Caroline Flack’s mother rejects apology from Met Police about how daughter’s case was handled
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TV star Caroline Flack was facing prosecution for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend when she took her own life in February 2020. Last month, the Met Police apologised to the mother of Caroline, Christine Flack, for not recording the reason she had been charged.
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Following her arrest, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) initially decided Caroline should only receive a caution, a decision that was appealed by a senior Met Police officer and resulted in her instead facing a charge of assault by beating. A coroner later ruled the presenter took her own life because she knew she was facing prosecution and feared the publicity that a trial would attract.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) carried out a review of the Met’s decision to charge Caroline and "did not identify any misconduct" by the Met. However, the IOPC did ask the Met to apologise to Caroline’s family about not recording its reason to appeal the original CPS decision.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Christine Flack said she does not accept the Met’s apology. 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. Once all the pictures came out in the newspapers and things were written about her on social media - they just picked up the bad.There was a lot of good, but Caroline wasn’t reading the good - she was only reading the bad."
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She added: "She lost her job straight away, without even being found guilty or going to court. She had another series axed.” When asked if she thought her daughter would still be alive if the caution had remained and Caroline had not been charged, Christine told Newsnight: "I do, I really do."
Christine has vowed to keep campaigning for a more comprehensive apology from the Met Police for the way it dealt with her daughter in the hours before she died. Following her arrest, Caroline was taken to hospital due to self-harming and later locked in a cell for 24 hours, which her mother believes was unnecessary.
A Met Office spokesperson said:: "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.
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"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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