Did the Met fail Flack in days before her suicide?
THE police watchdog has ordered Scotland Yard to reinvestigate a complaint made by Caroline Flack’s mother about the force’s treatment of her daughter in the lead up to her suicide.
The television presenter, 40, was due to be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend when she took her own life in February 2020.
Her mother Christine Flack accused the authorities of having it ‘in for’ her daughter and of taking her to court because of her ‘celebrity status’.
She demanded to know why the Metropolitan Police appealed against advice from the Crown Prosecution Service to only caution her daughter.
Responding to Mrs Flack last March, the Met said it was ‘satisfied’ the service provided by the officer who decided to appeal against the CPS advice was ‘acceptable’.
But the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has now found that one element of Mrs Flack’s complaint was not ‘fully addressed’, and has told the force to look again at whether the Love Island presenter was treated different because of her celebrity status.
When asked if she felt the decision to charge her daughter contributed to her death, Mrs Flack told the BBC: ‘Oh, totally. Totally. She couldn’t see a way out.’ Alluding to other scandals surrounding the Met, she said: ‘There’s no trust at all. No trust at all.’
Mrs Flack added: ‘It leaves us really sad and really angry because we want to know why they charged her.
‘I just want the truth out there. I know it won’t bring her back but I’ve got to do it for her.’
Miss Flack found out the day before her death that she would be prosecuted over allegations she hit Lewis Burton during a row. A coroner later found that Miss Flack killed herself because she could not bear the media coverage of the trial.
A Met spokesman said: ‘The IOPC has directed the [Met] to reinvestigate one element of [Mrs Flack’s] complaint. This relates to the process involved in appealing the CPS decision to caution Miss Flack. We will re-examine this element of the investigative process.
‘Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Caroline’s family.’