Police slammed for revealing why Nicola Bulley was ‘vulnerable’ and ‘destroying’ her reputation

Lancashire Police have been criticised for disclosing personal and private details about missing Nicola Bulley’s ‘vulnerabilities’, which lead them to treat her as ‘high risk’.

In a statement released after yesterday’s press conference, the force revealed that the 45-year-old mother had suffered with ‘significant alcohol issues’ in the past which had resurfaced due to her ‘struggles with the menopause’ – after they had initially refused to elaborate.

They also said that a response car attended the address of Ms Bulley on January 10th, after ‘reports of concern for a person’s welfare’, but that ‘no arrests were made’ and the incident is ‘being investigated’.

Talking to Sky News, former detective Martyn Underhill said Lancashire Police have completely destroyed Ms Bulley’s reputation by revealing her struggles with alcohol, and that he was ‘confused’ by their strategy. He added: “You can understand why some people are saying it’s victim blaming to protect their own reputation.

“I can’t see how it progresses the case any further forward now we’re three weeks in, to be frank.”

In a press conference held yesterday with Lancashire Police, lead investigator Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith and her colleague Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson revealed they deemed the mother-of-two as ‘high risk’, after she went missing on Friday January 27th.

They said that this was ‘normal for a missing person with the information we were in possession of’, and that they were made aware of these vulnerabilities after speaking to Nicola’s partner, Paul Ansell.

Detectives originally refused to confirm as to why they treated Ms Bulley as a ‘high risk’ missing person with ‘specific vulnerabilities’, as they said it was the ‘personal and private information’ of Nicola and her family.

However, in a statement following the press conference, the force said: “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 10 January.

“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.”

The press meeting came after police wanted to clear-up widespread speculation circulating on social media by so-called ‘armchair detectives’, deemed as ‘harmful’ to Nicola’s family and a ‘hindrance’ and ‘distraction’ to the ongoing investigation.

Ms Bulley was last seen at 9.10am on January 27th taking her usual route with her springer spaniel Willow, alongside the River Wyre.

Her phone, still connected to a work call for her job as a mortgage adviser, was found just over 20 minutes later on a bench overlooking the riverbank, with her dog running loose.