BRITAIN:The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham appealed for prayers for Kate and Gerry McCann yesterday as Portugal's public prosecutor began his review of the police inquiry into the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine.
Chief Insp Olegario Sousa, spokesman for the Portuguese police inquiry, confirmed the decision to hand over the papers outlining the police case against the McCanns even as they awaited the full results of tests being conducted by forensic science experts in Britain.
The decision to report to the prosecutor was said to be normal practice following a significant development in a case, as occurred last week when Kate and Gerry McCann were formally named as suspects or "arguidos".
The couple flew home to Leicestershire on Sunday claiming they were being "framed" by Portuguese police, who now appear to be operating on the assumption that four-year-old Madeleine is dead, and was killed accidentally by her mother while her father acted as an accomplice in the subsequent concealment and disposal of her body.
An anguished Mr McCann told the News of the World that he and his wife were entirely innocent and would clear their names, while admitting they were now "fighting for our lives".
And their nightmare continued yesterday as police and social services met in Leicestershire to discuss their response to Madeleine's disappearance in relation to the welfare of the couple's other two children, two-year-old twins Seán and Amelie.
Despite yesterday's developments in Portugal, there was no indication that the dark cloud of suspicion hanging over the McCanns might be lifted any time soon. The Portuguese police have eight months in which to investigate a case before requiring permission to continue with their inquiries.
Independent criminal lawyer Dr Joao Olivereira Trindade told the BBC the public prosecutor could recommend the investigation continue, choose to charge the McCanns with a crime or alternatively place restrictions on their movements. To do that, however, Dr Trindade said the prosecutor would have to decide what type of crime had been committed, specifically whether it was a homicide and, if so, whether it had been intentional or unintentional.
After it was reported that Mr and Mrs McCann have consulted Kingsley Napley, one of Britain's foremost law firms, the couple last night also faced the additional challenge of raising funds to meet legal costs as yet impossible to predict in their quest to prove their innocence in any criminal case brought against them.
More than £1 million has so far been donated to Madeleine's fund, Leaving No Stone Unturned, set up to help investigate Madeleine's disappearance and secure her safe return.
However, the president of the West London Law Society, solicitor Julian Young, suggested that using the fund money to help pay for legal advice was not an option. After the couple were formally named as suspects, a family friend was quoted saying the fund was looking into whether it could pay for legal advice being given to the McCanns.
However, Mr Young said: "People have given money to help fund the child's return and not help the parents . . . They should not be able to, because it was not what the money was given for. It was not in the stated reasons. If it had been said originally that the money was wanted to help with legal fees then people perhaps would not have been so generous."
London-based Kingsley Napley partners Michael Caplan QC and Angus McBride have some 50 years' experience in criminal and international law between them. Catherine Wolthuzen, chief executive of Fair Trials Abroad, said: "At this stage it looks like they are paying a lawyer in Portugal and might intend to keep paying for a senior defence lawyer in Britain as well. It might be they are going to look for legal advice for quite a long time on issues relating to evidence gathering, the police investigation and extradition."
A member of the McCann family alleged yesterday that Mr and Mrs McCann had been named as suspects because the Portuguese police wanted to "clear up" the investigation.
Mr McCann's sister, Philomena McCann, echoed widespread suspicions about the conduct of the case, telling GMTV: "All I can suggest is that the Portuguese police are clutching at straws, they want to get this case cleared up. Kate and Gerry have been a thorn in their side for a long time. What better than to cast them as villains?"
Meanwhile the Most Rev Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Birmingham, said he had no insight into what had happened to Madeleine but that her parents were a couple who "appeal to people's hearts" and "come across as devoted parents".
Psychologist Dr Glenn Wilson, from King's College, London said that - while if there was "some kind of closure" it might help - "as it stands" the McCanns face "an awful life sentence".