Nicola Bulley’s partner has said her family is going through “unprecedented hell” but would “never give up” hope of finding her.
The 45-year-old went missing while walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre on Friday 27 January after dropping her daughters off at school.
Speaking to 5 News, Paul Ansell said: “Hope and that positivity in me is stronger than ever, and I’m never, ever going to let go.
“Nikki would never give up on us ever. She wouldn’t give up on anybody.
“We’re not gonna ever give up on her… we’re going to find her.”
Image: Nicola Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell
Image: Nicola Bulley has been missing since Friday 27 January
Mr Ansell believes “something happened” on the day of his partner’s disappearance.
He added: “There has to be a way to find out what happened, there has to be. You cannot… you cannot walk your dog down a river and just vanish into thin air.”
‘I’m convinced it’s not the river’
Police searching for Ms Bulley say they are keeping an open mind.
But officers have been working on a theory that she fell into the River Wyre.
The focus of the police search operation has now shifted from where Ms Bulley vanished to further downstream, towards where the River Wyre empties into the Irish Sea at Morecambe Bay.
Officers have confirmed they are focusing on the mouth of the river, with Lancashire Police suggesting finding Ms Bulley “in the open sea becomes more of a possibility”.
Image: The bench where Nicola Bulley’s phone was found, on the banks of the River Wyre
Image: Police search near the Shard Bridge on the River Wyre in Lancashire
Sky News understands specialist diving units have also been deployed to scour parts of the 15km stretch of river from the bench where her phone and dog were found to the bay.
But Mr Ansell doubts the wisdom of focusing on the river search.
He said: “Personally, I am 100% convinced it’s not the river, that’s my opinion.”
He pointed to the fact that “divers and underwater rescue team and all that were in that river on the day, and thankfully found absolutely nothing”.
Peter Faulding of Specialist Group International (SGI), whose team were equipped with a £55,000 side-scan sonar able to pick up objects underwater, agrees.
He told reporters he believes it is “unlikely” she has been swept out to sea.
“My personal view is that I think it is a long way to go in a tidal river,” he said.
A fortnight on from Ms Bulley’s disappearance, the small rural village of St Michael’s on Wyre is no longer the same.
The police presence in the quaint village has been overwhelming for many who live nearby.
It is the epicentre of a mystery that has captured the nation’s attention but more importantly, it’s the scene of a major police operation to find a mother to two young girls.
Over the last two weeks the community has banded together to try and find any trace of evidence relating to Ms Bulley’s disappearance: Dog walkers, friends, teachers from her daughters’ school – all searching in hope for some answers.
But after 14 days of not knowing what has happened to the mortgage adviser, the case poses more questions than answers.
Friend Emma White was part of the latest effort to find her on Friday, with those who knew her lining a road with posters in a “last push” to raise awareness.
Ms Bulley’s family are still praying she will come home, safe and well.
Image: Friends of Nicola Bulley holding a roadside appeal two weeks on from the day she vanished
‘Everybody is looking for mummy’
Ms Bulley’s partner Paul Ansell has said the last two weeks have been “a rollercoaster ride”.
Talking about his children, Mr Ansell said: “The only thing that I can do is tell them that everybody is looking for mummy.”
Two weeks on from the disappearance, he spoke of his pain and desperation for answers: “We need her back. We have to find her safe and well. I can’t put those girls to bed again with no answers.”
He himself felt “anger, loads of frustration, confusion and disbelief” about the whole situation.
He continued: “It just doesn’t feel real… I feel like I’m in The Truman Show.
“I honestly believe I’m going to wake up at any moment… how are we even in this? We are good people.”
Lancashire Police have dismissed any suggestion Ms Bulley is a victim of crime and say the scale of the missing person search is “unprecedented”, involving 40 detectives chasing down 500 potential leads.
Meanwhile, police have been given extra powers to break up groups causing a nuisance in the village following reports of people travelling into the area and filming properties on social media.
No criminal charges will be brought over the death of an ice hockey player who died during a match in Sheffield, prosecutors have announced.
Nottingham Panthers’ Adam Johnson died in October 2023 after his neck was cut by an opposition player’s skate during a match at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena.
The Sheffield Steelers player, Matthew Petgrave, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and later bailed – but the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has now said it will not bring criminal charges against the Canadian.
Michael Quinn, deputy chief crown prosecutor, said: “This was a shocking and deeply upsetting incident. The CPS and South Yorkshire Police have worked closely together to determine whether any criminal charges should be brought against the other ice hockey player involved.
“Following a thorough police investigation and a comprehensive review of all the evidence by the CPS, we have concluded that there is not a realistic prospect of conviction for any criminal offence and so there will not be a prosecution.
“Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Adam Johnson.”
Image: Tributes were left outside the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham following the ice hockey player’s death. Pic PA
Before joining Nottingham Panthers, the Minnesota-born Johnson played in Pennsylvania for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Sweden for the Malmo Redhawks.
He also played in California for Ontario Reign and in Germany for Augsburger Panther.
