Portugal:Police searching for the missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann last night focused their hunt on the house of a British woman whose son, named as Robert Murat, had been helping the media as a go-between and translator with the Portuguese police.
Mr Murat, who lives with his widowed mother in a villa 150 metres from where Madeleine went missing, is understood to have been taken to a police station in Portimão, although police last night said no one had been arrested.
The investigation gathered pace after Madeleine's parents had earlier said they believed she was alive, and were seeking ways to use the large sums of money they have been pledged to help in an increasingly international hunt.
"We believe that Madeleine is safe and being looked after and that's how we can continue in our efforts," her father, Gerry, told reporters in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz yesterday.
The McCann family confirmed they were seeking help from around Europe and asked British politicians to contact international colleagues. "We want them to do everything in their power. Whether that is contacting friends or politicians that they know across Europe or worldwide," Mr McCann's sister, Philomena, said.
"It's so difficult knowing where Madeleine is now," she added. "There is nothing to stop her abductor taking her anywhere and we need to know finding her is as big a priority in Europe as it is in this country."
Madeleine's mother, Kate, said the family would stay in Portugal indefinitely while they clung to hopes that their daughter was alive and would be found.
Mr McCann said the family was concentrating on gathering strength and had handed over organisation of the funds they have been pledged to two lawyers from Britain.
Although rewards totalling £2.6 million have been offered, it is not clear how much money has been pledged to help an ongoing investigation.
Speaking to the media for the first time yesterday, Gerry and Kate McCann thanked friends, family and members of the public for their efforts to get their daughter - who turned four on Saturday - back. "As far as we are concerned, until there is concrete evidence to the contrary, we believe that Madeleine is safe and being looked after and that's how we can continue in our efforts," Mr McCann said.
Indicating plans to stay in Portugal for the foreseeable future, Mrs McCann said: "I can't even consider going home at the moment, absolutely can't even let it enter my head."
The couple have hired lawyers with expertise in child abduction to help them assess options to take the hunt further. Looking more relaxed than in recent days, they also thanked the media and those promoting the campaign at home and abroad for giving the case international exposure. "We have taken tremendous strength from the warmth and the spiritual outpouring that we have received here and from all around the world," Mr McCann said.
"That has given us great encouragement and hope that we will bring back Madeleine safely." He said there had been "multiple offers" of help, including many financial pledges for their efforts. He said the couple welcomed the offers but they had created a problem in knowing where best to channel the resources.
Meanwhile, Madeleine's aunt, Philomena McCann, said she barely recognised her brother, Gerry, because of the stress and exhaustion he is under. Speaking in Edinburgh yesterday, Ms McCann also voiced fears that Madeleine, who has never before been separated from her family, could now be anywhere in Europe. Her comments came as she visited the Scottish Parliament in a bid to keep the search for her niece in the public eye. -