The mother of former Love Island host Caroline Flack has questioned why a lawyer “could not have let my beautiful daughter rest in peace” following claims prosecutors were right to pursue the TV presenter's trial.
Ed Beltrami, who was the head of the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) north London division at the time, has since started a new role as Wales’s chief prosecutor.
But he told the Wales on Sunday newspaper that he could not just do what he thought would be “popular”.
The TV presenter took her own life in February aged 40. Her mother, Chris Flack, said in a statement to her local newspaper: “It is deeply regrettable that Mr Beltrami could not have let my beautiful daughter rest in peace.
“It is as regrettable that he should choose to repeat some of the untruths about my daughter. My daughter was unable to defend herself during her life and is unable to do so now. Shame on you.”
Flack, who grew up in Norfolk, died at her London home while awaiting trial on an assault charge for an alleged attack on her boyfriend Lewis Burton.
Mr Beltrami said: “You’ve got to do what you think is right. You cannot do what you think is popular.”
He stated “you have absolutely no idea that the defendant is going to take her own life” when the trial decision was taken.
Chris Flack said: “Mr Beltrami says that the CPS ‘had no idea’ that my daughter may take her life when they decided to continue the case against her.
“If that is true then the CPS ignored the correspondence from my daughter’s solicitors and a psychologist’s report warning of just that possibility.
“It also ignores the fact that my daughter had cut herself so badly the night of the incident for which she was arrested that she was taken to two different hospitals and there were concerns for her life.
“How can you claim to have ‘no idea’ that someone may take their life when they have already attempted to do so because of the events in question?
“Does Mr Beltrami claim to be ignorant of these facts or is he just ignoring them? The CPS were fully aware of these matters and the risk when they decided to continue the prosecution.”
She described a claim that her daughter struck Mr Burton over the head with a lamp as “false”.
She said the allegation was denied by both Mr Burton and Flack and “was completely inconsistent with the injury that Mr Burton sustained”.
Mr Beltrami said that the charge could not be dropped just because Mr Burton did not want the incident to be brought before the courts, adding: “You just don’t fold at the first sign of trouble – the fact that the victim doesn’t want to know.
“You’ve got to look at whether you can prosecute without the support of the victim.”
Mr Beltrami added that there was a risk of “repetition” of the alleged crime.
After her death, Flack’s management team criticised the CPS for conducting a “show trial”.
It confirmed in March that it would be conducting a review into Flack’s death. Later that month, the CPS found the case was handled “appropriately”.
A spokesman said: “Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Caroline Flack. It is normal practice for prosecutors to hold a debriefing in complex or sensitive cases after they have ended.
“This has taken place and found that the case was handled appropriately and in line with our published legal guidance.”
