Egyptian authorities have said they are “temporarily closing” the investigation into the murder of Cambridge PhD student Giulio Regeni. The move comes as an Italian legal process nears its end, which looks set to call for five members of the Egyptian security forces to go on trial in Italy.

Giulio Regeni went missing in Cairo in January 2016. His body was found nine days later showing signs of torture. Since then there has been a worldwide campaign to find the truth and bring his killers to justice.

Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner received a statement from the Foreign Office minister saying the government “continue to follow the investigation into his death and to work closely with the Italian Government. We last discussed this at an official level with the Italian authorities on 23 November. We have also raised with the Egyptian authorities at a senior level the need for a transparent and impartial investigation, in full co-operation with Italy, so that Mr Regeni’s killers can be brought to justice.”

Mr Zeichner is now calling for the British government to urgently go back to the Egyptian authorities and call on them to re-start their investigation.

Daniel Zeichner MP said: “This is yet more obfuscation from the Egyptian authorities and it is clear the timing coincides with the fact that the Italian investigation is making progress. We urgently need to bring pressure to bear on the Egyptian government because Giulio’s friends, family and colleagues deserve to know the truth.”