The landlord arrested on suspicion of murdering Joanna Yeates has launched legal action against a series of newspapers, it was announced today.

Former public school teacher Chris Jefferies, 66, was quizzed for several days over the murder of his neighbour in Bristol before being released from police bail without charge last month.

He has started libel and privacy claims against The Sun, the Daily Mirror, the Daily Mail, the Daily Express, the Daily Star and the Daily Record over articles published in December and January, his lawyers said.

Further claims are expected to be launched against local newspapers over the next few weeks.

A statement on behalf of his legal team read: "Mr Jefferies will not be making any statement about these claims until their conclusion, which he hopes will be in the very near future."

Mr Jefferies is represented by Louis Charalambous, of Simons Muirhead & Burton, who won £600,000 libel damages for Robert Murat after he was falsely accused of involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.