Claudia Lawrence police family liaison officer charged with posessing child porn

A police officer who supported the family of Claudia Lawrence after she vanished without trace has been charged with possessing indecent images of children. Paul Beckwith, 53, from York, a former North Yorkshire Police officer, sat beside the Claudia's father Peter Lawrence as he appealed for information about his missing daughter, five days after she vanished in 2009.

The family liaison officer, who years later proudly led a remembrance parade in 2023 in the historic city, was immediately suspended for his duties after he was arrested on November 17th, 2024. In his later years Beckwith also worked as a drone officer who once said "protection of the public from harm is a key priority for North Yorkshire Police". The allegations are not said to be connected to his career as a police officer.

This week the former officer attended a police station and was charged with three counts of possessing indecent images of children and five counts of voyeurism.

He is due to appear at York magistrates' court on Monday, October 29th.

A statement from his former force, said: "A former North Yorkshire Police officer has been charged with three counts of possessing indecent images of children and five counts of voyeurism.

"The 53-year-old man, from York, was arrested on 17 November 2024 on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children. He was immediately suspended from duties.

"He was further arrested on 13 March 2025 regarding the suspected voyeurism and additional indecent images of children offences.

"He is due to appear at York Magistrates' Court on 29 October 2025 at 2pm."

The officer left North Yorkshire Police at the beginning April 2025 and none of the charges relate to his employment with North Yorkshire Police.

The former PC was the Chief Pilot of North Yorkshire Police Drone Unit who would work helping to police events such as the York races.

He commented on one such operation: "Protection of the public from harm is a key priority for North Yorkshire Police..."

In 2007 the officer, described then as a police family liaison officer in his local paper, told how he had seen at first hand the pain and misery suffered by parents when their children die young in road accidents.

He had thrown his support behind a campaign to cut down tragedies caused by joy-riding.

PC Beckwith, who also worked as a neighbourhood police officer in Holgate, York, said it was tough for people to lose someone younger than them, such as parents losing their child.

But it was even harder when their children died in a crash involving joy-riding, and there would have to be either an inquest or a court case

"Usually, there can be closure after a death when the funeral takes place," he said.

"But in these cases, there is a delay of four to six weeks before the body can be released by the coroner to allow the funeral to happen, and then another delay of up to 18 months or two years until either a court case or an inquest can be held."

He said one of the family liaison officer's roles was to help arrange for identification of the body.

Peter Lawrence, was 74, when he died in 2021 at St Leonard's Hospice in York following a short illness, 12 years after his daughter vanished.

Police believe Claudia - who was 35 when she was last seen on 18 March 2009 - was murdered but her body has never been found.