Kelvin (Site Owner/Admin)

By Nick Britten Last Updated: 4:00PM BST 02/07/2008

Now it is understood they have been placed in an £8,000 retainer while a new team has been assembled in London, primarily in the hope that the police files into the investigation will be released, giving them new clues to follow up.

The McCanns are expected to have their arguido status lifted in the coming weeks.

When it is, their lawyers will demand access to the paperwork.

The files, thought to run to several boxes, will be passed to a team of private detectives to pour through looking for fresh leads.

They are believed to contain no theory about what may have happened to the four-year-old, but may well throw up new leads.

Details about the new team, and what they are being paid, are being kept under wraps.

A source close to the McCanns said today: "There is a new team working on it, based primarily in the UK although there are elements working abroad. "

They don't want to be identified for operational reasons.

If we get access to any official documentation - either from Portugal or Britain - it will be examined by them.

"Any active leads it is felt the police have not followed up properly or left open-ended, they would move on."

Friends and neighbours of Gerry and Kate McCann this morning vowed to stand by the couple and called for the Portuguese police to “leave them alone”.

After news emerged that Portuguese police are closing their inquiry into Madeleine's death, residents in Rothley, Leics, accused the police of bungling the investigation and called for the couple's status as suspects to be lifted immediately.

Mr McCann, 39, and his 40-year-old wife have been told they will know their fate by the middle of August.

Technically the public prosecutor could still press ahead with a prosecution but in the light of such lack of evidence and the police shelving their investigation it is virtually inconceivable.

Extract From: Telegraph.co.uk

Extract from: thisislondon.co.uk

PA and AP Tuesday, 1 July 2008

Extract from: independent.co.uk

Extract from Largs and Millport Weekly News.

EXCLUSIVE Security beefed up after evil threats

By Tom Latchem And Tracey Kandohla Tom.Latchem@People.Co.Uk

By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter Last Updated: 3:08AM BST 21/06/2008

Kate and Gerry McCann are to ask a High Court judge to order the release of police documents which they hope will kick-start the search for their missing daughter Madeleine, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Kate and Gerry McCann are determined to everything necessary to search for their daughter The McCanns hope their application to Mrs Justice Hogg will result in Leicestershire Police opening their files on scores of reported sightings of Madeleine, most of which have been passed on to them by police in Portugal, where the four-year-old disappeared in May last year.

Until now police in Leicestershire, the McCanns' home county, have refused the couple's requests for information about sightings, saying they are bound by the terms of an agreement with Portuguese police.

But Mr and Mrs McCann, who retain the services of a Spanish-based detective agency, are anxious to make sure that every possible lead has been checked out, which they believe the Portuguese police, whose investigation is gradually being wound down, may not be able to do.

The Telegraph can also disclose that Madeleine was made a ward of court last summer at the request of the McCanns, to empower judges to act in her best interests in any legal dispute such as the case which is about to be heard.

Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman, said: “I can state that on the instigation of Gerry and Kate McCann Madeleine is a ward of the High Court of England and Wales. “

An application has been made on Madeleine’s behalf by her parents for disclosure of certain documents.

The hearing is currently scheduled for July 7 in the High Court in London.

“It has been the stated intention of Gerry and Kate McCann to leave no stone unturned in doing everything necessary to search for their daughter, as would any parent. “

This application is just part of their search for Madeleine.

Madeleine’s status as a ward of court has never been disclosed by her parents, who quietly made a wardship application in the High Court just weeks after she went missing.

The couple’s legal team had advised them to ask for Madeleine to be made a ward of court because wardship status gives the courts certain statutory powers to act on her behalf in legal disputes such as the one which has arisen with Leicestershire police.

They still believe their daughter is alive and hope the police files may contain information which could yet lead to a breakthrough.

The case is listed to be heard in open court on July 7 in the Family Division of the High Court in London, and is expected to be contested by Leicestershire Police, according to legal sources.

Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns' spokesman, said: "Kate and Gerry have always said that they will do whatever is necessary to find Madeleine and that they will leave no stone unturned in their search for their daughter. "

They will take whatever legal steps are necessary if there is information out there that can assist their private investigation into finding Madeleine.

Beyond that I cannot make any comment.

Mr Mitchell said the hearing would not involve any attempt by the McCanns to clear their names by proving they were not involved in their daughter's disappearance from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.

They remain official suspects, or arguidos, in Portugal.

In recent months the couple have become increasingly frustrated at the slow progress of the Portuguese investigation, and they suspect that many possible sightings of Madeleine have not been followed up at all.

If they are given access to the police files on reported sightings, each one will be looked into by private investigators retained by the couple.

For the past year the McCanns have employed Metodo 3, a Barcelona-based detective agency, to carry out an investigation in parallel with the Portuguese police inquiry.

The agency has checked out sightings as far afield as North Africa and South America – all of which have proved to be false – using either its own staff or affiliated firms, which it says it can do far more quickly than the police.

In one instance earlier this year, the agency ruled out a sighting of Madeleine in Chile within three hours of receiving a tip-off, by employing local investigators to track down the girl concerned.

The agency argues that police would have taken days to achieve a similar result because they would have been hampered by bureaucracy and official procedure.

Earlier this week Portugal's Attorney General suggested that police files may be opened up at the end of July, but the McCanns fear his comments may prove to be another false dawn.

Their case is being heard in the Family Division because it involves the welfare of a child.

Mrs Justice Hogg, a specialist in child welfare cases, is the sister of former cabinet minister Douglas Hogg and the daughter of former Lord Chancellor Lord Hailsham.

Extract from: Telegraph

More MEPs have backed Leicestershire couple Gerry and Kate McCann's call for a European child abduction alerts system.

The McCanns visited the European Parliament in Strasbourg needing another 182 signatures to make up the 393 needed to have their proposal published and sent to the European Commission president.

Now the Rothley couple are just 85 short following a ADVERTISEMENT series of meetings with MEPs.

The extra names, giving them 308 in total, mean they have until september to collect the rest.

Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns' spokesman, said: "Kate and Gerry McCann are very pleased with the support of MEPs since their visit.

"Clearly 85 more MEPs need to be convinced and that work will be continuing very much behind the scenes. "

Kate and Gerry are hopeful they can achieve those signatures before the deadline of July 24.

A declaration signed by a majority of MEPs would carry no legal weight but it would indicate a political will to see the alerts system implemented.

Madeleine McCann went missing from her family's holiday apartment, in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3 last year and has never been found.

The McCanns believe a European version of the Amber Alert system in the US, which notifies the public via media across the US when police confirm a child has been abducted, would have helped the search for their daughter, then aged three, in the crucial hours after her disappearance.

Extract from Press Association

The parents of Madeleine McCann are on course to win the vital backing of MEPs for a Europe-wide child abduction alert system.

In the 36 hours since the start of their visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, another 72 Euro MPs signed up to their campaign, said the McCanns' spokesman.

However, in what could be a critically important development, the couple have also been told that the parliament's president is set to give them more time to secure the support required.

Gerry and Kate McCann need the signatures of 393 members - that is more than half the total number - by July 24 to see a written declaration of the cross-border alert published and sent to the European Commission President.

A signed declaration carries no legal weight but suggests a political will to see such a scheme implemented.

The McCanns launched their drive for the US-style Amber Alert in Brussels in April, but travelled to Strasbourg needing another 182 members' signatures.

Officials said they had received a modest 15 additional names by the end of their day-long visit.

But the Leicestershire couple's gruelling series of meetings with leading MEPs throughout the day appears to have paid off with a surge of support.

They needed another 110 MEPs to sign the declaration with the prospect of extra weeks to secure the necessary signatures.

The McCanns' spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: "We are keen to get the number by the end of July but we are extremely encouraged by the number of MEPs who have signed it.

