Caroline Flack’s mother has received an apology from the Metropolitan Police for not keeping a record of why her daughter was charged with assault.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) reviewed the case following complaints of late Island of Love the presenter’s mother, Christine.
The IOPC review did not identify any misconduct by the Met, but criticized the police for their handling of Christine’s complaint.
Caroline took her own life in February 2020, before appearing in court for an alleged assault on her boyfriend, Lewis Burton.
Despite the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) recommending that she only receive a warning, the Met Police appealed against the CPS decision, which left Caroline facing a charge of assault by beating.
Christine complained about the decision to charge her daughter, claiming Caroline was treated differently because she was famous.
According to theEastern Daily PressThe letter of apology from Superintendent Andy Carter said: “I deeply regret our previous inability to capture an adequate contemporaneous record of streamlined, balanced and transparent decision-making in relation to the PSC appeal and statistical data.”
Christine told the publication in response: “They apologized for the way they handled my complaint – but what they should have apologized for was the way Carrie was treated.
“The fact that new guidelines were introduced means that something was wrong. I believe if I hadn’t said anything, nothing would have changed either.
“A lot of the apology letter felt like it was copy and pasted and I think they only did it because the IOPC suggested they should.”
Late last year, Christine spoke out against Jeremy Clarkson’s column in The sunin which he wrote about how much he “hated” Meghan Markle.
She compared Clarkson’s words to the negative press coverage of Caroline. Read more here.
If you are feeling distressed and isolated, or if you are struggling to cope, the Samaritans offer support; you can speak to someone for free by phone, confidentially, on 116 123 (UK and Republic of Ireland), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website for details to find out about your nearest branch.
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