Commons praise for Shannon teams

Shannon Matthews was missing for three weeks

Detectives who spent three weeks searching for schoolgirl Shannon Matthews have been praised by a West Yorkshire MP in Parliament.

Days after the force was attacked by a Euro MP over the amount of time it had taken to find the girl, a motion has been put before the House of Commons.

Batley and Spen Labour MP Mike Wood, in whose constituency Shannon's family live, has asked MPs to back a tribute.

Michael Donovan, 39, of Batley Carr, has been remanded, charged with kidnap.

Mr Wood's Commons motion pays tribute to the search teams.

Child alert

The motion says: "That this House welcomes the discovery, apparently safe and well, of nine year-old Shannon Matthews after more than three weeks missing from home in Dewsbury Moor.

"It congratulates West Yorkshire Police for the way in which it has handled a complex and sensitive case; and pays tribute to the dedication and hard work of local police officers."

Earlier in the investigation the Yorkshire MEP Edward McMillan-Scott had said that if police had used a missing child alert like those used in other countries, Shannon would have been found sooner.

The MEP's criticism prompted a reaction from West Yorkshire's Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison who said he was surprised that the professionalism of the inquiry had been questioned.

He said: "It has been phenomenal, it has been unprecedented and from where I am standing it's been professional."