Commons leader Penny Mordaunt described the disclosure of private information about missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley by police tasked with investigating her disappearance as “shocking”.
Lancashire Constabulary has come under fire for making public Ms Bulley’s struggles with alcohol and perimenopause, three weeks after she disappeared after a walk near the River Wyre.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has contacted police leaders about the investigation, as the Prime Minister said he too was “concerned” by the revelation.
Describing the ordeal as “terrible” for the family, Ms Mordaunt said: “It’s quite shocking. And I think both the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are right to raise concerns about this.”
She added: “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 settings. And I think playing it in such an environment is why people are so upset.”
Asked whether the police had shown sexism in their handling of the case, Ms 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 also expressed concern about the case, saying there was a bigger problem with police handling of misogyny.
Ms Cooper, who had also contacted the force for the level of detail on the missing mother’s private life, said she had received “further information” from the force.
She did not elaborate on the information she had been given and said the focus should remain on the search for Ms Bulley and the investigation launched by the data protection officer, who is now investigating how the disclosure was handled.
But she said: “I think we should almost put this case aside… There is a broader issue in relation to the way the police have dealt with violence against women and girls in particular, and of course standards relating to misogyny and approaches to 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.”
In a press conference on Wednesday, Lancashire Police announced that Ms Bulley had been classified as a “high risk” missing person immediately after her partner reported her disappearance “due to a number of specific vulnerabilities”.
They later added in a statement that the mother-of-two had been struggling with drinking problems and perimenopause and had stopped taking her HRT medication.
Lancashire Police confirmed a date had been set for an internal review of the investigation.
A police spokeswoman said: “A review of the investigation is diary-type and is being conducted by our Chief Superintendent, Chief Superintendent Pauline Stables.”
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