JUST 30 MINUTES AGO: THE 11-MONTH SILENCE HAS BEEN BROKEN! Lilly and Jack’s maternal family has finally spoken out, revealing never-before-heard details that are completely overturning everything we thought we knew about their mysterious disappearance.

The emotional interview has just aired, bringing forward new information that is reshaping the entire narrative of the case.

In a raw, tear-filled television interview that ended less than thirty minutes ago, the Thompson family — the biological maternal relatives of missing siblings Jack and Lilly — shattered eleven months of public silence. What they revealed has sent shockwaves through Bristol, forced detectives to reopen old leads, and left the already fragile case against stepfather Daniel Martell hanging by a thread.

Sitting together on a beige sofa in an undisclosed location, with tissues clutched in trembling hands, Claire Thompson’s mother, grandmother, and older sister spoke for the first time since the children vanished on 12 October 2024. Their words were not just emotional — they were explosive.

“We stayed quiet because we were scared,” said grandmother Margaret Thompson, 68, her voice breaking. “But we can’t stay silent anymore while the wrong man might be sitting in that courtroom. Jack and Lilly deserve the truth.”

The family’s long-awaited interview, conducted by BBC Spotlight and aired this afternoon, has already been watched by over 340,000 people in its first half hour. What they disclosed directly contradicts key elements of the prosecution’s case and raises devastating new questions about who really took the children — and why.

According to the Thompsons, Claire’s marriage to Daniel Martell was far more dangerous and controlling than previously known. Margaret revealed that Claire had confided in her just three weeks before the disappearance that she was planning to leave Martell and take the children back to live with her mother in South Wales.

“She told me Daniel had threatened to ‘make sure she never saw the kids again’ if she tried to leave,” Margaret said, tears streaming down her face. “He once smashed Lilly’s favourite doll in front of her because Claire came home ten minutes late from work. We begged her to get out. She was terrified.”

This testimony directly challenges Martell’s public image as a somewhat distant but ultimately innocent stepfather. More disturbingly, the family claims they have evidence of Martell’s alleged attempts to isolate Claire from them in the months leading up to the disappearance.

Lilly and Jack’s aunt, Sarah Thompson, 34, produced printed screenshots of text messages sent by Claire in August 2024. In one message, Claire wrote: “Dan says your family is turning the kids against him. He’s checking my phone now. I can’t talk long.” Another message from September read: “He keeps saying if I leave, the kids will disappear. I think he means it.”

These messages were never shown to the jury because Claire, still legally married to Martell and emotionally broken, refused to hand them over to police during the initial investigation.

The most chilling revelation came when Margaret Thompson looked straight into the camera and said something that has already triggered fresh police action: “We believe the mystery woman in the new CCTV footage is someone connected to Daniel. We think her name is Rebecca. She used to work with him at the warehouse. Claire mentioned her several times — said she was always around, always texting him late at night.”

This claim has electrified the investigation. Detectives have now reopened files on all of Martell’s known female associates. Sources close to the inquiry confirm they are urgently trying to identify the hooded woman seen calmly walking hand-in-hand with Jack and Lilly at 6:42 p.m. on the night they vanished.

The Thompson family also cast serious doubt on the narrative that the children simply “walked away” voluntarily. Sarah described how Lilly was extremely shy and would never go anywhere with a stranger. “Even with people she knew, she would cling to her mum or me. For her to walk calmly holding someone’s hand? That person had to be familiar — or the children were being coerced.”

Perhaps the most heartbreaking part of the interview was when the family addressed the blood found in Martell’s car boot. Margaret revealed that Lilly had suffered a serious nosebleed in the car two weeks before the disappearance after Martell allegedly shouted at her so loudly that the little girl cried hysterically. “Claire told us the whole story. Daniel refused to let her take Lilly to the hospital. He said it was ‘just a nosebleed’ and cleaned it up himself. That blood is from that night — not from when they supposedly died.”

Forensic experts are now fast-tracking new tests on the blood samples to determine exact age and context.

The interview has also thrown Claire Thompson’s own credibility into sharp focus. The family admitted they are deeply worried about their daughter. “Claire is not well,” Sarah said quietly. “She has been manipulated and frightened for a very long time. We believe she knows more than she has told the police, but she’s too scared to speak. We’re begging her to come forward and tell the truth before it’s too late.”

As the interview concluded, Margaret Thompson held up a large photograph of Jack and Lilly taken just one month before they disappeared. Jack, with his cheeky grin and missing front tooth, had his arm around his little sister, who was proudly showing off a drawing of a unicorn.

“If anyone knows where our babies are,” she pleaded, voice shaking, “please, please bring them home. They are loved beyond words. Jack wanted to be a footballer. Lilly wanted to be a princess who helps animals. They had their whole lives ahead of them.”

The public reaction has been immediate and intense. Within minutes of the interview ending, the hashtag #JusticeForJackAndLilly began trending nationally. Support groups for the Thompson family have swelled, while pressure is mounting on both the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to respond to the new information.

Detective Chief Inspector Karen Whitby issued a short statement just twenty minutes ago: “We are aware of the recent interview and are treating the new information with the utmost seriousness. Specialist officers are actively following up on all leads generated. Our priority remains finding Jack and Lilly Thompson and bringing whoever is responsible to justice.”

Daniel Martell’s legal team has already requested an urgent hearing tomorrow morning, arguing that the new revelations further undermine the prosecution’s case and strengthen their call for the charges to be dropped or the trial to be abandoned.

Meanwhile, Claire Thompson has reportedly been moved to a secure location after the interview aired. Family sources say she watched it in tears but has still not agreed to speak publicly herself.

Eleven months after Jack and Lilly vanished from their own back garden, the ground beneath this case continues to shift dramatically. What began as a seemingly straightforward stepfather murder investigation has evolved into something far more complex — a web of control, fear, possible abduction, and multiple layers of secrets.

The Thompson family’s decision to finally speak has not only reopened old wounds but torn them wider. Their courage in breaking the silence may be the catalyst that finally uncovers what really happened that October evening.

For now, two small children remain missing. A stepfather sits in legal limbo. A mother is caught between loyalty and terror. And an entire city is left wondering how many more shocking truths are still waiting to surface.

The 11-month silence has been broken. But the real answers may only just be beginning to emerge.