Portuguese to announce 'solution' to Madeleine case

Prosecutors are expected to shelve the inquiry and reports suggest they will lift the McCanns’ status as “arguidos” or official suspects.

However, hours before Mr Pinto Monteiro’s announcement, the former head of the Portuguese police investigation reaffirmed his belief that Madeleine died inside her parents’ holiday flat.

The McCanns, both 40, from Rothley, Leicestershire, strenuously deny any involvement in their daughter’s disappearance and say they will continue to believe she is alive until given firm evidence to the contrary.

Former detective Goncalo Amaral, who was removed from the inquiry last October after criticising British police, will publish a book containing allegations against the McCanns on Thursday.

He told BBC News today: “The evidence that we had gathered by the time that I left the case, pointed to the girl being dead – and having died inside the apartment.

“I don’t know what happened next. I can’t say. We’ll have to wait for the case files to be made public.”

Mr Amaral said the decision to make the McCanns arguidos was taken by a number of officials and did not amount to a “persecution”.

“In this case, it wasn’t purely and simply a decision taken by police officers - Portuguese and British police,” he said.

“There were others involved – public prosecutors and the national directorate of the Portuguese police.

“They all knew there was a necessity to put everything on the table, in light of the advances we had made... the combination of leads we had.

“There was no persecution. The police don’t want to persecute anyone, just to investigate what happened in a given case.”

The ex-detective, who retired recently, also denied seeking to profit from Madeleine’s disappearance with his book.

He said: “People can say what they like. All I would say, is that I’m trying to contribute to the discovery of the truth.

“I worked 27 years as a police officer – and my conscience can’t accept that this is the first case that slipped through my fingers.

“I worked hard with colleagues, and it’s still unresolved.”

Mr Pinto Monteiro has promised to announce a “solution” to the Madeleine case today, more than 14 months after she went missing.

Detectives handed over their lengthy final report at the start of this month for prosecutors to consider whether to bring charges, request further inquiries or close the case.

In recent weeks Portuguese newspapers, citing anonymous sources, have reported that police have not found enough evidence to lay charges.

Even if the files are shelved they will still be periodically reviewed and could be reopened if new evidence emerges.

Under Portuguese law the McCanns could stay as arguidos, but reports have suggested this is unlikely to happen.

If the case is shelved, the McCanns want their own private investigators to be given access to detectives’ papers so they can continue the search for their daughter.

The couple’s spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: “Obviously they are aware of numerous reports suggesting that the case is about to be shelved.

“If that is the case they hope that it is made very clear that their arguido status is revoked and they hope to gain access to the police files so that their private investigators can continue the search for Madeleine.

“At the end of the day that is the most important thing – finding their daughter and keeping the search going.”

Madeleine was nearly four when she vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz as her parents dined in a tapas restaurant with friends nearby.

Despite a huge police investigation and massive coverage in the Portuguese and British media, she has not been found.

The third suspect in the case, Algarve property consultant Robert Murat, 34, is also expected to be cleared today.

He received £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups last week over “seriously defamatory” articles linking him to Madeleine’s disappearance.