Nicola Bulley: Missing mother-of-two had ‘significant issues with alcohol’ and menopause struggles – police
Missing mother-of-two Nicola Bulley had suffered “significant issues with alcohol” in the past which resurfaced in recent months, police said.
Detectives previously said Ms Bulley, 45, had “specific vulnerabilities” that made her a “high-risk” missing person – but did not specify what those were.
A subsequent statement by the Lancashire force said: “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,” it added in a reference to Ms Bulley’s partner, Paul Ansell.
As it happened – police update on Nicola Bulley’s disappearance
The force said a response car staffed by police and health professionals “attended a report of concern for welfare” at Ms Bulley’s home on 10 January.
“No one has been arrested in relation to this incident, but it is being investigated,” according to Lancashire Police.
Ms Bulley, from Inskip, was last seen on the morning of Friday 27 January while walking her dog Willow on a footpath by the river in St Michael’s on Wyre after dropping off her daughters, aged six and nine, at school in the village.
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‘Unusual step’
Police acknowledged it was an unusual move to divulge such personal information about a missing person, but said they wanted to explain what they meant by “vulnerabilities”.
The statement 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.
“We have explained to Nicola’s family why we have released this further information and we would ask that their privacy is respected at this difficult time.”
‘False information, accusation and rumours’
Lancashire Police has been criticised for quickly ruling out foul play when Ms Bulley vanished nearly three weeks ago.
She was last seen at 9.10am taking her usual route alongside the River Wyre with her springer spaniel.
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‘No evidence’ of crime in Nicola disappearance
Her phone, which was still connected to a work call for her job as a mortgage adviser, was found just over 20 minutes later on a bench overlooking the riverbank, with her pet running loose.
Since her disappearance, huge public and media interest has resulted in what police described as “false information, accusations and rumours” along with an “unprecedented” search of both the river downstream to Morecambe Bay and miles of neighbouring farmland.
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Retracing Nicola Bulley’s journey
Detectives keeping an open mind
Speaking at a news conference earlier, senior investigating officer Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith and Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson said based on intelligence received so far “there is not a single piece of information or evidence to suggest there was any third party involvement”.
Assistant Chief Constable Peter Lawson and Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith of Lancashire Police
Ms Smith said it was still her “main working hypothesis” that Ms Bulley fell into the river, adding that detectives are keeping an open mind about the mother-of-two’s disappearance.
Their two other hypotheses are that there could have been third-party involvement and that she could have voluntarily left the area.
‘Unprecedented hell’
Police have spoken to a number of witnesses who saw Ms Bulley before she disappeared.
Around a week and a half after she was last seen, police said they were looking at 500 pieces of “active information”.
They focused their investigation on a crucial 10-minute window when her movements are unaccounted for – from 9.10am to 9.20am.
However, her partner, Mr Ansell, doubts the wisdom of focusing on the river search and said: “Personally, I am 100% convinced it’s not the river, that’s my opinion.”
He said he believes “something happened” on the day of his partner’s disappearance.
“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,” he said.
Mr Ansell said her family is going through “unprecedented hell” but would “never give up” hope of finding her.
UK
Urgent letter to home secretary over violence against women and girls strategy – as it omits child abuse
Ten child protection organisations have written an urgent letter to the home secretary expressing concern about the omission of child sexual abuse from the government’s violence against women and girls strategy, following a Sky News report.
Groups including the NSPCC, Barnardo’s and The Children’s Society wrote to Yvette Cooper to say that violence against women and girls (VAWG) and child sexual abuse are “inherently and deeply connected”, suggesting any “serious strategy” to address VAWG needs to focus on child sexual abuse and exploitation.
The letter comes after Sky News revealed an internal Home Office document, titled Our draft definition of VAWG, which said that child sexual abuse and exploitation is not “explicitly within the scope” of their strategy, due to be published in September.
Poppy Eyre when she was four years old
Responding to Sky News’ original report, Poppy Eyre, who was sexually abused and raped by her grandfather when she was four, said: “VAWG is – violence against women and girls. If you take child sexual abuse out of it, where are the girls?”
The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, which is funded by the Home Office and a signatory to the letter, estimates 500,000 children in England and Wales are sexually abused every year.
The NSPCC “welcome” the government’s pledge to halve VAWG in a decade, but is “worried that if they are going to fulfil this commitment, the strategy absolutely has to include clear deliverable objectives to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation too”, the head of policy, Anna Edmundson, told Sky News.
Poppy is a survivor of child sexual abuse
She warned the government “will miss a golden opportunity” and the needs of thousands of girls will be “overlooked” if child sexual abuse and exploitation is not “at the heart of its flagship strategy”.
The government insists the VAWG programme will include action to tackle child sexual abuse, but says it also wants to create a distinctive plan to “ensure those crimes get the specialist response they demand”.
“My message to the government is that if you’re going to make child sexual abuse a separate thing, we need it now,” Poppy told Sky News.
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Rape Crisis, which is one of the largest organisations providing support to women in England and Wales, shares these concerns.
It wants plans to tackle child sexual abuse to be part of the strategy, and not to sit outside it.
“If a violence against women and girls strategy doesn’t include sexual violence towards girls, then it runs the risk of being a strategy for addressing some violence towards some females, but not all,” chief executive Ciara Bergman said.
A Home Office spokesperson said the government is “working tirelessly to tackle the appalling crimes of violence against women and girls and child sexual exploitation and abuse, as part of our Safer Streets mission”.
“We are already investing in new programmes and introducing landmark laws to overhaul the policing and criminal justice response to these crimes, as well as acting on the recommendations of Baroness Casey’s review into group-based Child Sexual Exploitation, and the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse,” they added.
UK
Man and boy arrested on suspicion of arson after restaurant fire leaves two in critical condition
A 54-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy have been arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life after a restaurant fire in east London on Friday.
Three people were taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition after the fire at the Indian Aroma in Ilford.
Two remained in a critical condition on Sunday morning, according to the Metropolitan Police.
The restaurant suffered extensive damage in the blaze.
Two further victims are thought to have left the scene before officers arrived, Scotland Yard said.
Woodford Avenue from above. Pic: UK News and Pictures
Police are still trying to identify them.
CCTV footage seen by the PA news agency appears to show a group of people wearing face coverings walk into the restaurant and pour liquid on the floor.
Seconds later, the inside of the restaurant is engulfed in flames.
“While we have made two arrests, our investigation continues at pace so we can piece together what happened on Friday evening,” said the Met Police’s DCI Mark Rogers.
“I know the community [is] concerned and shocked by this incident.
The moment the fire broke out.
“I would urge anyone with any information or concerns to come forward and speak to police.”
Hospital porter Edward Thawe went to help after hearing screams from his nearby home.
He described the scene as “horrible” and “more than scary and the sort of thing that you don’t want to look at twice.”
He said: “I heard screaming and people saying they had called the police.”
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The 43-year-old said he saw a woman and a severely burned man who may have been customers.
Another witness, who did not want to be named, said he saw three “severely burned” people being doused by the emergency services and given oxygen.
“I can only imagine the pain they were going through,” he said.
On Saturday, the London Ambulance Service told Sky News: “We sent resources to the scene, including ambulance crews, an advanced paramedic, an incident response officer and paramedics from our hazardous area response team.
“We treated five people for burns and smoke inhalation. We took two patients to a major trauma centre and three others to local hospitals.”
The police investigation is continuing.
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