Nicola Bulley: Police receive backlash for revealing personal details about missing mother

The police investigating the disappearance of Nicola Bulley have received backlash for revealing personal details about the missing mother. However, the force argued that it had informed Bulley’s family that it was releasing the details.

On Wednesday, Lancashire Police said 45-year-old Nicola Bulley had undergone “some significant issues with alcohol” along with “ongoing struggles with the menopause”. The police’s release on social media was quickly criticised by a range of internet users including lawmakers, legal experts and privacy campaigners.

After the officer elaborated on Bulley’s personal details such as disclosing that she had “a number of specific vulnerabilities” among several other such issues, the UK Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper to Sky News that the release of such information was “very unusual” while adding that she has “a lot of questions and concerns” about the same.


Cooper further said that she was willing to speak directly to Lancashire Police about the reasons behind giving out such details while noting that “I know there can be complicated reasons for police decisions”.



Additionally, Zoë Billingham, the chairwoman of an NHS mental health trust, who worked in policing previously also told BBC that the police update about Bulley “smacked either of panic” or a “deliberate decision” by the force to maintain their reputation. She added that it was “quite disturbing on so many fronts” and that “people are asking rightly” how the reproductive status of the woman gone missing is relatable to the mission of finding her.

Nicola Bulley disappeared on January 27 while walking her dog after dropping both her daughters off at school. Lancashire Police have also said that their main theory is that she went into the River Wyre between 9:10 GMT and 9:20 GMT that same day. However, her partner, Paul Ansell has said that he does not believe Bulley fell into the water.

FAQs:

1. How old is Nicola Bulley?
   45 years
2. When did Nicola Bulley go missing?
   January 27