Nicola Bulley’s relatives fire broadside at sections of the media and people speculating on social media
- Nicola Bulley family slammed ‘appalling’ behaviour by sections of the media
- Relatives said her partner Paul Ansell, 44, had been ‘accused of wrongdoing’
The ‘absolutely appalling’ behaviour by sections of the media and people posting on social media was last night condemned by Nicola Bulley’s family.
In a statement, relatives said her partner Paul Ansell, 44, had been ‘accused of wrongdoing’ while friends and family had been ‘misquoted and vilified’.
They added: ‘This is absolutely appalling, they have to be held accountable, this cannot happen to another family.’
The family accused reporters of harassment, saying TV journalists had attempted to make contact ‘when we expressly asked for privacy’.
Ms Bulley’s family said her two daughters ‘will get the support they need from the people who love them the most’.
Nicola Bulley’s devastated family made a vow to the mother-of-two that her two daughters will ‘get the support they need from the people that love us the most’
In a press conference this evening police did not disclose why it had taken 23 days to find Nicola Bulley’s body in the river
There was an outpouring of loving support from across the country after the mother-of-two went missing in January
But they continued: ‘It saddens us to think that one day we will have to explain to them that the Press and public accused their dad of wrongdoing, misquoted and vilified friends and family’.
There have been no accusations made against Mr Ansell in the Press but social media has been awash with hurtful speculation.
Even while trying ‘to take in what we had been told’ on Sunday about Ms Bulley’s body being found, the family said they had ‘Sky News and ITV making contact with us directly when we expressly asked for privacy’.
Her family paid tribute to the 45-year-old mortgage adviser and said: ‘We love you, always have and always will’
READ MORE: Nicola Bulley’s family say police confirmed their ‘worst fears’
Relatives went on: ‘They again, have taken it upon themselves to run stories about us to increase their own profiles.
‘It is shameful they have acted in this way. These are our lives and our children’s lives.’
Ms Bulley’s home village of St Michael’s on Wyre became the focus of national and international media as Lancashire Police struggled to handle the sheer volume of publicity about the case.
Yesterday Bob Eastwood, a former chief superintendent with the force, said officers had controversially released information about Ms Bulley’s struggles with alcohol and menopause ‘because somebody had sold a story’.
On BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he added: ‘I think it’s a watershed moment in how policing deals not only with the interest of media organisations, but the ones that do not represent media organisations.
‘There were people purporting to be the media that quite clearly weren’t and they were climbing over the fence to take pictures of the body that the police were recovering. This is something else.’
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