Top detective takes over McCann inquiry

One of Portugal’s most senior detectives is taking charge of the Madeleine McCann case, officials said today.

Paulo Rebelo, a senior criminal investigation co-ordinator at national police headquarters in Lisbon, was appointed late last night after a meeting of police chiefs.

Mr Rebelo was expected to move to southern Portugal, where Madeleine vanished on May 3, and start work within days.

He has worked on several high-profile investigations in recent years, including sensational allegations that a child sex ring operated at a state-run children’s home.

Last week the detective previously overseeing the investigation was removed after he criticised British police in comments to a Portuguese newspaper.

Goncalo Amaral claimed British detectives co-operating in the investigation were being misled by Kate and Gerry McCann, who are official suspects in the case.

Madeleine disappeared a few days before her fourth birthday during a family holiday in the Algarve.

After initially focussing on the possibility that she was abducted from her hotel room, police switched their attention to her parents when forensic tests conducted at a government laboratory in Britain found evidence that DNA from Madeleine was in the boot of a rental car the parents used after her disappearance.

Police put them under investigation. However, Portugal’s national police chief, Alipio Ribeiro, said the forensic tests on the car were not conclusive and he expected the investigation to continue.

The McCanns insist they were not involved in their daughter’s disappearance and have run an international campaign to find their daughter.