BRITAIN:Gerry McCann described his and wife Kate's "pain and turmoil" yesterday as Portugal's public prosecutor prepared to hand the police files on the disappearance of their four-year-old daughter Madeleine to an instructional judge.
While prosecutor Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses had been expected to study the files for some time, it was announced last night that he had decided to hand them on to a judge for a decision on any action to be taken.
The BBC reported that the judge would have 10 days in which to decide on the content of the files, with options including the ordering of more search warrants and the possible changing of the McCanns' "arguido" or suspect status.
Using his blog on the official Find Madeleine website to describe the "unending nightmare" of the past week, Mr McCann had earlier coupled a profound sense of loss with a steely determination that he and his wife would eventually be cleared of any wrongdoing.
And there was at least some respite for the couple when the spokesman for the Portuguese police inquiry played down press reports claiming that DNA samples found in the McCanns' holiday apartment and hire car were a "complete" or "100 per cent" match to their missing daughter.
Following a string of newspaper headlines confronting Mr and Mrs McCann with sensational new forensic claims attributed to Portuguese police sources, Chief Insp Olegario Sousa indicated that the results of forensic tests obtained so far had not been conclusive.
Responding to reports that forensic results proved that the girl's body was in the boot of the car hired 25 days after she went missing, Mr Sousa told state broadcaster RTP: "We can't say with certainty whether it was the blood of person 'A' or person 'B'. They help guide us in our investigation but not with the mathematical precision some people are saying."
The Press Association quoted a family friend saying the McCanns were "glad" to hear this denial, describing it as "about the most encouraging thing" the couple had heard from the Portuguese police for some time.
Amid continuing reports that police were planning fresh searches in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz, Mr and Mrs McCann were said to have fully expected the review of the case by the prosecuting authorities.
In his emotional blog entry, Mr McCann also anticipated the worst possible outcome of it, confirming that he and his wife have appointed solicitors "to advise and assist our Portuguese lawyer in preparing our defence against any possible charges".
Following their traumatic journey back to Leicestershire on Sunday, Mr McCann said: "We always hoped that we would not have to return without Madeleine and could never have imagined the possibility that we would do so as suspects in our own daughter's disappearance.
"The pain and turmoil we have experienced in this last week is totally beyond description," he added.
Despite this, he drew comfort from family and friends who had "rallied round unflinchingly" as he declared that he and his wife Kate were "100 per cent confident in each other's innocence".
While unable to comment on the details of the police investigation, Mr McCann wrote: "Despite the anguish and extreme distress this has caused all our family, long term no one will be able to doubt how intensely Kate and I have been scrutinised."
And he declared: "We have absolute confidence that, when all of the facts are presented together, we will be able to demonstrate that we played absolutely no part in Madeleine's abduction."
Seeming impatient for the next phase of the inquiry and review, Mr McCann confirmed the appointment of solicitors to assist in defending any charges, insisting: "The sooner this is done, the sooner we can concentrate fully on trying to find Madeleine, which is the most important thing through this unending nightmare."