Tonight police were searching a villa just 150 yards from the apartment where Madeleine was abducted.

The house, known as Casa Liliana, was sealed off with tape by police while men in white suits and masks began a search inside.

Police guards were on the doors outside. Earlier today the detective leading the investigation admitted that he has "no idea" where the four-year-old is.

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The McCanns this morning

Police are searching a villa just 150 yards from the apartment where Madeleine was abducted

Madeleine's father Gerry said: "Until there is concrete evidence to the contrary, we believe Madeleine is safe and being looked after."

Clutching one of the girl's toys, his wife Kate said: "We cannot even consider returning home at the moment - absolutely cannot let it into my head."

It was the first time in a week that the couple, both 38, have agreed to answer questions from the media. Their statement comes amid speculation that Portuguese police have made little or no progress since the girl's disappearance from a Mark Warner resort in Praia da Luz on 3 May.

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A close-up of the distinctive defect in Madeleine's right eye

The McCanns believe Madeleine's distinctive right eye - where her pupil merges into the blue-green iris - will be vital in getting her back.

It can be clearly seen on an appeal poster and Mrs McCann said: "We want to make the most of it, because we know her hair could potentially be cut or dyed."

Asked today how he and his wife were coping, Mr McCann said: "It is extremely difficult. We have had excellent help from trauma consultants that has enabled us to use certain tools to help us look forward and channel our emotions. It has helped us direct emotions that are negative and channel everything into looking forward."

Holding his wife's hand as he spoke, he said the couple had taken "tremendous comfort" from public support both in Portugal and the UK, adding: "You have seen our family and close friends both here and back home doing everything they can to keep the profile of the case high.

"We have taken advice and been told that that is very important for the case. We hope that people can take the despair they have felt and channel it into positive action. We have said we must look forward and turn hope into action.

"We have taken tremendous strength from the warmth and support we have received here and in the UK that has given us great encouragement that we will find Madeleine safe and well."

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Kate McCann showing the huge strain she is under

Mr McCann said he was now being helped by two British lawyers from the Family Law Centre on how best to use money pledged to help find Madeleine and give assistance in Portuguese legal processes.

He said: "We have felt a burden lifted from our shoulders. It is one less thing to think about. It has allowed us to concentrate more on our own physical and mental wellbeing.

"We do need to spend more time focusing on that and with our twins Sean and Amelie. We do wish to keep communicating with the media however as this is essential in the search for Maddy."

He also praised the "excellent job" done by holiday company Mark Warner and its spokesman Alex Woolfull in assisting them. The McCanns, from Rothley, Leicestershire, are today making final preparations to base themselves and their two-year-old twins in Portugal for "as long as it takes".

The photograph that clearly shows Madeleine's eyes

Mr and Mrs McCann will take indefinite leave from their jobs as doctors. In the next few days the couple are expected to leave the complex and move into a rented villa nearby.

Meanwhile, Philomena McCann said she barely recognised her brother, Gerry, because of the stress and exhaustion he is under.

Speaking in Edinburgh, Ms McCann also voiced fears that Madeleine, who has never before been separated from her family, could now be anywhere in Europe.

Her comments came as she visited the Scottish Parliament in a bid to keep the search for her niece in the public eye.

Meeting the leaders of Scotland's main political parties, she urged politicians to do everything they could to highlight the case on the global stage.

She said: "It's all about a young, vulnerable person being taken away from the bosom of their family where they belong and that has hit everybody really hard."

Asked how the child's parents were bearing up, she said: "When I see Gerry, that's not him. That's a stressed-out individual that I barely recognise.

"When I see him and Kate, I just worry about the level of stress on them because they look exhausted. You hear it in his voice all the time, it's cracking."

Madeleine's uncle, John McCann, was also at Holyrood to meet Scotland's political leaders. He spoke to Gerry this morning and said he remains hopeful.

"He made a very bright statement, a very optimistic statement," Mr McCann said of his brother.

"We've got specific initiatives to be achieved and that's what we are doing.

"Until we hear otherwise, we are focusing on getting our lovely wee girl back to her father."

The family's efforts are now completely focused on maintaining the profile of the case and increasing pressure on local police - while avoiding making any overt criticism of the force themselves for fear of turning detectives against them.

It comes as one of the men overseeing the hunt, Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, told one British newspaper he had "no clues and no suspects" in the hunt.

Today Mrs McCann's mother Sue Healy said the couple had faced "the terrible dilemma" of whether to leave the country and return home - but had decided they must stay on.

Mrs Healy said: "Kate has been very down but is being kept going by Gerry. He is incredibly focused on taking action to make sure this case remains high profile and to ensure Portuguese police are doing everything they can."