A watchdog has instructed police to reinvestigate Caroline Flack’s mother’s complaint that her daughter was treated differently by police due to her fame.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police (MPS) told the BBC that the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) had instructed the MPS to reinvestigate the aspect of an old complaint.
The Love Island presenter took her own life at the age of 40 in February 2020.
A coroner ruled she took her own life after learning prosecutors were going to press ahead with an assault charge over an incident involving her boyfriend, Lewis Burton.
Christine Flack told the BBC she still wants to know why her daughter was charged with the assault – despite prosecutors initially saying she should be given a caution.
She said: “I just want those answers to make me feel better and to make me know that I’ve done the right thing by Caroline.”
She 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.”
Asked if she feels the decision to charge her daughter contributed to her death, Mrs Flack said: “Oh, totally. Totally. She couldn’t see a way out.”
She said she has now lost trust in the force, continuing: “There’s no trust at all. No trust at all. I just want the truth out there.
“And it won’t bring her back. I know it won’t bring her back. But I’ve got to do it for her.”
Flack found out the day before her death that she would be prosecuted with the charge that she hit Burton with her phone while he slept over concerns he had been cheating on her.
Friends said she was expecting the case to be dropped after her lawyers applied for it to be thrown out.
Coroner Mary Hassell found that Flack killed herself because she knew she was being prosecuted and could not face the press coverage.
Mrs Flack had accused the police and prosecutors of having it “in for” her daughter, accusing them of taking her to court due to her “celebrity status”.
The MPS spokesman said: “Following a review, the IOPC agreed with the MPS that service was acceptable in relation to seven areas of the complaints relating to the response and handling of the incident by the MPS.
“The IOPC has directed the MPS to reinvestigate one element of the complaints. This relates to the process involved in appealing the CPS decision to caution Ms Flack.
“We will re-examine this element of the investigative process.
“Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Caroline’s family.”
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can freephone the Samaritans 24 hours a day for confidential support at 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org.
You can also freephone the national Bereavement Support Line run by the HSE and Irish Hospice Foundation at 1800 80 70 77 (Monday-Friday 10am-1pm), and the contact information for a range of mental health supports is available at mentalhealthireland.ie/get-support/.
In the case of an emergency, or if you or someone you know is at risk of suicide or self-harm, dial 999/112.
