U2 tweet in support of search for missing men in Brazil

Taking to twitter the Dublin band issued a message declaring: “We are waiting to find out what has happened to these courageous men,” alongside an image of Phillips and Pereira

The message appears to have been sent by Adam Clayton, the band’s bass player.

Phillips (57) and Pereira (41) were last seen on 5 June near the entrance of the Javari Valley Indigenous Territory, which borders Peru and Colombia.

Phillips’s family have said they have lost hope of finding him alive.

On Tuesday, the Brazilian ambassador to the UK apologised to Phillips’ family for incorrectly telling them his body had been found in the Amazon tied to a tree along with that of Pereira.

Theresa May raised Phillips’s case during prime minister’s questions, citing correspondence with Phillips’ niece Dominique Davis, one of her constituents.

Johnson has said the UK government is “deeply concerned” about the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of both men, adding that the UK had offered to provide support to Brazilian search teams looking for Phillips and his travelling partner, Pereira, an Indigenous expert.

Meanwhile, Sky News has reported that a second man has been arrested on suspicion of homicide.

Police say the second man, Oseney da Costa de Oliveira, is the brother of the first man who was arrested.

Amarildo da Costa de Oliveira, who is nicknamed Pelado, remains in custody as the main suspect in the case.

Describing the latest arrest, police investigator Alex Perez said: "He did not resist arrest on suspicion of homicide based on witness accounts that placed the two suspects at the supposed scene of the crime."

Ammunition and an oar have also been seized, but detectives have not confirmed why these items have been confiscated, where they were found or who they belong to.

The brothers, both 41-year-old fishermen, are being held at the police station in Atalaia do Norte, the nearest town.

Pelado pulled a rifle on Mr Phillips and Mr Pereira the day before they disappeared, according to indigenous people who were with them.

He denies doing anything wrong and claims military police tortured him to get a confession, his family has said.