Nicola Bulley: Pressure grows to launch probe into Lancashire Police's handling ... trends now
Pressure is mounting for an independent inquiry into Lancashire Police's handling of Nicola Bulley's disappearance after it emerged the force focused their search on a stretch of river five miles away from where her body was later found.
It was a sighting by a pair of dogwalkers on Sunday afternoon that led to the 45-year-old's missing mother's body being recovered from the River Wyre 23 days after she vanished.
Former DCI Martyn Underhill, who served nine years as a police commissioner, said Lancashire Police has serious questions to answer about its media strategy and search of the river - and 'nothing less' than an independent review would suffice.
He told The Times: 'These are crucial issues that go to public confidence. I may well be totally wrong and Lancashire might be completely vindicated. But I have never known a force to be so reluctant to seek external help — the Met and other forces all offered. The home secretary must get to the bottom of it.'
Home Secretary Suella Braverman yesterday said she is not 'wholly satisfied' with the force's explanations for revealing Ms Bulley's alcohol dependency and menopausal issues last Wednesday, after personally grilling Chief Constable Chris Rowley.
The Information Commissioner's Office is assessing whether the force was right to reveal the personal information, while the Independent Office for Police Conduct are probing Lancashire Police's contact with Ms Bulley in another incident before she went missing.
Ms Braverman and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are said to be awaiting the outcome of those two investigations before deciding on an independent inquiry, The Sun reports.
Ms Braverman said: 'I did have concerns earlier in the week about some of the elements relating to the release of personal information into the public domain.
'I raised those concerns with the chief constable - I wasn't wholly satisfied, I have to say, with some of the responses I got.
'There are some investigations ongoing. We must wait for them to conclude.'
A former Scotland Yard detective has also slammed the already under-fire police force responsible for the search for Nicola Bulley.
Peter Bleksley piled the pressure on Lancashire Police, who today confirmed that the 45-year-old mother-of-two's body was found in the River Wyre on Sunday.
The former policeman said despite the force's use of experts and a nationally-recognised search doctrine, they were not the ones to find Ms Bulley.
He told Sky News: 'The bottom line is Lancashire Police and all their experts and all their doctrines did not find Nicola.
'Two people walking along a river bank did.
Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley slammed Lancashire Police for their search for Nicola Bulley, 45
Mother-of-two Ms Bulley (pictured) was discovered on Sunday morning in the River Wyre in Lancashire, more than three weeks on from when she disappeared
During a press conference today police did not revealed why it took 23 days to find her body in the river
'Leading experts in their field helped with the search in terms of tide and river movements.
'River movements can be complex but [Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith] also went on to say that a nationally-recognised searching doctrine had been followed.'
He added that police were vague in their statements to the press and the public from the start of the search for Ms Bulley.
Mr Bleksley said: 'Right from the very off the first two press conferences were led by uniformed superintendent Sally Riley who at one point asked people to stop speculating.
'Then in an answer to a question did exactly that and speculated herself.
'She also made a factual mistake in that in that she told the public that the NCA had reviewed the investigation.
'That was not true, as we later found out at the subsequent and catastrophic press conference on Wednesday last week when DSI Rebecca Smith said that the National Crime Agency had provided tactical and strategic advice.
'My
