by image source, Police distribution
Nicola Bulley disappeared on a dog walk by the river in Lancashire on January 27
The Prime Minister has said he was “concerned that private information was made publicly available” by police investigating the disappearance of Nicola Bulley.
Rishi Sunak told broadcasters he was “glad the police are looking into how it happened”.
“The focus has to be on trying to find her,” he added.
Speaking to Times Radio, Sir Keir Starmer – the leader of the Labor Party and former director of public prosecutions – said he was “very surprised to see what the police had put out there”.
“I wasn’t sure why that level of personal information was necessary,” he added.
Rishi Sunak said his thoughts were with Bulley’s friends and family
Sunak told the BBC: “Well, I agree with the Home Secretary and like her I was concerned about the private information being put in the public domain and I think the police are looking at how that happened in the investigation.
“My thoughts are of course with Nicola’s friends and family.”
Ms Bulley, 45, disappeared three weeks ago while walking her dog by the river in St Michael’s on the Wyre in Lancashire, after dropping her two daughters off at school.
Her phone was found still connected to a work conference.
Lancashire Police said it would conduct an internal review of its investigation, which will be led by crime chief Det Ch Supt Pauline Stables.
Police officers were pictured on Friday at the Shard Bridge on the River Wyre
In a statement released on Wednesday, Lancashire Police said Bulley had suffered from “some significant problems with alcohol” and “ongoing menopausal issues”.
This prompted a backlash from activists, MPs and legal experts, with some accusing the police of violating her privacy.
They also called for speculation surrounding her private life to end and urged the public to focus on finding their “amazing daughter, sister, partner and mother”.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it had received a referral from the force regarding contact officers had with Bulley on January 10, before she went missing.
Paramedics also attended her address, the force said, adding that no arrests were made but an investigation was underway.
Dame Vera Baird, the former victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, told BBC Radio 4 Today that the police had come under “heavy, and in my view, entirely justified criticism”.
“If it was relevant, it had to be in the public domain to begin with, and it wasn’t,” she said.
/cloudfront-us-east-2.images.arcpublishing.com/reuters/RWIQHD4E2NPWZMQTGE3VVXCWRU.jpg){kind=small}