The hard work will continue until we get the required 110 signatures, but there's the possibility of the period being extended under European Parliament rules and that's a major boost.

Extract from The press association

By Caroline Gammell Last Updated: 5:04PM BST 17/06/2008

Kate and Gerry McCann are hopeful that their attempt to set up a European-wide missing child alert system could succeed after a number of meetings with MEPs in Strasbourg.

Gerry and Kate McCann have been speaking to MEPs The couple spent the day trying to convince parliamentarians that they should sign a written declaration which, if it gets enough support, will be sent to the European President and published.

They have now gathered 225 signatures and need a further 168 by the close of the plenary session at the end of July to ensure the declaration is formally recognised.

Although it carries no legal weight, the McCanns believe it will help them win the moral argument over whether such a cross-border system is needed.

Mr McCann said: "This is an important issue and Europe needs to work together.

We want to get as many signatures as possible but there's limited time left.

The couple, 40, from Rothley in Leicestershire, launched the drive for an American-style Amber Alert in April, 11 months after Madeleine went missing from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve.

They believe a European version of Amber Alert - which notifies the public via media across America when police confirm a child has been abducted - would have helped the search for their daughter in the crucial hours after her disappearance.

The couple's spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: We are very encouraged by the support that many MEPs have shown by saying they will sign the declaration.

Kate and Gerry believe it is achievable.

In Portugal, the Attorney General Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro told a local newspaper that the couple should find out in July what evidence the police have against them after months of secrecy.

The couple, who are "arguidos" or formal suspects in the disappearance of their daughter, should get full access to the police files, he said.

"From July the (Madeleine) case will cease to be covered by judicial secrecy, and will be available to consultation by all parties involved," he told 24 Horas. "

I do not know which date, but in July the case ceases to be covered by judicial secrecy.

" Mr Mitchell gave a cautious welcome to the news: "

Despite the attorney general's comment in the Portuguese press, neither Kate and Gerry, nor their lawyers, have heard nothing to this effect.

"They simply will not be commenting until it is known for a fact that the judicial secrecy is lifted. "

If that happens, clearly this is something to be welcomed.

Their lawyers would once again urge the authorities to lift their arguido status as soon as possible.

Judicial secrecy is normally lifted in Portugal after eight months, but investigating judge Pedro Frias has previously granted extensions to the period after state prosecutor Jose Magalhaese Menezes argued the case was "exceptionally complicated.

The McCanns still face the possibility of charges of neglecting their daughter and court documents disclosed last month confirmed they could face "abandonment" charges, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.

It is understood for such a charge to succeed prosecutors would have to show the McCanns intended to neglect their daughter.

Last updated at 18:22pm on 17.06.08

The McCanns will be told of evidence against them Gerry and Kate McCann will finally be told what evidence police have against them next month, Portugal's most senior law officer revealed today.

The couple will be given full access to the confidential case files.

The development will be a massive boost to the couple as they arrived in Strasbourg to urge MEPs to back their campaign for a Europe-wide alert system.

Gerry and Kate believe such cross-border co-operation would have helped police find their daughter when she went missing from their holiday flat on the Algarve in May last year aged three.

Attorney general Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro told daily newspaper 24 Horas: "From July, the (Madeleine) case will cease to be covered by judicial secrecy, and will be available to consultation by all parties involved.

"I do not know which date, but in July the case ceases to be covered by judicial secrecy."

Access to the confidential police files will allow the McCanns to begin building a defence - and demand that they are cleared.

24 Horas speculated the judicial secrecy will end on July 14 - more than 10 months after the couple were named suspects.

The McCanns, both 40-year-old doctors from Rothley, Leics, were made official suspects last September but have never been arrested or charged and vigorously deny any wrongdoing.

Their official spokesman Clarence Mitchell has previously described the endless delays in the process as "inhumane". Judicial secrecy is normally lifted in Portugal after eight months.

