THREE men arrested on suspicion of murdering York chef Claudia Lawrence have been released on police bail.

The men - who are all aged in their fifties and from the York area - were arrested on Wednesday morning by North Yorkshire Police, as part of the ongoing investigation to find Claudia, who has been missing since March 2009.

Claudia, who was 35, was last seen on CCTV on her way home from work at the University of York on March 18, 2009, but never arrived for her early shift the next morning. She has never been found.

Her family was kept informed of developments yesterday, and was supported by police.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said detectives were following up lines of inquiry relating to the arrests, and have repeated their appeal for people not to name or otherwise identify anyone arrested under the investigation.

Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn, said: “I am once again very grateful to the media and the public for supporting my request that these individuals should under no circumstances be identified, either in traditional media or on social media platforms.

“That is because identification is an issue, and publishing the men’s identities could cause serious harm to my investigation.

"This continues to be the case, even though the men have been released on bail, and I once more ask that the media and public continue to support me and make no attempt to identify the men, their home addresses, places of work or their vehicles.”

The search for Claudia was stepped up in 2013 with a review of the case.

Since then, six people have been arrested, and two have been released from bail. No-one has ever been charged.

A 60-year-old man was arrested last year in connection with her disappearance and suspected murder but was later released without charge, while a 47-year-old man arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice has also been released without charge.

A man in his fifties was arrested on suspicion of murder on March 23, and remains on police bail.


Can you help?

Anyone with information that could assist police with their investigation should phone 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

Alternatively, go to crimestoppers-uk.org or northyorkshire.police.uk/claudialawrence