Civilian official elected to oversee Lancashire Constabulary faces backlash over social media posts
Tasteless? The civil servant chosen to oversee Lancashire police faces backlash from former officers for his social media posts about food and wine during the Nicola Bulley investigation
- Andrew Snowden, 38, found time to post about food, wine and his wife’s birthday.
- He did not mention the disappearance of Mrs. Bulley until more than a fortnight later
The civil servant chosen to oversee Lancashire Police has faced backlash from former officers for his social media activity during the Nicola Bulley investigation.
Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden, who ordered the latest inquiry into the much-maligned force, did not mention Ms Bulley on his Twitter account until more than a fortnight after her disappearance, despite being one of the most prominent cases of its kind in years.
The 38-year-old Tory politician, who earned £104,000 a year, found time to post about food, wine and his wife’s birthday, while police, pundits, well-meaning members of the public and social media sleuths tried to piece together what had happened. What happened to the missing 45-year-old.
Former head of Royal Protection and Metropolitan Police division commander Dai Davies said: “In my opinion it illustrates sheer rudeness and a level of absurdity that is unbelievable.”
Davies questioned Snowden’s decision to launch an investigation “when so many are questioning his role.”
The civil servant chosen to oversee Lancashire Police has faced backlash from former officers for his social media activity during the Nicola Bulley investigation.
The 38-year-old conservative politician found time to post about food, wine and his wife’s birthday, as police, experts and the public tried to piece together what happened to the missing 45-year-old.
Martyn Underhill, a former Dorset Police Commissioner and former Chief Inspector of Detectives, said: “Tweeting pictures of your dinner really doesn’t suit the public mood about the search for poor Nicola.”
Of the 45 tweets Snowden posted between Bulley’s disappearance on January 27 and yesterday, only seven were related to his case, the first of which was on February 12 and three after his body was found on Sunday.
Seven other tweets were light-hearted messages about food, wine, his wife’s birthday, Valentine’s Day and even grocery shopping with his young son.
In his biographical details, Mr Snowden states it’s a personal Twitter account “so expect pics of dad, husband, cooking and walking around.”
On January 28, the day after Ms Bulley disappeared while walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre, the well-fed politician posted about homemade curry.
Snowden, associate director of external relations at the University of Salford until his election in 2021, posts photos of his ‘homemade curry night’
In his biographical details, Mr Snowden states it’s a personal Twitter account “so expect pics of dad, husband, cooking and walking around.”
Of the 45 tweets Snowden posted between Bulley’s disappearance on January 27 and yesterday, only seven were related to his case, the first of which was on February 12.
Snowden, associate director of external relations at the University of Salford until his election in 2021, wrote: “What a little feast, with a cameo of his son buying ingredients with dad for a night of homemade curry.
‘Kashmiri Keema Paneer, a side of Bhindi Bhaji and pilau rice slowly steamed on the Aga.’
On February 11, 15 days into the missing person investigation, he tweeted a snapshot of his dinner. She wrote: “Saturday night lamb shanks delight slow cooked for 8 hours in a spicy homemade curry sauce, served with garlic and seasoned rice.”
That same night, Snowden shared a photo of a bottle of wine and told her followers that her son was in bed and her dog was “passed out.” Hello Saturday night!’ he added.