Police 'issued wrong description of Madeleine suspect'

Portuguese police got a crucial fact wrong in their description of the man thought to have abducted Madeleine McCann, a family source said today.

Details were released last Friday by Policia Judiciaria (PJ) of a white man, 5ft 10ins, aged between 35 and 40.

But the height reference was thought to be out by around three inches.

The apparent blunder came after the Portuguese authorities were forced to reverse their decision not to release any information about the suspect.

The change came after Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry spoke to Chancellor Gordon Brown and let it be known they were considering legal action to ensure the description was put out.

The McCanns always knew about the sighting because it came from one of their friends who spotted a man carrying a child around the time Madeleine disappeared.

Police spokesman Olegario Sousa issued the description at a press conference in Portimao at the end of last week.

But it has emerged that the height given on the Portguese press release was 170cm (5ft 7ins) whereas it appeared as 5ft 10ins in the English version.

The family source said: "The police have made a mistake, the description they gave was of a man who is 5ft 10ins but they have somehow managed to get it wrong.

"The description they were given was of a man who is 5ft 7ins - it seems the description was lost in translation.

"What has happened is that the police have given out the description of quite a tall man when they should have been talking about someone who is relatively short.

"It is a big mistake and it is not good enough."