Nicola Bulley police made a series of crucial mistakes – here’s where they went wrong, says top murder detective
COPS working to find Nicola Bulley have made a series of crucial mistakes, a top murder detective says.
Former Met Police detective chief inspector Simon Harding has revealed where he thinks officers have gone wrong - "losing the trust" of Nicola's family and the public in the process.
The high-profile cop said the Lancashire Police's first mistakes unfolded on the day the mum-of-two disappeared two weeks ago.
And, he says, they're continuing to make errors today.
The top cop questioned why there was no cordon in place around where Nicola went missing; why her "out of character" disappearance wasn't recognised instantly; why cops are sticking with their "hypothesis" and why they aren't now sharing more information on the case.
Writing in , Simon said: "It is now crystal clear that those closest to the investigation — her family and close friends — simply do not believe the hypothesis put to them.
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"The trust and confidence of the family and the general public in this investigation is now very low."
Simon, who worked to solve the murder of the sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, questioned why police didn't set up a cordon around the area Nicola vanished from.
He said sealing off the area would have stopped "people descending on it as a tasteless tourist spot and trampling the area — losing any potential evidence".
Simon also asked why they didn't instantly recognise the mum-of-two's disappearance was "so out of character".
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He wrote: "I would have hoped it would be clear from the outset that this missing person should be graded as being at the highest possible risk."
Simon also slammed cops releasing their main working hypothesis without being "100 per cent certain".
He said as not every route in and out of the area was covered by CCTV, "you simply cannot be sure that someone else is not involved".
Simon said: "The police settled on a tragic accident and made their thinking public within days.
"But to say this to the family and media, you must be 100 per cent certain."
He also said the tragic death message could be "incredibly damaging".
Simon continued: "You are inadvertently saying to the public: 'Don’t call us as we don’t want to know about suspicious people, vehicles or events'."
Plus, he said, police later undermined their statement by saying they were keeping "an open mind".
The trust and confidence of the family and the general public in this investigation is now very low.
Simon Harding
The Sun also exclusively revealed how two men acting suspiciously were spotted in St Michaels on Wyre the day before Nicola disappeared.
Going forward, Simon said the cops should be releasing any more information they're holding close to their chest to try regain trust.
He said: "If they are in possession of new facts, I would consider whether it might be time to inform the public, rather than let speculation continue.
"There is nothing to lose — you only really hold information back when it is suspicious and points to potential culprits."
Simon was speaking after Nicola's partner Paul Ansell sat down yesterday for his first television interview.
In it, Paul said he was "100 per cent" convinced the mother of his children was not in the river.
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The dad-of-two said he thought a local was behind the disappearance of Nicola, and that he expected to be a suspect.
He also revealed the moment he "panicked" after being told how his partner's phone was found on the bench - and how the morning she vanished felt "different".