A post-mortem examination confirmed the 29-year-old died as a result of the fatal neck injury.
The crowd of 8,000 spectators watched in horror as desperate attempts were made to save his life as he lay on the ice, shielded by fellow players.
The game was abandoned and spectators were asked to leave in the aftermath.
Image: Pic PA
Kari Johnson, Johnson’s aunt, was watching the match via a livestream with his father and grandmother when he was fatally injured.
Speaking to Sky News at the time, Ms Johnson said: “It was a mess, it was a nightmare, it was like it wasn’t real. We were in shock, we couldn’t believe this was happening.”
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Kari Johnson said her nephew was ‘a kind soul’
Ms Johnson described her nephew as a “kind soul” and a “private kid” who “never would have wanted to be in the limelight like this”.
He simply wanted to be “good at hockey and have fun”, she said, adding he was “having the time of his life in the UK” and was planning to get engaged to his girlfriend.
In January 2024, Sheffield’s senior coroner, Tanyka Rawden, suspended her investigation while the police inquiry took its course.
It later emerged that Ms Rawden had issued a Prevention of Future Deaths Report to Ice Hockey UK and the English Ice Hockey Association (EIHA) about the use of neck guards in the sport.
In the report, Ms Rawden said she was “sufficiently concerned that deaths may occur in the future if neck guards or protectors are not worn”, with the bodies given 56 days to say what action had been taken – or why action had not been taken.
Neck guards have been mandatory in the Elite League (EIHL), in which the Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers compete, since January 2024.
This followed the International Ice Hockey Federation’s decision in December to mandate the use of neck laceration protectors for its competitions.
Court decisions where people were granted asylum after arguing they had a “right to family life” will be reviewed as the government plans to ban migrants convicted of sex offences, the home secretary has said.
Foreign nationals who are added to the sex offenders register will forfeit their rights to protection under the Refugee Convention, the Home Office announced.
As part of the 1951 UN treaty, countries are allowed to refuse asylum to terrorists, war criminals and individuals convicted of a “particularly serious crime” – which is currently defined in UK law as an offence carrying a sentence of 12 months or more.
The government now plans to extend that definition to include all individuals added to the Sex Offenders’ Register, regardless of the length of sentence, in an amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is currently going through parliament.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky News the new definition would also “take into account” sexual offence convictions in another country.
However, she was less clear if those affected will still be able to appeal against their removal from the UK under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
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Image: More than 10,000 people have now been detected crossing the Channel. Pic: PA
She said: “We continue to comply with international law, but the whole point is that our laws and our frameworks are about how we interpret international law… and how we make sure that the courts are then making their decisions based on the UK law that parliament has passed.”
She added the government is “reviewing” a “series of decisions” made in the courts where criminals have been allowed to stay in the UK under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act, which protects the right to respect “your private life, your family life, your home and your correspondence”.
“We are reviewing that because we do believe that the way in which it’s being interpreted in the courts is an issue and actually, there is greater clarification we can provide through our law to address that,” she said.
It is unclear how many asylum seekers will be affected by the change in law, as the government has been unable to provide any projections or past data on the number of asylum seekers added to the Sex Offenders’ Register.
Ms Cooper earlier said: “Sex offenders who pose a risk to the community should not be allowed to benefit from refugee protections in the UK. We are strengthening the law to ensure these appalling crimes are taken seriously.”
Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls Minister Jess Philips said: “We are determined to achieve our mission of halving violence against women and girls in a decade.
“That’s exactly why we are taking action to ensure there are robust safeguards across the system, including by clamping down on foreign criminals who commit heinous crimes like sex offences.”
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Has Labour tackled migration?
The Home Office would like voters to see this as a substantial change. But that’s hard to demonstrate without providing any indication of the scale of the problem it seeks to solve.
Clearly, the government does not want to fan the flames of resentment towards asylum seekers by implying large numbers have been committing sex crimes.
But amid rising voter frustration about the government’s grip on the issue, and under pressure from Reform – this measure is about signalling it is prepared to take tough action.
Conservatives: ‘Too little, too late’
The Conservatives claim Labour are engaged in “pre-election posturing”.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: “This is too little, too late from a Labour government that has scrapped our deterrent and overseen the worst year ever for small boat crossings – with a record 10,000 people crossing this year already.
“Foreign criminals pose a danger to British citizens and must be removed, but so often this is frustrated by spurious legal claims based on human rights claims, not asylum claims.”
The Home Office has also announced plans to introduce a 24-week target for appeal hearings (known as “first-tier tribunals”) to be held for rejected asylum seekers living in taxpayer-supported accommodation, or for foreign national offenders.
The current average wait is 50 weeks.
The idea is to cut the asylum backlog and save taxpayers money – Labour have committed to end the use of asylum hotels by the end of this parliament.
It’s unclear how exactly this will be achieved, although a number of additional court days have already been announced.
The government also plans to crack down on fake immigration lawyers who advise migrants on how to lodge fraudulent asylum claims, with the Immigration Advice Authority given new powers to issue fines of up to £15,000.