THE father of missing chef Claudia Lawrence has distanced himself from the criticism levelled at police by his spokesman.

Peter Lawrence said he did not share the opinion of his spokesman Martin Dales, who last week claimed North Yorkshire Police was failing to engage with members of the public, some of whom had found the force to be “uncivil, rude, abrupt and dismissive” when contacting it with information.

Mr Lawrence, a solicitor who lives at Slingsby, said: “I was not aware of any of the content of last week’s release, nor even of the fact that it was to be issued. The statement does not in any way reflect my views or my opinion.

“No member of the North Yorkshire Police investigation team has ever been ‘rude and unhelpful’. Every one of them has been most courteous.”

Mr Lawrence also said he had not made any call for an independent review of the police investigation and was extremely grateful for the continuing efforts of North Yorkshire Police to find his daughter, who vanished without trace almost 14 months ago.

Mr Lawrence said he also wanted to thank the Police Authority for continuing to fund the investigation, which has cost more than £600,000 so far, as well as the general public for their contribution and support.

He said: “I, and the rest of the family, rely on all this support to help us find a resolution to this nightmare and, as the campaign title says, to ‘Find Claudia’.”