Boris defends police over the disappearance of runaway schoolgirls thought to be in Syria

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Boris Johnson has defended the police over the disappearance of three runaway schoolgirls thought to be in Syria.

The families have criticised senior officers after it emerged the girls were asked to deliver a warning letter to their parents.

Kadiza Sultana, Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, vanished three weeks ago and are believed to have joined the Jihadist terror group Islamic State after travelling to Turkey.

Kadiza Sultana, Shamima Begum and Amira Abase Credit: Metropolitan Police

The police sent a letter to their parents asking for permission to interview the girls after a classmate from Bethnal Green Academy in east London disappeared in December.

The parents claim they never saw the letters. But London's mayor said today it was wrong to blame the police.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe is to face questions about the girls' disappearance from MPs later today.