Lancashire Police cast poor Nicola Bulley as a sad, menopausal woman

Lancashire Constabulary have cast poor Nicola Bulley as a sad, menopausal, middle-aged woman who self-medicates with alcohol. The worst thing about our police is they don’t even know they’re sexist, writes SARAH VINE

We still don’t know what has happened to Nicola Bulley, whether she has indeed met with a tragic accident while walking her dog (as the police seem to think), or whether foul play or something else is involved.

A horrible, agonising situation for her family, and I hope and pray they find some answers soon.

What we do know, however, is that in the weeks and months leading up to her disappearance, Nicola had been experiencing difficulties coping with early menopause, that she was ‘vulnerable’, classed as ‘high risk’ – and that she had ‘significant issues with alcohol’.

And we know this because the Lancashire Police, in a shocking invasion of her privacy, told us.

They claim they did so to quell rumours and speculation circulating online about her case.

It’s hard to escape the fact that, by revealing her struggles, the police are implying that Nicola Bulley was or is in some way responsible for whatever has happened to her

Not only is this information completely irrelevant to the investigation (after all, how does telling the general public any of this increase her chances of being found?), now poor Nicola is diminished, cast as a cliche: the sad, menopausal, middle-aged woman who self-medicates with alcohol.

Surely releasing such information will only have added to the feeding frenzy of keyboard sleuths, charlatans and troublemakers, all of whom have been busy circulating bogus theories for clicks?

Really? Surely releasing such information will only have added to the feeding frenzy of keyboard sleuths, charlatans and troublemakers, all of whom have been busy circulating bogus theories for clicks?

Of course, the fact that people on social media should seek to capitalise on a family’s tragedy in such a way is repulsive, and a sad indictment of the world we live in.

As is the fact that social media platforms such as TikTok and Facebook have done nothing, as far as I can see, to curtail such speculation.

Just another reminder of why digital giants need to be held to account by governments.

Setting all that aside, however, the way to stop these online vultures is to starve them of information, not feed their perverse imaginations. And that is exactly what Lancashire Police have done. And for what?

And we all know how society views women like that. Trust me, there are plenty of misogynists who will lap this up.

Can you imagine the police releasing similar information about a man? ‘Oh yes, he’d been experiencing erectile issues and had turned to drink to deal with the problem.’

Of course not. It’s only women who find themselves defined by their hormones in this way.

What next? A young woman goes missing and the police reveal she was on her period?

And then there’s the question of victim-blaming. It’s hard to escape the fact that, by revealing her struggles, the police are implying that Nicola was or is in some way responsible for whatever has happened to her.

It’s really not all that different from, say, disclosing how many partners a rape victim has had: why should it make any difference? A crime is still a crime, regardless of the victim’s personal circumstances.

Worrying as all this is, the fact that Lancashire Police thought that this would somehow help Nicola is, to me, even more of a concern.

It not only demonstrates an undeniable, hard-wired bias against women, but also shows that bias is largely unconscious. They don’t even know they’re doing it.

Over the past few months, we’ve seen evidence of the most appalling anti-female sentiment in our police forces.

It’s not just stand-out cases such as Wayne Couzens, Sarah Everard’s killer, or David Carrick, jailed for life for 49 serious offences during a 17-year campaign of terror against women. There are plenty of others.

Indeed, within Lancashire Constabulary alone, several officers have recently been suspended or face prosecution for offences ranging from attempted rape to exploiting victims of crime.

I was shocked last week to read Petronella Wyatt describe in the Daily Mail how she was treated when her mother, who has dementia, called police saying Petronella was threatening her.

The heavy-handed way she says she was arrested and manhandled was chilling, and spoke of something more than just a misunderstanding.

As a woman and the mother of a daughter, I want – need – to be able to trust the police. I know there are plenty of good serving officers, and I feel for them in all of this.

But when time and again we see evidence of anti-women bias in the force, of casual sexism and of all-out misogyny in the case of Nicola, it’s hard to maintain that trust.

The bottom line is that Britain’s police force has a woman problem. And until they acknowledge this and tackle it head on, none of us can truly feel safe.

Why immigration needs controls

The sharp increase in protests against immigrants in Ireland seems to echo what happened in 2015 in Germany, when Angela Merkel threw open the country’s borders to a million refugees

The sharp increase in protests against immigrants in Ireland seems to echo what happened in 2015 in Germany, when Angela Merkel threw open the country’s borders to a million refugees.

That caused all sorts of unrest, including a resurgence of Right-wing activism. Truth is, most ordinary people are sympathetic to the plight of refugees.

But when the numbers become overwhelming – as they have in several small rural communities in Ireland – or when there’s a sense that some are gaming the system, that’s when the problems start.

That is why it’s so vital for governments to have controlled immigration.

Without it, you risk giving rise to ill-feeling that benefits no one, least of all the refugees themselves.

It’s not bigotry, as the Left would have you believe, it’s just common sense.

Not sure what’s more infuriating: university lecturers voting for strikes, or calling them off.

I don’t suppose it occurs to these people that they are doubly inconveniencing fee-paying students by expecting them back in lecture halls.

So extensive were the planned strikes that many of my daughter’s university friends had booked tickets home, and now they can’t travel and find they’ve wasted their precious pennies.

Lots of people seem very upset about Sam Smith’s use of the term ‘fisherthem’ instead of fisherman on The One Show.

Personally I couldn’t care less how he refers to himself: it’s a free country after all, and I doubt it’ll catch on.

But what struck me was the way he slightly stumbled over the word.

I wonder, was that his manager whispering in his ear: ‘Be more non-binary, Sam, it’s good for record sales.’ Or is that just wicked of me?

Detoxify Labour? Seen it before…

Keir Starmer distancing himself from Jeremy Corbyn reminds me of the run-up to David Cameron’s election as Prime Minister.

He and George Osborne were running around like the proverbial blue-a**ed flies, metaphorically locking assorted Bufton-Tuftons in assorted metaphorical broom cupboards in a bid to ‘detoxify’ the Tory brand.

And for a while it worked.

But don’t be fooled. Sir Keir may succeed in shutting Corbyn out at the next Election, but his Momentum supporters remain as embedded in the party as the red-trouser brigade in the Tory Party.

Only the latter are rather nice, while the former are utterly toxic.

National treasure Joanna Lumley says that Ab Fab would never be made today because ‘you wouldn’t be able to smoke, you wouldn’t be able to drink…’

What can I say? Clearly she’s not going to the right parties.

Fabulous darling: Joanna Lumley as the party-loving Patsy in BBC comedy Absolutely Fabulous

Given actor Martin Freeman’s political leanings (you may remember he appeared in a 2015 General Election broadcast for Labour extolling the party’s values of compassion, decency and fairness) one might have thought he’d take a dim view of nepotism.

So it must be just a happy coincidence that his son is to follow in his father’s footsteps, bagging himself a lead role in a musical at the tender age of 17.

What are the chances, eh?

Roald Dahl’s publisher Puffin has decided to unleash a team of ‘sensitivity readers’ on the late author’s work.

Thus Augustus Gloop (as played by Michael Bollner, above) is no longer ‘fat’, Mrs Twit no longer ‘fearful’… and so on.

Apparently, they want to ensure the books ‘can continue to be enjoyed by all today’.

Nonsense. Dahl remains so popular precisely because he lacks sensitivity: he is rude, naughty and subversive, and children love that.

Moreover, his work is a cultural snapshot of the time. Rewrite it and you rewrite history.

As the man might have said, what festering gumboils.

Extensive changes have been made to the works of Roald Dahl, including the Oompa Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory being made gender-neutral

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