Three-week milestone in hunt for Madeleine

Amid renewed criticism of the police investigation the couple remain convinced she is alive and well.

They are today expected to begin thrashing out the details of a planned European tour as the next step in a unique campaign to raise their daughter’s profile across the continent and beyond.

Backed by an army of friends and family in Portugal and Britain, the McCanns’ campaign has attracted the attention of at least 115 million web users.

They now plan to tour countries where, based on media monitoring, they feel a personal visit could best boost awareness.

Their aim is simple: they want people across Europe to have a clear image of Madeleine in their mind in the hope that she will be spotted and rescued.

A spokesman said yesterday that discussions on the plan would begin in earnest over the next few days.

The move is the latest phase in an extraordinary initiative started by amateurs, but taking on an increasingly professional dimension with plans to employ a manager for their growing fighting fund and a campaigning guru.

On May 3 the couple were enjoying a quiet meal with friends just metres away from where their three children were asleep when Madeleine was snatched.

It is thought she was fast asleep when she was carried away.

But the police investigation which followed has come under fire from several quarters.

Child protection expert Mark Williams-Thomas, who visited Praia Da Luz during the early stages of the investigation, told the Evening Standard that the area where Madeleine had disappeared was “without doubt, the worst preserved crime scene I have ever seen”.

He said the investigation had been hampered by the police’s failure to “do the basics”.

He said in Britain the scene would have been cordoned off beyond the immediate area, allowing forensic officers the “best possible chance” of picking up evidence, and that detectives would have knocked on every door, searching every property and questioning witnesses.

But the Portuguese police had failed to complete the “basic building blocks”, Mr Williams-Thomas said.

Yesterday Mr and Mrs McCann took time out to visit the shrine of Fatima, four hours’ drive but a world away from the holiday resort of Praia Da Luz where they have kept a constant vigil for Madeleine.

They were applauded by pilgrims, many running up to touch them and some thrusting babies at them to kiss, as they walked through the Sanctuary at Fatima, the site of a series of visions of the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children 90 years ago.

The pair later sat among more than 1,000 pilgrims as prayers were said and Hail Marys chanted for Madeleine to be returned safe and well.

The visit was the fulfilment of a long-standing ambition for the couple, who have been regular attendees at the church of Nossa Senhora Da Luz in Praia Da Luz in the weeks since the abduction.

Mrs McCann clutched a yellow rose and Madeleine’s favourite cuddly toy while her husband held a small bible as they arrived, followed by a crowd of pilgrims, some holding candles up to 2m long.

They were showered with kisses and hugs as they slipped into the back of a Mass at the main shrine before praying privately for almost an hour in a separate chapel and lighting candles.

It was the first time the couple have left their holiday apartment in Praia Da Luz together – other than to give statements to police nearby – since Madeleine’s abduction.

But it could prove to be the first step in a wider European tour.

Later today in London, there will be a large scale projection on Marble Arch of a new yellow ribbon symbol, as part of the rebranding of the Missing People charity.

The charity, formerly the National Missing Persons Helpline, is officially relaunching tomorrow, on International Missing Children’s Day.