Caroline Flack’s lawyer suggested Thursday that a decision by Met Police to charge the late TV Presenter may have been “driven by a desire” to appease the media, as he spoke out after the force confirmed it will partly reinvestigate its decision to prosecute as “new evidence may be available”.
The development comes after a Byline Times special investigation into the case, ‘Closure For Caroline Flack: Her Family’s Four-Year Search for the Truth’, uncovered fresh information. It is the cover-story for the April edition, out now.
The Crown Prosecution Service recommended that the former Love Island host be cautioned after an incident with her then-boyfriend, Lewis Burton, in December 2019. This was overturned after an appeal from the Met Police, and the 40-year-old was charged with assault by beating.
Caroline was found dead at her home in Stoke Newington, north London, in February 2020 with a coroner later ruling that she killed herself after learning of the impending prosecution and fearing the publicity a trial would attract.
Her mother, Christine Flack, has been critical of the police’s handling of her daughter’s case since the outset, and fighting to uncover the truth about how decisions around charging her unfolded. She told Byline Times: “It is a big gap in our understanding of one of the most important moments in the whole thing. It has left us as a family in a terrible, stressful position. It is time he cleared it up, so we can get some justice for Carrie.”
Christine has made a fresh complaint to the Met because her family has been left with “important unanswered questions”.
Questioned about the decision to re-examine the case, Flack’s lawyer, Jonathan Coad, suggested the Met Police’s relationship with the media may not be “entirely as it should be”, telling Sky News: “One suspects the reason why police made this decision was to appease the press pressure, which I remember being there… that she should be charged to rebut suggestions, ‘oh, well she’s had special treatment because she’s a celebrity’.”
He continued: “So, it may be that this decision, which indeed is unusual to appeal it, was driven by a desire not to fall foul of the press, and be criticised by the press, in which case is an entirely wrong reason for the appeal to be made .”
Following Caroline’s death, police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) carried out a review of the Met’s decision to charge her, but did not find any misconduct. It did, however, ask the Met to apologise to Caroline’s family for not recording the reason it appealed against the original CPS decision.
The force apologised in February last year, but Christine rejected it, the BBC reported at the time.
The Met confirmed Thursday that a new complaint was made by Flack’s family last week which it referred to the IOPC.
In a statement to the Press Association, the Met said that the IOPC decided “the majority of the matters had previously been dealt with and no further action was required” but “one aspect” of the complaint had been back to the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) to consider further.
That, the Met said, relates to the “actions of officers in appealing an initial decision by the Crown Prosecution Service not to charge Ms Flack, and because new witness evidence may be available.” DPS officers are now making “further enquiries in relation to this.”
The IOPC issued a statement confirming that.
Christine told the Mirror she made the complaint to try to “compel” the officer who was at her daughter’s arrest “to give the statement we think he should have given four years ago”.
“We won’t stop until we get the truth,” she told the publication.
As Byline Times‘ story spread across the British press Thursday, the journalists behind the exclusive, Dan Evans and Tom Latchem, spoke about how they went about investigating the case and uncovering fresh evidence.
Evans explained that after the pair broke the Dan Wooton story they approached Caroline’s family “to see if we could help her get those answers” and through “forensic investigative reporting” discovered that an arresting officer who had played a role in reversing the charging decision – but who had never been named publicly – had left the Met before the inquest took place in 2020, but returned to the force last year.
“This meant he had never given a statement about his role, leaving a gap in Chris’ knowledge of what happened on the night of Caroline’s arrest,” Evans explained.
“Tom and I were thrilled that Christine was able to use our findings to lobby The Met, who have announced its Directorate of Professional Standards is seeking to now bridge this gap in the evidence; it’s a breakthrough in the Flack family’s understanding of Caroline’s arrest and subsequent charge.”
Latchem added: “Christine is a grieving mother and deserves to know the full truth about what happened in the lead up to her daughter’s death.
“We’re happy to have contributed even in a small way, and we will continue to ensure no stone goes unturned.”
The journalist added: “At a time when media outlets are cutting funding for investigative journalism to the bone, our ongoing work with Byline Times seeking justice for Caroline, along with the Dan Wootton investigation, and all our other investigative work, shows how important public interest journalism can be for holding power to account.”
The decision to reinvestigate the lead-up to the decision to charge Caroline comes after it was announced that British singer Olly Murs will headline Flackstock when the festival returns for its third year on 22 July. All Saints singer Shaznay Lewis, X Factor star Rebecca Ferguson, Scottish music artist Tom Walker, The One And Only singer Chesney Hawkes and band NewDad will also perform.
Money raised from the festival will be split equally between charities Choose Love, Mind, Samaritans and Charlie Waller Trust.
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