Caroline Flack's mother rejects Met Police apology over handling of daughter's case
Caroline Flack's mother has rejected an apology from the Metropolitan Police about how her daughter's case was handled.
The former Love Island presenter, who grew up in Norfolk, died on 15 February 2020 at the age of 40.
She had been due to appear in court over the alleged assault of her then-boyfriend, Lewis Burton.
A coroner later ruled she took her own life after learning that prosecutors were going to press ahead with an assault charge.
Scotland Yard last month apologised to Christine Flack, Caroline's mother, for not recording the reason why her daughter was charged.
Christine Flack has told BBC's Newsnight that she rejects the Metropolitan Police’s apology.
Speaking to Victoria Derbyshire, she said: “It just seems wrong. They haven’t said why there were no notes taken, why nothing was recorded. I don’t know whether they’re covering something.”
When asked if she thought her daughter would still be alive if the caution had remained and she had not been charged, Ms Flack said: “I do, I really do.”
“Once all the pictures came out in the newspapers and things were written about her on social media – they just picked up the bad,” she said.
“There was a lot of good, but Caroline wasn’t reading the good – she was only reading the bad.”
She added: “She lost her job straight away, without even being found guilty or going to court. She had another series axed.”
Christine Flack said she will not stop campaigning for a more comprehensive apology from the force for the way it dealt with her daughter in the hours before she died.
Following her arrest, Ms Flack was taken by ambulance to hospital because she had self-harmed.
She was later locked in a cell for 24 hours, which her mother believes was unnecessary.
A Met Police spokesperson told the BBC: “Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Ms Flack’s family for their loss and we are sorry for the impact this has had on them.
“When a person is arrested they can be held in custody for a period of up to 24 hours to allow officers time to gather evidence and investigate the alleged offence.
“A review by the Independent Office for Police Conduct did not identify any misconduct in relation to the handling of Ms Flack’s arrest, however, it concluded that an officer involved in the investigation should receive reflective practice.”
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