Churches in Rothley and Praia da Luz will be remembering
and praying for Madeleine this Saturday, exactly half a
year since her disappearance, but reports were
suggesting this week that police had little or no
evidence at their disposal to support any single theory.
National police director Alípio Ribeiro has,
especially since the departure of former lead
investigator Gonçalo Amaral, been repeatedly heard
stressing that "all lines of investigation remain open".
Quoting police or forensic sources, a number of
Portuguese newspapers have termed evidence at the
police's disposal as "meaningless" and "inconclusive".
They have also reported that any subsequent action
against Kate and Gerry McCann, who remain suspects in
their daughter's disappearance, hinges uniquely on DNA
test results from the Forensic Science Service in
Birmingham, which have been in their possession for
almost three months.
Despite the cloud of suspicion hanging over him, and
following confirmation that the McCanns had used cash
from the Find Madeleine Fund to pay two instalments of
their mortgage, Mr McCann initiated a "phased return" to
work at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester after he
reported for duty on Thursday morning.
Separately, despite media speculation this week that
Robert Murat a police suspect in the case since May 14
would be questioned, reports indicate that for the
time-being there are no plans to speak to him.
A police source explained earlier in the week that
any new visits to the villa he shares with his mother in
Praia da Luz, were unlikely unless new evidence
warranting this emerged.
But following the reconstruction of the crime scene
on Monday, and a detailed review of evidence by the new
chief of the investigation Paulo Rebelo, sources close
to Mr Murat have not ruled out him being summoned for a
review of his testimony with the new team of police
detectives.
Meanwhile, the Press Complaints Commission in Britain
says it has this week been inundated with complaints
following an article in The Mirror criticising
Portugal's Ambassador to Britain, António Santana
Carlos.
The article in The Mirror by Tony Parsons follows an
interview between the Ambassador and The Times, in which
he said the Madeleine McCann case has seriously damaged
relations between the two countries.
Mr Parsons, responding to the piece, argues that the
strained relations are "the fault of the spectacularly
stupid Portuguese police".
The Mirror article also attacks the Portuguese
public, saying: "The sight of locals jeering at Kate
McCann as she went in for questioning made me feel as
though these leering bumpkins were not from another
country, but another planet."
The article concludes with another attack on the
Ambassador: "If you can't say something constructive
about the disappearance of little Madeleine, then just
keep your stupid, sardine-munching mouth shut."