But investigating judge Pedro Frias has previously granted extensions to the period after state prosecutor Jose Magalhaese Menezes argued the case is "exceptionally complicated".

Madeleine McCann disappeared on May 3 last year Madeleine disappeared from her family's rented holiday apartment in the Ocean Club, in Praia da Luz, on May 3 last year.

Her parents left Madeleine and twins Sean and Amelie, now two, sleeping while they dined at a nearby restaurant with seven holiday friends.

The McCanns still face the possibility of charges of neglecting their daughter.

Court documents revealed last month confirmed they could face "abandonment" charges, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.

It is understood that for such a charge to succeed, prosecutors would have to show the McCanns intended to neglect their daughter.

The police inquiry also covers possible abduction, homicide and concealment of a corpse.

Today a source at the court in Portimao told 24 Horas the case was not a priority.

The source said: "The Maddie case is not a priority. Nobody has been arrested. There is evidence of neglect or abandonment of the children, but that prosecution can wait."

The Portuguese authorities have previously been accused of using the secrecy laws to cover up their incompetence.

The President of the Portuguese Order of Lawyers, Antonio Marinho e Pinto, said: "There are strong reasons to fear that judicial secrecy is being used to conceal the fact that the police have gone down a blind alley and don't have a way out."

The McCann's lawyer Rogerio Alves reacted cautiously to the attorney general's statement, saying he understands he will not have access to the files until August. Portugal's courts take a month long summer break from July 15.

Mr Alves told 14 Horas: "I'm not going to comment on the case, but the information we have is that we will only have access to the case in August."

Extract from: thisislondon.co.uk

Emergency alert is a false alarm ... Published on Monday, Jun 16, 2008

Emergency alert is a false alarm Never mind.

There was no ''civil emergency'' in Akron or the surrounding six counties, as an electronic message on all television stations showed briefly around 10 p.m. Sunday.

Time Warner spokesman Bill Jasso said the cable company has no control over emergency messages and the mistake was traced to a dispatcher in Tuscarawas County attempting to issue an amber alert for a missing child.

The wrong message was sent out to all six counties.

But the child was found.

We have since heard that the message sent out was the wrong one and its being reported that the child was found.

Did you see this Civil Emergency Message and if so what did you make of it?

Do you think television stations should have a little more control over what is shown or should they still be bypassed when it’s an emergency?

Extract taken from Ohio.com

McCanns' new Euro MPs plea By Martin Fricker 14/06/2008

Kate and Gerry McCann will go back to the European Parliament next week in a last-ditch effort to persuade MEPs to back their missing child alert system.

The couple visited Strasbourg in April and begged for support for a scheme that would automatically alert police in all EU states as soon as a child goes missing.

But only a quarter of MEPs have signed up so far - and they need at least half of the Parliament's 785 members if it is to become law.

And they need the signatures by the end of the month.

The McCann's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "We remain confident we will get them It's normal for MEPs to wait until the last minute to."

The family say Madeleine, four, who vanished in May 2007, may have been found if there had been alert system.

Get your MEP to sign by writing to them at European Parliament, Correspondence with Citizens, GOL03A012, L-2929 LUXEMBOURG.

Extract From: Mirror.co.uk

Jun 6 2008 By Joanne Curran

A CHARITY boss is facing the sack over a sick joke about Madeleine McCann.

Senior manager Lynn McBain has been suspended after referring in a staff newsletter to "McCann oven chips" disappearing from her oven after she left them there for 20 minutes .

Madeleine, four, disappeared 13 months ago in Portugal.

The 10-page booklet for Enable Scotland also insulted the family of a woman with learning difficulties, who is a client of the charity. McBain described the woman's sisters, from Ayrshire, as "witches" who had come to blows with staff.

The family complained to charity chiefs when they were shown a copy of the booklet.

McBain, who is in charge of the content of the monthly newsletter, was then suspended pending an investigation.

A source at Enable said: Lynn McBain is supposed to be a role model on how the staff behave and how they speak to other people.

