Police hunt missing chef's 'mystery boyfriend'

Police investigating the disappearance of university chef Claudia Lawrence today revealed she spent the night with a mystery boyfriend just two days before she went missing.

The detective leading the hunt for the missing 35-year-old said it was "critical" they spoke to the man.

In a separate development, it was also revealed Miss Lawrence was involved in a long-term, casual sexual relationship with another man when she vanished.

The man was himself involved in a long-term relationship with a woman, but is not believed to be the boyfriend Miss Lawrence was with a few nights before she went missing.

The revelations were made as Miss Lawrence's family marked the first anniversary of her disappearance.

Miss Lawrence was last seen near her home in Heworth, York, on March 18 last year.

She failed to arrive for work the following morning and police believe she may have come to harm by someone she knew.

Detective Superintendent Ray Galloway described the latest development as "extremely hot intelligence".

He said: "Critically, information has come to us only today whereby we understand that Claudia has told (someone) that she was actually out on one of the evenings, on one of the nights which immediately preceded her disappearance - out into the very early hours with what she described as a boyfriend and we are talking deep into the night, half past four or five o'clock in the morning.

"That is something we didn't know previously. I'm appealing (for that person to) please come forward because there is nothing suspicious in that, it is just the fact we do need to eliminate that person from our investigation."

He added: "It would appear to be reliable information and I have got no reason to doubt it. It is significant that we do identify who that person is."

Police said a friend remarked on March 17 - the day before she disappeared - that Miss Lawrence looked tired and she replied she had spent the night with a "boyfriend".

Mr Galloway said there had been a "theme" running through the investigation where people had still not come forward with vital information.

He added: "It has been an all too frequent feature of the investigation whereby people have been reluctant to be candid with us."

He said Miss Lawrence "compartmentalised" her lifestyle.

"Very few people actually knew what Claudia did when she went home and closed the doors," he said.