Madeleine McCann: Detectives return to the UK

Apr 7 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

PORTUGUESE police are arriving in the UK today to sit in as the friends of Kate and Gerry McCann are interviewed.

The detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, who is in charge of the Madeleine McCann case, will not actually question the friends of the couple, but will be present at interviews carried out by officers from Leicestershire Constabulary.

Liverpool-born Kate McCann and her husband Gerry will not be questioned in relation to the disappearance of their four-year-old daughter from the Algarve holiday resort of Praia da Luz on May 3 last year.

Spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the couple, who live in Rothley, Leicestershire, welcomed the interviews and were happy to be re-interviewed, but a request had not been made by Portuguese detectives.

Instead, they will question the McCanns’ friends, who were with them on the night. They will be interviewed as witnesses and are free to leave at any time, a spokeswoman for Leicestershire Constabulary said. No lawyers will be present.

There had been speculation that diaries and Madeleine’s Cuddle Cat toy could be seized by Portuguese officers, but it is understood that no property will be searched or seized.

The process of interviewing key witnesses will last several weeks, but the Portuguese detectives will return home at the end of the week.

It is 11 months since Madeleine disappeared from Praia da Luz.

Kate, 40, and her husband, 39-year-old Gerry, remain arguidos – formal suspects in the inquiry.

Under Portuguese law, the status allows them to make a list of people they would like detectives to question in order to support their case that they had nothing to do with the disappearance of their daughter.

The Tapas Seven are on the list, which currently stands at more than 50. But it is understood their inclusion is not the reason they are being interviewed this week.

However, there will be other interviews with witnesses identified by the McCanns that will be conducted by Portuguese officers over the next few weeks. It includes the names of staff at the resort, holidaymakers who helped searched for Madeleine and the McCanns’ relatives who can vouch for their mental state when they returned home.

The McCanns will not be in Leicestershire for the duration of the visit by Mr Rebelo and his team. On Wednesday, they travel to Brussels to lobby for MEPs for better co-ordination between European countries when a child goes missing.