The clamour for an independent inquiry into the police handling of the Nicola Bulley investigation intensified yesterday – as former Home Secretary Priti Patel joined the growing chorus of criticism against the force.
Lancashire Police have come under intense scrutiny over the handling of the search and the disclosure of Ms Bulley's personal struggles after she vanished from a riverside footpath in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire.
The force confirmed it will conduct an internal review, but there are fears this could become a case of 'marking its own homework'.
Describing the police conduct as 'highly questionable', Patel told The Sun there are 'multiple unanswered questions about the handling and investigation' into Ms Bulley's disappearance.
'As I have sadly seen in my time as Home Secretary, families have been let down badly by not treating these instances with the urgency required'.
There are mounting calls for an independent investigation into Lancashire Police and the way they handled the case from the outset.
Pressed on whether an internal review process would see Lancashire Police just 'marking their own homework', Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's official spokesman said: 'We would expect the force to be transparent. That does not preclude further work at the end of that.'
The clamour for an independent inquiry into the police handling of the Nicola Bulley investigation intensified yesterday - after the body found in the river Wyre on Sunday was confirmed to be the mother-of-two
Describing the police conduct as 'highly questionable', Patel said there are 'multiple unanswered questions about the handling and investigation' into Ms Bulley's disappearance
The 23-day probe into Ms Bulley's disappearance ended with the discovery of the 45-year-old mortgage adviser's body on Sunday - not by police but a self-described psychic.
There are now suggestions that a bishop could lead any examination – as happened with the Hillsborough football stadium disaster inquiry.
Dame Vera Baird, a former barrister who stepped down as victims' commissioner in September, said it was 'not a good idea' for police t...