Police and media launch charter to ‘reset’ relations after Nicola Bulley case

Police and the media have backed a “reset” in relations between officers and journalists, after a prolonged period of distrust since the handling of the Nicola Bulley case in 2023.Bulley’s disappearance in Lancashire led to significant fallout between the police and the press, with media outlets saying a lack of access and information allowed incorrect assertions and conspiracy theories about the case to gain ground.Senior figures on both sides also believe the reluctance of forces to engage with the media followed the 2011 Leveson inquiry into the ethics of the press.Crime journalists say relations have become so bad that some forces do not have a phone number for a press office available on their websites.However, a “policing and media charter”, launched at a Society of Editors conference in London, aims to improve relations by making it clear to officers that they can have a relationship with the media.The charter states engagement between police in England and Wales and the media is “encouraged for officers and staff of all ranks and roles if there is a policing purpose”. It also commits to “regular, meaningful interaction” between police and recognised reporters.Andy Marsh, the chief executive of the College of Policing, said he hoped it would mark “a resetting of the relationship between the police and the media”.The Bulley case gained global interest, generating 6,500 news articles globally in a single day at its peak. On TikTok, videos that featured the hashtag of Bulley’s name had 270m views.Lancashire-constabulary" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="5334" data-entity-type="organization">Lancashire Constabulary stated early on that there was no evidence of suspicious activity or the involvement of anyone else, adding that their working hypothesis was that she had fallen into the River Wyre.That proved to be correct. However, an independent investigation into the case’s handling found that a series of early communication failures led to “external voices being able to dominate the narrative surrounding the case”.It found that a failure to brief the mainstream media on a non-reportable basis on key information, or to “adequately fill the information vacuum”, allowed speculation to run unchecked. Conspiracy theories took root.Speculation and opinion from individuals outside the investigation were widely reported by the media, meaning an alternative narrative, that Bulley had not fallen in the river, “drove the narrative for the general public”.It led to headlines such as “Underwater expert reveals why ‘there’s no way’ Nicola Bulley has been washed out to sea” and “Nicola Bulley could have just ‘walked away’ to move on with her life, claims ex-cop”.Under the charter, all police forces will be contactable by phone and forces will email press releases of national significance, while investigation updates will be released as soon as possible to prevent social media speculation and misinformation.Police family liaison officers and press officers will also support relatives to speak to the media directly when they wish to do so.