A former Greater Manchester Police boss has hit back at police criticism over the handling of missing Nicola Bulley's case, calling policing a 'thankless task'.
Ian Hanson QPM told the Manchester Evening News the 'very sad' disappearance highlighted how 'everything is twisted' to support a narrative that police are 'corrupt and incompetent'. He said officers are 'people not uniforms' who 'deserve to be valued and thanked for what they do on our behalf'.
It comes after Lancashire Police have faced harsh criticism for revealing that missing mum-of-two Nicola Bulley struggled with alcohol issues 'brought on by the menopause'. They say the issues made her 'high risk'.
READ MORE: Nicola Bulley's dad says 'every day a struggle' three weeks on from when she went missing
Hanson, who is a former chairman of the GM Police Federation and received his Queen's Police Medal in 2017, told the M.E.N that in 'every corner of the UK' police officers will be 'punched, kicked, spat at, and stabbed' while doing their job. He urged 'armchair critics' to 'get off your backside and show them how its done'.
"This disappearance of Nicola Bulley is very sad, but what it has highlighted is what a thankless task it is to be a police officer in modern Britain," he said.
"Everyone knows better, everyone criticises regardless of how hard they work.
"Yet today in every corner of the UK our police officers will keep going and be punched, kicked, spat at and stabbed just for keeping us safe. They will just keep going and doing their job.
"These are people, not just uniforms, and they deserve to be valued and thanked for what they do on our behalf, and to those who know better get off your backside and join the specials and show them how it’s done."
Today, the Information Commissioner said it has launched a probe into police decisions to reveal Nicola's personal health information after widespread public backlash. In a statement he said he will 'be asking Lancashire Police to set out how they reached the decision to disclose this information'. The Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has also demanded an 'explanation' over the revelations.
Nicola Bulley vanished after dropping off her daughters, aged six and nine, at school on January 27 in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.
Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, former victims’ commissioner Dame Vera Baird, said the police's decision was the 'biggest error' she had seen for 'quite a long time', calling the disclosure 'sexist'.
"Would we have had police officers saying, you know, if it was Nicholas, he’s been unfortunately tied down with alcohol because he’s been suffering from erectile dysfunction for the last few weeks?," she asked. "I think not. You can hear all the senior police officers squirming as I say it, I would have thought. No, it is a dreadful error to put this in the public domain for absolutely nothing and I’m afraid I think it’s as sexist as it comes.”
In a statement, Nicola's family begged for 'speculation to end', saying: "We, as a family, believe that the public focus has become distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her private life. As a family, we were aware that Lancashire Police, last night, released a statement with some personal details.
"Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there threatening to sell stories about her. This is appalling and needs to stop."
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