Robert Murat is taking legal action against four of the McCanns' friends

BRITON Robert Murat, wrongly labelled a suspect in the Madeleine investigation, is taking legal action against four of the McCanns’ friends, it was revealed yesterday.

The estate agent has lodged a “criminal complaint” against Jane Tanner, 39, who claimed she saw a man carrying a child near the McCanns’ holiday apartment on the night Madeleine vanished.

A second complaint has been made against Ms Tanner’s partner, Dr Russell O’Brien, and Fiona Payne and Rachael Oldfield, also members of the so-called Tapas Seven.

It is understood that the complaints centre on allegations that the four gave evidence to Portuguese police which led to them making Mr Murat, 35, a suspect in the investigation.

The expat, who lived in Praia da Luz at the time, was found to have no involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.

Details of the allegations, lodged at a court in Lagos in the Algarve, are unclear because under Portuguese law the parties involved cannot discuss them.