Police defend claims they may have missed vital Alice Gross clues

Police have today defended claims they may have missed vital clues in the investigation to find missing Alice Gross.

One local business man has told ITV News that Metropolitan Police officers did not ask to view footage from his CCTV camera, which is close to where the teenager was last seen, until after it was automatically deleted from his system.

The man, who doesn't want to be named, said police interviewed his staff a week before the clips were automatically wiped, but did not request to see the footage during this visit. The man claims officers then returned to his office in the hope of viewing the material, but were too late.

The Metropolitan Police refused to comment on the claims they had returned to request the footage, but released this statement: