when discovered by a dogwalker.
The witness made a number of phone calls, including to a local vet in an initially unsuccessful attempt to find out who owned the springer spaniel.
DS Rebecca Smith said: “A number of inconsistencies have been raised in relation to Nicola’s dog.
She added that it was “really normal for Willow to not have her harness on”.
“It would been taken off when they entered the field and only put back on when they were ready to leave the field,” she told reporters.
CCTV does not cover mum’s last movements
Nearly 40 detectives have sifted through hundreds of hours of CCTV, dashcam footage and tip-offs from the public.
But DS Rebecca Smith said CCTV did not cover Ms Bulley’s movements in the moments before her disappearance.
She believes that Ms Bulley did not leave the area however, as there is operational CCTV at the entrance to the field where she vanished.
DS Smith said: “We can say that Nicola did not leave the area.”
‘Stained’ blue glove does not belong to Nicola, police say
Police say a glove found near to where Nicola Bulley disappeared does not belong to her.
Speaking at Lancashire Police headquarters, DS Rebecca Smith said: “In terms of the glove that has been recovered, you’ll no doubt be aware that TikTokers have been playing their own private detectives and have been in the area.
“A glove has been recovered that is not believed to be relevant to the investigation, it is not Nicola’s but we have got that in our possession.”
It was previously reported that detectives were handed a “stained” blue glove found in the field where Ms Bulley went missing.