A watchdog has ordered the Metropolitan police to reinvestigate a complaint from Caroline Flack’s mother, Christine, about the assault charge her daughter received in December 2019. The move comes after prosecutors indicated that the preferred course of action in a case like Caroline’s would have been to caution the perpetrator, leading Christine to accuse the police of treating her daughter differently because of her fame.
Now, Caroline Flack is trending on Google, with key search terms such as ‘What did Caroline Flack do?’ and ‘What was Caroline Flack charged with’ increasing in volume. It comes just one day before the second anniversary of the TV host's death, after she took her own life on February 15, 2020. According to reports, coroner Mary Hassell found that Flack had chosen to end her life because she knew she was being prosecuted and could not face the media coverage.
A Met spokesperson released the following statement about the new investigation:
‘Following a review, the IOPC [Independent Office for Police Conduct] agreed with the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] that service was acceptable in relation to seven areas of the complaints relating to the response and handling of the incident by the MPS.
‘The IOPC has directed the MPS to reinvestigate one element of the complaints. This relates to the process involved in appealing the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] decision to caution Ms Flack. We will re-examine this element of the investigative process. Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Caroline’s family.’
It all sounds very confusing, but the core accusation is simple: Christine Flack does not understand why her daughter was charged.
According to the original inquest into this case, in August 2020, deputy chief crown prosecutor Lisa Ramsarran said that the original intention by the Crown Prosecution Service was to caution Flack – not charge her – but that decision was overturned after an appeal from the Met who felt Flack had not made full admissions in her police interview.
She explained that in December 2019, Caroline’s boyfriend Lewis Burton dialled 999 claiming she was ‘trying to kill him’ while he slept and that he was bleeding ‘profusely’ after being hit with a lamp. While Flack admitted to making a ‘flicking gesture’ with her phone that thus made contact with Burton’s head – after reading texts that brought into question his fidelity – she said she was surprised to see an injury or blood. Prosecutors then decided that there was sufficient evidence to charge Caroline with assault by beating, which Ramsarran concluded was in the public interest.
'I just want the truth out there.'
Caroline’s mother, however, says the police and prosecutors had it ‘in for’ Caroline and wanted to take her to court because she was a celebrity. ‘I just want those answers to make me feel better and to make me know that I’ve done the right thing by Caroline,’ Christine told the BBC. ‘It leaves us really sad and really angry because we want to know why they charged her. I just want the truth out there. I know it won’t bring her back but I’ve got to do it for her.
When asked if she feels that the decision to charge her daughter had contributed to her death, Christine replied ‘Oh, totally. Totally. She couldn’t see a way out.’
After Flack’s death, her family and management accused the CPS of preparing a ‘show trial’ since Burton said he did not support prosecution and Flack denied all charges. In 2020, a freedom of information request by the Daily Mirror revealed that the CPS were launching an internal review into the case – which is not uncommon for sensitive cases – but later, the IOPC decided against an investigation on the grounds that there was no indication of a causal link between the actions or omissions of the police and Caroline’s death.
Caroline found out about the decision to prosecute her the day before her death, with friends later reporting that she expected it to be dropped after her lawyers applied for it to be thrown out.
Samaritans, which offers a free listening service, can be contacted via its website or by phone on 116 123.
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