The mother of Shannon Matthews has been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged in connection with the nine-year-old's disappearance.

Karen Matthews, 32, of Moorside Road, Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire, faces charges of child neglect and perverting the course of justice. Ms Matthews was remanded in custody until 16 April.

Shannon disappeared on 19 February and was found 24 days later after one of the county's largest missing person hunts.
The details of the child neglect charge state that she "wilfully neglected or abandoned" Shannon "in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to her health", between 18 February and 15 March.

The second charge states that Ms Matthews "repeatedly concealed information in relation to the whereabouts of Shannon Matthews in interviews and other contacts with officers with the West Yorkshire Police and claimed to have no knowledge of her whereabouts."

Announcing the charges, Peter Mann, spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: "We have carefully considered all of the evidence in the file and decided there is sufficient evidence to charge Karen Matthews with perverting the course of justice and child neglect.

"We will continue to keep this case under constant review."

Detectives arrested Ms Matthews at 7.20pm on Sunday after she broke down in front of friends and her police family liaison officer allegedly admitting “I knew where she was all the time.”

Detectives are also probing claims that associates of the Matthews family tried to extract money from the Madeleine McCann fund – and the possibility of a kidnap plan based on an episode of Channel 4 show Shameless.