BRITAIN:The parents of Madeleine McCann are understood to have commissioned independent forensic tests of the hire car they used in Portugal amid continuing conflicting claims about evidence uncovered by police investigating their daughter's disappearance.
At the same time Kate and Gerry McCann have moved to defuse one potential controversy, making clear they will not use money raised for the Find Madeline fund to help meet the costs of their legal defence against any charges that might be brought by the Portuguese authorities. A judge has begun reviewing the police dossier variously reported to run to between 1,000 and 4,000 pages of evidence, fuelling speculative reports that charges could soon be brought against the McCanns in connection with the presumed "accidental" killing of their daughter and the subsequent concealment of her body.
However, Portugal's attorney general confirmed that the police operation has not ended while indicating that bail conditions could be imposed upon the couple, who were officially named as suspects in the case before their return to Britain last weekend. At the same time a friend of the McCann family was reported citing a number of legal sources, saying the family had been advised that the public prosecutor was probably either seeking further guidance from the directional judge or applying for the authority to carry out more searches.
A report in the London Evening Standard last night claimed Portuguese prosecutors had made an urgent application to seize Ms McCann's diary. At the same time the Press Association quoted the Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias saying the prosecutor had applied for the judge to validate retrospectively the seizure of diaries and correspondence belonging to the McCanns. This account explained: "Although the documents are already in the hands of the authorities, it is the judge's duty to ensure the investigation 'respects the rights, freedoms and guarantees of the arguidos (suspects), avoiding abusive interference in their private lives'."
British home secretary Jacqui Smith yesterday urged an end to "unhelpful speculation" surrounding the case, after a fresh batch of headlines claiming that a substantial quantity of Madeleine's hair had been found in the boot of the car hired by her parents 25 days after her disappearance.
Portuguese police had earlier played down claims that DNA evidence found in the car had provided a "100 per cent" match to Madeleine.
Reacting to the latest speculation emanating from Portugal, Mr McCann's sister, Philomena, said suggestions that the police might seize Cuddle Cat - the favoured toy Kate McCann has clung to since her daughter disappeared - were "a disgrace".
Philomena McCann said: "It would be extremely distressing for Kate because she has seen it as a symbol of her daughter since she went missing." And she added: "Why on earth do they ask for toys now? Why didn't they think of this before? Everything with the Portuguese police is an afterthought."