Madeleine police fly in for 'tapas seven' interviews

Portuguese police are arriving in the UK tomorrow to sit in as the friends of Kate and Gerry McCann are interviewed.

The detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, who is in charge of the Madeleine McCann case, will not actually question the friends of the couple but will be present at interviews carried out by officers from Leicestershire Constabulary.

The McCanns, from Rothley, Leicestershire, will not be questioned in relation to the disappearance of their four-year-old daughter from the Algarve holiday resort of Praia da Luz on May 3 last year.

Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the couple welcomed the interviews and were happy to be reinterviewed, but a request had not been made by Portuguese detectives.

Instead they will question the McCanns’ friends – known as the “Tapas Seven” - who were with them the night Madeleine disappeared.

They will be interviewed as witnesses and are free to leave at any time, a spokeswoman for Leicestershire Constabulary said. No lawyers will be present.

There had been speculation that diaries and Madeleine’s Cuddle Cat toy could be seized by Portuguese officers, but it is understood that no property will be searched or seized.

The Portuguese officers are expected to land at East Midlands Airport at 12.20pm on the flight from Faro.

They will be met by British officers and are expected to avoid the public arrivals lounge by being escorted out through a private exit once they have cleared customs.

The Portuguese officers are staying at a hotel in Leicester city centre. Some of the interviews may begin tomorrow but Leicestershire Constabulary will not say where they are being held although it is believed they will take place at the force’s headquarters in Enderby.

A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Constabulary said: “Leicestershire Constabulary will be co-ordinating the execution of the request for mutual legal assistance made by the Portuguese authorities.

“The Portuguese authorities have asked that the contents of the request and the way it is being executed be kept confidential so as not to prejudice their ongoing investigation.”

The process of interviewing key witnesses will last several weeks but the Portuguese detectives will return home from interviewing the Tapas Seven at the end of the week.

It is 11 months since Madeleine disappeared from the holiday resort of Praia da Luz. Kate, 40, and her husband, 39-year-old Gerry, remain arguidos – formal suspects.

Under Portuguese law, the status allows them to make a list of people they would like detectives to question in order to support their case that they had nothing to do with the disappearance of their daughter.

The Tapas Seven are on the list, which currently stands at more than 50. But it is understood their inclusion is not the reason they are being interviewed this week.

However, there will be other interviews with witnesses identified by the McCanns that will be conducted by Portuguese officers over the next few weeks.

It includes the names of staff at the resort, holidaymakers who helped searched for Madeleine and the McCanns’ relatives who can vouch for their mental state when they returned from Portugal.

The McCanns will not be in Leicestershire for the duration of the visit by Mr Rebelo and his team.

On Wednesday, they travel to Brussels to lobby for MEPs for better co-ordination between European countries when a child goes missing.

They will return to Leicestershire on Thursday evening before the Portuguese officers fly home.

Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ family spokesman, said the trip had been organised long before the Portuguese officers said they wanted to re-interview the Tapas Seven this week.