The jokes she has allowed in to this news letter are beyond belief.

They are totally inappropriate and offensive.

"It was also very clear to Enable's Ayrshire staff which family were being referred to in the story she wrote about 'the witches', which was also bang out of order."

In the newsletter, McBain, of West Kilbride, thanks her "lovely partner" for his "awful jokes" and invites people to send her ideas.

A spokesman for Enable said: "We were shocked and appalled by some of the contents that were inappropriate and offensive".

Our directors and trustees wish to apologise unreservedly to the families concerned for the offensive and unsuitable material in this newsletter."

Extract from The daily record

By Andy Bloxham Last Updated: 2:15AM BST 04/06/2008

The parents of Madeleine McCann are to go on their first holiday together since she was kidnapped in Portugal just over a year ago.

The parents of Madeleine McCann are to go on their first holiday together since she was kidnapped in Portugal just over a year ago, according to reports.

Kate and Gerry McCann, who are both 40, decided to take the break for the sake of their other children, twins Sean and Amelie, who are two, according to a family friend.

Madeleine was abducted from the family's apartment in the coastal resort of Praia da Luz, on the Algarve in Portugal, last May.

The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "It will be incredibly painful to contemplate going away without Madeleine but this is the reality they are faced with.

"Nothing has been booked yet, but one thing's certain – they won't be going to Portugal."

The family have spent only an occasional few days away from their home in Rothley, Leics, since returning from the Algarve on September 9, after Portuguese police made them official suspects.

A friend of the family told the Daily Mirror: "Everyone needs a holiday – Kate and Gerry included.

It's now 14 months since Madeleine was taken. Behind the scenes, there remains a lot of action to try and find her, but for Kate and Gerry life has returned as close to normality as they're likely to get.

After all they've been through, they want to give the twins a decent break to try and enjoy time as a family.

Extract from the Daily telegraph

Madeleine McCann's parents being investigated for negligence

By Laura Clout Last Updated: 11:36PM BST 28/05/2008

Portuguese police are investigating the possibility that the parents of Madeleine McCann were negligent when they left their daughter alone in their unlocked holiday apartment on the night she went missing.

According to the first published court ruling on the case, the investigation covers abduction, homicide, exposure or abandonment of a child, and concealment of a corpse.

The judgment, released by the Evora Supreme Court of Justice in Portimao, gives the first official glimpse into the course of the police inquiry, which has hitherto been guarded by Portugal’s strict judicial secrecy laws.

The reference to “abandonment” suggests that detectives are looking for evidence that Gerry and Kate McCann were negligent in leaving Madeleine and her twin 18-month-old siblings unsupervised while they ate dinner with friends on the evening she vanished.

Under Portuguese law, the crime of abandonment carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Mr and Mrs McCann, who are arguidos - or suspects - in their daughter’s disappearance, have repeatedly denied neglecting Madeleine, who was three when she vanished from the family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on 3 May 2007.

The couple, from Rothley in Leicestershire, have said they were just 50 yards away when their daughter went missing, and had made regular checks on the children throughout the evening.

The court ruling also revealed that the public prosecutor wants access to the content of text, audio and video messages from 10 mobile phones believed to belong to Mr and Mrs McCann and a group of their British friends known as the 'Tapas Seven’.

Police also want access to the content of 14 messages allegedly sent to Mr McCann’s mobile phone from an unidentified number the day before Madeleine disappeared, and to a further 4 messages from the same number which he received the day after she vanished.

They also want details of all calls between members of the group between 8pm on May 3 and noon the following day.

The judgment was published after Judge Fernando Ribeiro Cardoso rejected the prosecutor’s appeal against a decision not to grant the interception of the calls and messages.

It offers the first official glimpse into the investigation for Mr and Mrs McCann, who have spoken of their frustration at being denied access to crucial police files.

Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns said: “Certainly its encouraging that they are investigating whether Madeleine was abducted, because that’s what happened, as Kate and Gerry have always said.

