By Alice WatkinsToday, the College of Policing has published the findings of its independent, external review of Lancashire Constabulary’s operational response to reported missing person Nicola Bulley. The mother of two went missing in January 2023 whilst walking her dog along the River Wyre, Lancashire, sparking a nationwide police search. Eventually, and tragically, she was found to have died in the river.

The police were criticised after releasing personal information about Ms Bulley during the course of the investigation, and it is clear from today’s report that Lancashire Constabulary have plenty to answer for.

But the press also bears responsibility for the way in which they reported on the story.

In coverage of the report today, The Sun is critical of the police for sharing "highly sensitive" information about Nicola Bulley's relationship with alcohol. But it was also The Sun which, back in February, published a piece headlined “NICOLA’S TURMOIL”, which publicised that same information. Likewise, The Independent today reported that ‘Lancashire police and diver Peter Faulding have been criticised in an independent review into the force’s handling of the disappearance of Nicola Bulley’, while failing to reflect on its own coverage at the time. Indeed, today’s report specifically refers to the press’ willingness to publicise the opinions and predictions of Faulding, many of which did not come true. Mr Faulding defended his interactions with the media, claiming he was “hounded” by outlets.

Social media & the pressMany outlets have been quick to condemn the role of social media - with the Mirror reporting that the review had examined how social media sleuths were able to take over the truth as police “lost control” of the story.

And yes, speculation and opinion can thrive unchecked on social media. But a lot of that speculation was driven by the press, which should be the antidote to conspiracy theories with accurate and properly researched reporting, yet ended up contributing to groundless and unhelpful speculation during the course of this case.

Indeed, on the 16th February 2023, the family of Nicola Bulley released a statement requesting for media speculation to stop. It implied that the police decision to reveal details of Nicola’s health issues had followed ‘people threatening to sell stories about her.’

The force said, "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.”

On the very same day the family called for an end to groundless speculation with that statement, The Sun published an article about Nicola, the early menopause, and questioned: ‘is it linked to alcohol addiction’? , while another Sun article also reported that Nicola had ‘significant issues’ with alcohol.Holding power to accountDespite MPs and campaign groups being highly critical at the time of the force’s decision to reveal these details, the press continued to report on her ‘vulnerabilities’. And even if Nicola’s mental health issues had played a role in her disappearance, it is difficult to identify the public interest in disclosing this information. A journalist should hold power to account and stand up for ordinary people. But rather than striving to address the possibility that the police had failed in their investigations, or perhaps making wider reflections about how services may have failed in protecting a woman in crisis, victim blaming and sensationally reporting on the police’s disclosures was the knee jerk response from many newspapers. Articles which carelessly conflated the two health issues - early menopause and alcoholism - risked diminishing the experiences of women, at a time when there is already not enough support available to them. Calls for investigation into coverage Today’s report cites coverage in the Daily Star, The Sun, The Daily Mirror and The Independent as “speculation and opinion”, which distorted the public’s understanding of the case.

National newspapers must take their share of the blame for contributing to the rumours and misinformation which damaged this investigation. Hacked Off is now calling for the press complaints handler IPSO to establish its own, thorough investigation into the coverage of this case.