Madeleine McCann: Kate and Gerry fear losing twins

Sep 11 2007

Kate and Gerry McCann, the parents named as suspects in the disappearance of daughter Madeleine, were tonight facing fresh fears social services held talks with police about their other children, two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

Social services and police held talks about Sean and Amelie as portuguese police moved a step closer to potential charges against Madeleine’s parents when they announced they were handing their file on the missing four-year-old to the public prosecutor.

Algarve-based public prosecutor Jose Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses will now decide whether the police evidence is strong enough to bring charges against the couple.

This could mean months of agonising waiting for Mr and Mrs McCann, who returned home to Rothley, Leicestershire, yesterday, having been named as suspects in their daughter’s disappearance.

The prosecutor has three main options - he could bring charges, rule that no action should be taken, or send the papers back to police requesting more evidence.

Senior officers decided to submit the file despite not having all the results from analysis being carried out by the Forensic Science Service (FSS) in Birmingham.

But a source close to the investigation said all results of substance had already been handed to Leicestershire Police and the Portuguese authorities.

“The bulk of the evidence has been sent on. In a case such as this the evidence is assessed, rather like a batting order, on what is most important,” the source said.

“We have reached the tail end now. But all the evidence is constantly being reviewed.”

Social services and police in Leicestershire held talks this afternoon about how they should respond to Madeleine’s disappearance and the naming of her parents as suspects.

Leicestershire County Council refused to comment on the meeting, citing its “highly confidential nature”.

But it is believed social workers would have discussed whether action was needed to protect Sean and Amelie - which in theory include putting them on the “in need register” to taking them into care.

In the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz, where Madeleine went missing 130 days ago, police were said to be preparing fresh searches.

These will take place to the south of the Ocean Club resort, where the McCanns were staying, according to the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha.

It was also reported today that “biological fluids” with an 80% match of Madeleine’s DNA were found underneath the upholstery in the boot of the McCanns’ hire car, a silver Renault Scenic.

The sample was too badly deteriorated to make a 100% match possible, according to the Diario de Noticias newspaper.

Detectives put a similar allegation to Mrs McCann in interview on Thursday.

She is understood to have told them angrily there was “no way” this could be the case because they did not lease the vehicle until 25 days after her daughter disappeared.

Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, spokesman for the investigation, refused to confirm or deny the reports.

Portuguese detectives appear to be working on the theory that Mrs McCann killed her daughter by accident and covered up the death by claiming she was abducted.

FSS test results received in recent weeks have apparently boosted this hypothesis.

Mr McCann’s alleged role is not clear, but sources said police believe he was an accessory to the killing.

Over four months after Madeleine went missing, Mr and Mrs McCann flew home from Portugal with Sean and Amelie yesterday.

A huge crowd of journalists gathered in Rothley to report on the family’s return.

Speaking in the village square, Mrs McCann’s uncle, Brian Kennedy, told waiting media the couple had a decent night’s sleep and were receiving many messages of support.

When asked if the couple would be returning to work, he said: “I imagine they will try to have as normal a situation as soon as possible.”

Philomena McCann, Madeleine’s aunt, said today it was “unbelievable” that Kate and Gerry McCann had been named as “arguidos”, or formal suspects, in her disappearance.

“The way the Portuguese have turned this investigation round, and they are no longer looking for a live child, they are assuming on spurious evidence, that Madeleine is now dead,” she told BBC Breakfast.

“Well, we don’t agree with that in any shape or form. We want the investigation changed round to look for Madeleine alive, as we reckon she is.”

Ms McCann said the couple would be “absolutely” co-operating with the Portuguese police and were prepared to return to Portugal to undergo further questioning.

After touching down at East Midlands Airport just after noon yesterday, Mr McCann, his voice breaking, insisted they played no part in her disappearance.

He said: “Whilst it is heartbreaking to return to the UK without Madeleine, it does not mean we are giving up our search.

“As parents we cannot give up on our daughter until we know what has happened.”

The couple do not know if or when police will call them back to Portugal, although they will obey even if they fear they could be arrested, a family friend said.

Their decision to return to Britain was in large part based on their desire to maintain a sense of normality for their two youngest children.

It is very unlikely they will bring the twins back to Portugal with them if police need them for further interviews, a friend said.

Mr and Mrs McCann are receiving legal advice from two lawyers in the UK.

The couple are being advised by Michael Caplan QC and Angus McBride, from London firm Kingsley Napley.

Mr Caplan acted for former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet when Spain tried to extradite him from the UK in 1999.

Mr McBride is a criminal lawyer with particular expertise in protecting the reputation of people and companies being investigated by either the media or criminal investigators, according to Kingsley Napley’s website.