THE father of missing York chef Claudia Lawrence has told MPs about the practical and legal difficulties faced by relatives of people who have disappeared.

Peter Lawrence, whose daughter Claudia, from Heworth, has not been seen since March 2009, was speaking at a Parliamentary inquiry on runaways and missing children and adults.

He said families had no simple way to deal with unresolved practical issues such as property, bank accounts and insurance because it was impossible to prove whether a missing person was dead or alive.

He said afterwards he had received a sympathetic hearing and he hoped he had provided evidence to help the cross-party panel press the Government for more help to be provided.