Caroline Flack's charge set to be reinvestigated by Met Police

Police are set to reinvestigate the circumstances that led to the decision to charge Caroline Flack.

Flack was arrested in December 2019 after an incident with her then-partner, Lewis Burton.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) initially recommended that the Love Island presenter, 40, receive a caution. However, an appeal by the Metropolitan Police saw this initial decision overturned, and Flack was charged with assault by beating.

Flack was found dead in February 2020, with coroner's ruling the TV star decided to take her own life after learning she was definitely facing prosecution.

But now, the Met Police have confirmed they are making “further enquiries” because “new witness evidence may be available” about officers' actions in appealing the CPS decision.

Flack's mother Christine told The Mirror: “We won’t stop until we get the truth. Something very unusual happened to Carrie at the police station that night, but no one kept a proper record explaining why.

“As a family, we have been left with important unanswered questions.”

A statement issued by the Met Police seen by Cosmopolitan UK confirmed there had been a fresh complaint from the Flack family lodged on 7 March this year.

The complaint had been sent to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), and while they ruled “the majority of the matters had previously been dealt with and no further action was required”, there was “one aspect of the complaint” returned back to the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) to consider further.

“This 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,” the statement reads.

“DPS officers are now making further enquiries in relation to this.”

The circumstances around Flack's arrest and eventual charge have previously faced scrutiny by watchdogs.

The DPS previously found there was no misconduct, prompting another complaint from Flack's family to the IOPC.

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While the IOPC found no misconduct, they did order the Met Police to apologise to Flack’s family for not recording its reason for appealing against the original CPS decision.

The news comes after it was confirmed that Flack's close friend, Olly Murs, will be fronting FlackFest when it returns for its third year in July.

The festival, which was set up to honour Flack, splits money raised to the Choose Love, Mind, Samaritans and Charlie Waller Trust charities.

To learn more about how to support a loved one struggling with their mental health, reach out to Mind – the infoline is open Monday to Friday, 9am - 6pm, and can be reached at 0300 123 3393. There are also mental health resources on the Mind website.

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