Nicola Bulley Search: UK Info Commissioner Queries Police Decision to Reveal Her Alcohol, Menopause Issues

Former Victims' Commissioner says police made 'dreadful error'

Undated photo issued by the family of Nicola Bulley, who went missing on Jan. 27, 2023 while walking her dog on a footpath by the River Wyre in Lancashire, England. Family/Lancashire Police

Britain’s Information Commissioner, John Edwards, has asked Lancashire Police to clarify why they revealed to the public issues Nicola Bulley faced with alcohol and menopause.

The police were also criticised by former Victims’ Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird, who said the disclosure was a “dreadful error.”

Bulley, 45, has been missing since Jan. 27 when she took her dog, Willow, for a walk along the banks of the River Wyre in Lancashire after dropping her two daughters off at a nearby primary school.

The mystery of what happened to Bulley has attracted widespread newspaper coverage in Britain, while social media has been rife with speculation about her disappearance.

On Wednesday, Lancashire Police held a press conference in which they said Bulley had “specific vulnerabilities” which led them to immediately assess her as “high risk” when she was reported missing.

They later issued a statement clarifying what they meant by her “vulnerabilities.”

Part of the statement read: “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.”

However, the decision to reveal intimate details of the struggles Bulley was facing brought widespread criticism. In his statement, Commissioner Edwards said: “Data protection law exists to ensure people’s personal information is used properly and fairly. This includes ensuring personal details are not disclosed inappropriately.”

“Police can disclose information to protect the public and investigate crime, but they would need to be able to demonstrate such disclosure was necessary,” he said.

Edwards said he recognised that police had to focus all of their energies on the investigation, but stated: “Given the high-profile nature of this case, we will be asking Lancashire Police to set out how they reached the decision to disclose this information in due course.”

It has been widely reported that the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has privately taken Lancashire Police to task over the move, although she has not commented on the matter publicly.

A woman holds up a placard during the search for Nicola Bulley, who went missing in Lancashire, England, on Jan. 27, 2023. PA

Baird, who stepped down as Victims’ Commissioner last year, claimed the decision to reveal so much private information about Bulley was “sexist,” and she questioned whether such details would have been released if the missing person was a man.

She told the BBC: “I’m afraid this is the biggest error that I have seen for quite a long time. It’s going to undermine trust in the police yet further.”

“If it was relevant, it needed to be in a public domain at the start, and it wasn’t. I mean, that is a really worrying error. It is frankly dreadful,” she added.

‘As Sexist as it Comes’

Baird said: “It is a dreadful error to put this in the public domain for absolutely nothing and I’m afraid I think it’s as sexist as it comes.”

However, Bulley’s family issued a statement on Thursday in which they said: “As a family, we were aware beforehand that Lancashire Police, last night, released a statement with some personal details about our Nikki. Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her. This is appalling and needs to stop.”

The statement went on to say: “Due to the perimenopause Nikki suffered with significant side effects such as brain fog, restless sleep and was taking HRT to help but this was giving her intense headaches which caused Nikki to stop taking the HRT thinking that may have helped her but only ended up causing this crisis.”

Perimenopause—the transition period leading up to the menopause—can cause symptoms such as hot flashes, forgetfulness, brain fog, fatigue, skin changes, insomnia, and cramping.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs are often prescribed, but these can have their own side effects.

Lancashire Police have said all along that they believe Bulley “went into the river” and was not a victim of foul play, but their failure to find a body has fuelled other theories on social media.

On Wednesday, Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, who is leading the hunt for Bulley, said: “It’s ... really obvious that we are being inundated with false information, accusations, and rumours, which is distracting us from our work.”

Lancashire Police also revealed on Wednesday that there had been police contact with Nicola Bulley on January 10 following “concern for welfare.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct has said it is assessing the information to determine whether an investigation is necessary over the contact officers had with Bulley.

PA Media contributed to this report.