Nicola Bulley's family have released a statementfollowing public backlash toward Lancashire Police after they released private health information about Nicola Bulley in a press conference about her disappearance. The 45-year-old has now been missing for 20 days after last being seen walking her dog along River Wyre, Lancashire.
On Wednesday, senior offices described Nicola as ‘vulnerable’ and ‘high risk’, with Lancashire Police later publishing a statement disclosing that the mother of two had issues with alcohol ‘brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause’.
The force has been widely criticised by campaign groups and MPs for releasing the private medical information, accusing them of victim-blaming in an attempt to improve their own reputation after weeks of public backlash at officers handling of the case.
Now, through Lancashire Police, Nicola’s family have released a statement that states police were forced to release private health details about Nicola’s health because there were ‘people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her.’
Read Nicola Bulley's family statement
‘It has now been three weeks since Nikki went missing,’ the family said. ‘We, as a family, believe that the public focus has become distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her and Paul’s private life. As a family, we were aware beforehand that Lancashire Police, last night, released a statement with some personal details about our Nikki. Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her. This is appalling and needs to stop.
‘The police know the truth about Nikki and now the public need to focus on finding her,’ the statement continued. ‘Due to the peri menopause Nikki suffered with significant side effects such as brain fog, restless sleep and was taking HRT to help but this was giving her intense headaches which caused Nikki to stop taking the HRT thinking that may have helped her but only ended up causing this crisis.’
The family finished by appealing for Nicola to return home.
‘The public focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life,’ they said. ‘Despite what some media outlets and individuals are suggesting, we are being updated daily and receive support from our family liaison officers. Nikki is such a wonderful daughter, sister, partner, and mother and is missed dearly - we all need you back in our lives. Nikki, we hope you are reading this and know that we love you so much and your girls want a cuddle. We all need you home. You can reach out to us, or you can contact MissingPeople.org.uk. Don’t be scared, we all love you so very much.’