Letters finally give voice to missing chef Claudia

School friend shares notes to help 16-year-old search

- By Paul Jeeves

LETTERS written by chef Claudia Lawrence that give a colourful insight into her life in the years before she vanished have been disclosed by a former best friend.

The "intimate" messages she exchanged with Michaela, a close pal from school days, are today published for the first time. There is no known video of Claudia so the letters are said to be the closest there is to her "voice".

The girls were close from 13 to 19, and Michaela has opted to release the letters now in the hope of helping to solve the high-profile 16-year-old case they form the backdrop for the latest Answers For Claudia podcast.

Michaela, 51, said: "This is real life and this is someone that I was close to and that I shared very important years of my life with.

"I'm speaking for her, she's not here to speak. I don't know where she is, nobody does... this is so important that people are still talking about this."

She says she had reservations about sharing the exchanges but decided that releasing them might help keep the case in the public eye: "Claudia's not here in person so I felt a huge weight or responsibility because this isn't her voice, I have her voice in letters.