Photo: Peter Byrne/PA
The leader of the House of Commons has criticized Lancashire Police for releasing private information about missing woman Nicola Bulley.
Penny Mordaunt said it was “shocking” that police had made public Bulley’s struggles with alcohol and perimenopause symptoms. “Serious questions” need to be asked as to why they chose to do this, she added.
Bulley disappeared on January 27 after taking her children to school in St Michael’s on Wyre. Lancashire Police continue to believe the most likely scenario is that she fell in the river.
Speaking to the BBC program Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Mordaunt said: “It’s quite shocking. And I think both the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are right to raise concerns about this.
“I mean, the first thing I felt was for her family. I mean, it’s bad enough that your loved one is gone, but having all the added drama that accompanies this very tragic case is horrifying.
“And I think it really bugs a lot of women and we have to put up with all kinds of sexist behavior in all kinds of situations. And I think playing it in such an environment is why people are so upset.”
Asked if the police were sexist in their handling of the case, Mordaunt said: “I think they were clearly motivated to try to explain why this case is so complex. But I think there are serious questions as to why they wanted to release certain information.”
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who appeared on the same programme, said there was a problem with the way police were dealing with misogyny.
When asked about the Bulley case, the Labor frontbencher said she had received “further information” from Lancashire Police after raising concerns about the level of detail being released by the force on the missing woman.
Cooper did not elaborate on the information and said the focus should now be on the investigation and the review launched by the information commissioner.
“I’m very concerned by the nature of the social media speculation and frenzy that there has been around this case… My concern is also that we focus on that [the information from Lancashire police] at the expense of focusing on finding Nicola, which must be a priority,” she said.
When asked if there was a broader issue with how police view women and whether women can trust the armed forces with “deeply personal” information, Cooper said, “I think we should almost put this case aside … There’s a broader issue with.” the way in that the police have dealt with, particularly violence against women and girls, and of course standards on misogyny and on how to deal with violence and abuse within the police forces themselves.
“We obviously had the horrific cases of Wayne Couzens and David Carrick, neither of whom should have been a cop and where the standards really weren’t high enough.”
Last week, Bulley’s family said they knew in advance that Lancashire Police planned to release details about her medical condition.
“Even though we know Nikki wouldn’t have wanted it, there are people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her. This is appalling and needs to stop,” they said, adding, “The public focus needs to be on finding her and not inventing wild theories about her personal life.”
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