The Metropolitan Police have referred themselves to a watchdog following the tragic death of Caroline Flack.
Flack died on Saturday (15 February) at the age of 40 after taking her own life.
At the time of her death, Flack was awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to an assault on her boyfriend Lewis Burton in December.
The trial had been due to start early March.
Now the Met Police confirm that they have referred themselves to the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct) over their contact with Flack before she died.
In a statement, they said: ‘As is standard practice when a member of the public dies or is seriously injured and has had recent contact with police, the Directorate of Professional Standards has reviewed all previous police contact with Ms Flack.
‘Following the review, the MPS made a mandatory referral to the IOPC on Wednesday, 19 February to allow for an independent assessment.
‘No notice of investigation has been served on any officer and no conduct issues have been identified by the DPS. No officer is on restricted duties or suspended.’
An IOPC spokesman added: ‘The Independent Office for Police Conduct has received a referral from the Metropolitan Police relating to its contact with Caroline Flack prior to her death.
‘We will make a decision on the level of our involvement after carefully assessing the information we have received. Receipt of a referral does not mean an investigation will necessarily follow.’
An inquest this week confirmed that Flack died by suicide at her home in London.
There has been an outpouring of tributes from Flack’s showbiz peers, while her death has sparked the #BeKind movement to crackdown on social media trolls.
Flack’s mother Christine has also released a previously unpublished Instagram post which the TV presenter was advised not to share in the weeks before her death.
In it, Flack detailed her struggles since the arrest in December and said she ‘took responsibility for what happened that night’.
She stated it was ‘an accident’ and that she was ‘not a domestic abuser’.
Christine has since reiterated that she was not ‘pointing any fingers’ in publishing the post.
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