Following 23 days of intensive searches from specialist police divers and detectives, questions are being asked after the most significant discovery in the case of the missing Nicola Bulley was made by two walkers enjoying a Sunday stroll.
Helicopters, drones and specialist sonar equipment had all been deployed in the effort to find the mother-of-two after she went missing while walking her dog by the River Wyre.
Lancashire Police were called on 11.36am on Sunday after the man and woman spotted a body in a section of the riverless than one mile downstream from where Bulley’s phone was discovered.
The extensive search for the 45-year-old has proven to be controversial, with Lancashire Police’s approach to proceedings widely criticised.
Ex-Met Police detective Peter Bleksley has taken aim at the messaging from the force throughout the search, telling GB News this morning that it was “utterly shambolic and appalling”.
He told Bev Turner: “I’m not going to sugar coat it. Much of the messaging that Lancashire Police have put out has been utterly shambolic and appalling.
“It’s fuelled speculation when they’ve tried to tell us to stop speculating, and it’s made a very difficult situation even more difficult for themselves."
Bleksley added there has been a “phenomena” where people have inserted themselves into the narrative of the case by using social media platforms to share theories or conduct personal searches in the area.
He said: “Certainly there’s been some kind of 2023 phenomena.
“In this case, in so much that we’ve had TikTok users and the like actually digging holes and other people breaking into derelict properties, all with the view of getting likes, shares, retweets and traffic on social media platforms, because some of these people make a living out of it.
Peter Bleksley says the police can't be blamed for the '2023 phenomena' sweeping the case
Image: GB News
“I understand that’s quite a new phenomena and I’m going to cut Lancashire some kind of slack in having to deal with that.”
The ex-Met Police officer called on Lancashire Police to undergo a period of reflection once the case comes to an end.
He told GB News: “The messaging has really not come up to scratch and there needs to be an awful lot of long, hard staring in the mirror.
“But of course, we know the police are not exactly famed for that, but nor are they famed for readily admitting mistakes, they only tend to do that when they’ve been forced into a corner.”
Former Lancashire Police Chief Superintendent Bob Eastwood, however, has defended some of the decisions taken by the force in their approach to the Nicola Bulley case.
He said: “Hindsight is a wonderful thing, I don’t know how some of these so-called specialists ingratiated themselves within the investigation, I do believe that was not an invitation from the Lancashire Police.
“Lancashire Constabulary have been overwhelmed which has put them in a defensive position, they’ve searched some houses at least three times, the pressure they’ve been under is overwhelming and there’s lessons to be learned going forward in how investigations teams handle their relations with the press.”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman has addressed the prospect of an external review into Lancashire Police’s handling of the case, saying she will see what the force’s own inquiries “come back with”.
Suella Braverman has addressed the prospect of an external review into Lancashire Police's search
House of Commons
Braverman said she was not “wholly satisfied” with responses given by the chief constable when she demanded an explanation as to why some of Ms Bulley’s personal details were put into the public domain.
But the Home Secretary said the force’s own investigation into how the case was handled must “carry out its own process”.
The force have not yet formally identified the body, and in a statement released on Sunday, they said the death was being treated as unexplained.
On Monday morning, police officers and community support officers could be seen on patrol in the village, but no police presence remained at the section of the river where the body was discovered.
A body was pulled from the river after being spotted by two members of the public
Jason Roberts