“Quite frankly, they would like to see them [the Portuguese police] doing more searching on the ground.”

He added that according to legal advice which they were given, the actions of the couple on May 3 had been “well within the bounds of responsible parenting”.

Kate and Gerry are backing a scheme to trace missing children using the social networking websites Facebook and Bebo.

Kate and Gerry have welcomed the initiative by charity Missing People, which will mean Facebook users can view details of missing youngsters on their own page.

In a statement the couple said: “We strongly support and encourage this new initiative to use Facebook to increase awareness of missing children.“

Using the power of social media in this way will undoubtedly capture the attention — and hopefully the help — of a younger population who are a hugely valuable and resourceful group.

“We would urge the millions of Facebook users around the world to keep looking and to do what they can to help bring these children home. “

This initiative by Missing People, British Telecom and all those supporting them, is another highly commendable and positive step in protecting and helping children.

Missing People has set up an application for Facebook users to download, which will mean information on current appeals will be displayed on their homepage.

The charity is also joining Bebo’s “Be Cause”, an internet site which gives information for young people about charities and campaign groups, to publicise its 24-hour Runaway Helpline.

It hopes to access millions of internet users in its quest to find thousands of youngsters who go missing each year.

The charity’s own website has attracted 40 million “hits” in the year since it was launched, and Missing People already posts film clips on YouTube.

Missing People Chief Executive Paul Tuohy said: “If every Facebook user downloaded our BT-powered application, millions of people internationally could see an appeal that could help us to reunite a family.

In the last 12 months Missing People has dealt with 13,000 queries about under-18s who have vanished, including 2,000 about children under 13.

It is launching the new scheme to coincide with International Missing Children’s Day today, which will see a number of cases highlighted including the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Other missing youngsters being brought back into the spotlight are Paige Chivers, a 15-year-old who went missing from Blackpool last year, and Andrew Gosden, 14, who was last seen at King’s Cross train station in September.

International Missing Children’s day was created to mark the abduction of six-year-old Etan Patz in New York in 1979, who has never been found.

By Marc Baker

Defiant Kate and Gerry McCann have rejected a new plea to help re-create the night their daughter Maddie vanished.

The couple had a tense showdown with Portuguese cops last week.

After refusing to fly back, they have now been told to reply "within days" to yet another request for them to attend a reconstruction in two weeks.

But sources say they will again say no.

Police want Kate, 40, and Gerry, 39, and their Tapas Seven pals to return.

But the couple have "grave reservations" about cops' motives.

They fear police aren't interested in finding Maddie and only want to charge them with neglect over the disappearance of Maddie, now five, in Praia da Luz last May.

Spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "They're still considering what to do."

Extract from: The People

Is the world full of heartless people, I say this because the other night the Administrator of another site that I communicate with (KTPH.org) contacted me to tell me that there was a lady talking to him on MSM, who used this hotmail address cheaky.cow@hotmail.com.

She was alleging to be with Madeleine McCann.

The next day she contacted him and said it was a joke.

Well not a very good joke if you ask me, a totally thoughtless careless joke that was totally unnecessary.

This is not the first time that we have had Hoaxers and I am sure it will not be the last, but it makes you think to yourself, how do there minds work.

Kelvin

'Maddie' spotted on a plane: Date of this article 13.05.08

By STAFF REPORTER, THE SUN NEWSPAPER

A plane passenger claims to have seen Maddie, who went missing from Portugal on May 3 last year, on a jet about six weeks ago.

Interpol’s chief in Brazil, Jorge Pontes, confirmed the investigation. He said: "This sighting is still under investigation so we cannot reveal details.

We have a witness insisting they saw the child on a flight to Sao Paulo." The sighting was reported to Interpol by a foreign Embassy in Brazil.

But Brazilian police have refused to reveal which Embassy, claiming it could interfere with investigations.

There have been several sightings of Maddie, who turned five yesterday, in the country.

