PORTUGAL:The mother of missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann was questioned by Portuguese police yesterday as the investigation received fresh impetus with new forensic evidence from Britain.
Kate McCann arrived at the police station in Portimão yesterday accompanied by her lawyer, Carlos Pinto de Abreu, for what was her first formal police interview in four months. Madeleine's father, Gerry, is due to be questioned separately today.
"Kate and Gerry are happy to help the police in their investigations to find their daughter, as they have since she was taken," a spokeswoman for the family said.
The decision to re-interview the McCanns appeared to be a consequence of test results sent from the Forensic Science Service in England on Wednesday.
Evidence analysed by the laboratory reportedly includes blood samples gathered in the apartment in Praia da Luz where Madeleine went missing while her parents ate at a nearby restaurant.
The Portuguese press speculated yesterday that the scientific evidence provided further support to theories that Madeleine had died, possibly on the night she disappeared and in the apartment itself.
There was no confirmation of that, however, and the respected Publico newspaper, while quoting unnamed police sources prepared to back the speculation, also warned that previous fresh leads have come to nothing.
In a statement issued yesterday, Mrs McCann said she still believed her daughter was alive. "I miss Madeleine so much," she said.