THE father of missing York chef Claudia Lawrence has spoken out about the latest developments in the Madeleine McCann case.

Peter Lawrence appeared on BBC2 Newsnight late last night (Thursday, June 4) and gave a very powerful and emotional interview with Kirsty Wark regarding the latest news surrounding Madeleine's disappearance  13 years ago in Portugal.

In it he expressed his solidarity with, and support and prayers for, the McCann family in the hopes that they might at long last discover what happened to her in 2007.

Peter said: “I am all too aware of what having a loved one missing for such a great length of time does to those left behind: it eats into you like a cancer and there is no relief whilst the lack of knowing what has happened to them continues to exist.”

The interview followed the news yesterday that German prosecutors have Madeleine is 'assumed to be dead' and they are investigating a 43-year-old German on suspicion of her murder.

Claudia Lawrence has been missing from York since 2009 when the 35-year-old from Heworth was reported missing after she failed to report for her chef’s job at York University’s Goodricke College. No one has been held to account for her disappearance despite a £1 million murder inquiry.