Brazilia Interpol delegate Marilia Moreira Marques said: "Five leads were followed in Brazil, most of them last year, however, we found nothing leading to Maddie’s whereabouts".

Their sightings dossier consists of around 40 pages. On May 11, 2007 "a man identified as Mark placed a call to England stating he had seen Maddie at a book fair in Cinelandia, central Rio de Janeiro", Ms Marques said.

The man reported the little blonde girl and a woman had entered a snack bar. The delegate added: "The people in the bar didn’t remember seeing them and there were no surveillance cameras, so it could be investigated no further".

The police investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann will reportedly stay shrouded in secrecy for at least another three months.

It was hoped restrictions on the release of the file from the inquiry in Portugal, a move pressed for by her parents' legal team, would be lifted on Thursday.

But the Portuguese state attorney has announced a further three-month extension to the period of judicial secrecy, according to news agency Lusa.

It would mean Gerry and Kate McCann, named formal suspects in their daughter's disappearance, face a summer of uncertainty over what police have done to find their daughter.

The couple, from Rothley in Leicestershire, became so frustrated at the dearth of information on the inquiry that they urged anyone who came forward as part of the official investigation to contact them

They had hoped that the police dossier would be made public this month.

According to Portugal's new penal code, the initial period of secrecy for an investigation now lasts eight months, at which point details of evidence and interviews can be made public.

It is understood this period is being interpreted by judges as eight months on from September 15 last year, the date the code was changed.

But the McCanns' lawyers have told them that the Portuguese authorities can grant two three-month extensions.

It is thought this could leave the couple in the dark until November 15, when prosecutors must decide if they are charging them.

The couple's spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: "We cannot comment on reports in Portugal that the judicial secrecy period has been extended by another three months as Kate and Gerry's legal advisors have yet to be officially informed of any such decision.

However, if it's the case, it's clearly disappointing and Kate and Gerry's lawyers will of course continue to press for the opening of the police file."

Extract from: Liverpool daily post

Doubts were raised after Kate and Gerry McCann publicly questioned the value of such an exercise so long after their daughter vanished.

But Rogerio Alves said there were "strong indications" that it could take place in the next two weeks.

Speaking at a police conference in Faro in the Algarve, he said: "We have little faith in the benefit of this step and how it can help to discover what happened to Madeleine.

But there are strong indications it will go ahead.

Portuguese detectives want Mr and Mrs McCann, from Rothley in Leicestershire, to return to the Algarve to re-enact the night of May 3 last year when their eldest child disappeared from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.

They have also asked the couple’s seven friends who dined with them at the nearby tapas bar when Madeleine vanished to go back to Portugal, but they are also thought to be hesitant about returning.

Clarence Mitchell, the McCann’s spokesman, said nothing had been decided.

The discussions about the possible visit by all nine are still ongoing," he said. "It is down to the friends - as well as Kate and Gerry - to decide whether they want to go back.

Of course, Kate and Gerry would do anything they could if they thought it would help find their daughter.

There are some serious questions surrounding the value of the proposed exercise and only when satisfactory answers have come in and all the friends are happy will it happen.

A source close to the McCanns, who are still suspects or arguidos in their daughter’s disappearance, said the couple could not understand why a reconstruction was being arranged now, more than a year on.

It is not going to be televised, so it won’t throw up any new leads outside the police investigation," said the source.

There are physical differences more than a year on, such as the hedgerows are a different height, for example.

And has anyone given any thought to how Kate might feel about taking part in a reconstruction with another child playing her daughter?

The debate over the reconstruction came as the judge in charge of the case decided to extend the secrecy laws surrounding the files for another three months.

This means the McCanns will keep their arguido status until August 15 at the earliest.

Mr Alves said he was not surprised about the extension: "It seems normal to me, I expected it.

What the judicial secrecy means in this case is that a mother and father are forbidden access to the knowledge they would like to have about what the police are doing to discover something fundamental for them - what happened to their daughter.

Extract from the Telegraph