A MAN HAS been arrested on suspicion of the murder of chef Claudia Lawrence.

She went missing in 2009.

The search for Claudia has been ongoing ever since, and today the North Yorkshire Police said that a man had been arrested on suspicion of her murder.

They stressed that she has not been found.

Claudia Lawrence PA Archive / Press Association Images PA Archive / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

The man, who is in his 50s and from the York area, was arrested today.

Police said that searches are being conducted and are expected to be ongoing over a number of days.

Claudia’s family have been notified about the arrest, and police said that they are being supported by trained officers.

They urged the public and the media against identifying the man who has been arrested, in order “to ensure the investigation and legal process are not compromised or potentially damaged in any way”.

A 60-year-old man was arrested in May 2014 on suspicion of murder; a 47-year-old man was arrested last July on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.

Claudia was last seen on Wednesday 18 March 2009, and was reported missing by her father (pictured below) on Friday 20 March. The alarm was raised when she failed to turn up for work at 6am at York University.

Video still of the father of missing chef Claudia Lawrence, Peter Lawrence at a press conference PA Archive / Press Association Images PA Archive / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

On the sixth anniversary of her death, police had reiterated their appeal for information on her whereabouts.

Claudia’s 41st birthday was on 27 February.

In February, police examined the alleyway to the rear of Claudia’s house on Heworth Road in York. House-to-house enquiries were also carried out.

Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn, head of North Yorkshire Police’s Major Crime Unit and the senior investigating officer in the Claudia Lawrence case, said at the time:

We still don’t know if Claudia left for work on the morning of Thursday 19th March 2009 or whether something happened overnight within her house. If the latter is the case the person or persons responsible, in my view, would have used the rear alleyway as the front door leads onto a busy main road. This is why this specific piece of information needs to be fully investigated.