Friends of the family of Madeleine McCann have confronted the man described by
police as the "formal suspect" in the case of the missing four-year-old
in an extraordinary meeting arranged by Portuguese detectives.
They were called to police headquarters in Portimao to face Robert Murat with
claims that they saw a man near the McCanns' apartment in Praia da Luz on the night she was abducted.
Mr Murat, 33, a British expatriate, has always insisted that he was at home
with his mother when Madeleine was taken on May 3 and maintains that he only
learnt about her disappearance the following morning when he joined in the
search.
Fiona Payne, 34, from Leicester, and Russell O'Brien, 36, from Exeter, both doctors, and another friend,
Rachael Oldfield, 36, formed part of the group which dined with Kate and Gerry
McCann in a nearby tapas restaurant on the night their daughter was snatched
from the room she shared with her two-year-old siblings, twins Sean and Amelie.
The three flew to Portugal
earlier this week at the request of the police.
They were asked to meet Mr Murat face to face in an interview room at the
police station in an attempt to establish whether Mr Murat could have been the
man they saw.
A police source said: "It is normal in Portugal for the two sides to be
brought together to try and find the truth.
"This is what happened on Wednesday," the source told local media.
The three family friends left the police station after two hours. But Mr Murat
was questioned for a total of six hours before leaving with his status
unchanged.
Mr Murat, a former estate agent who lives with his mother Jenny, 71, in a villa
less than 100 yards from the apartment where Madeleine, of Rothley, Leics, was taken was officially made an
"arguido", a formal suspect in the case, on May 15.
He became involved in the search for Madeleine the morning after her abduction
and was hired by police to act as a translator in the early stages of the
investigation.
He strenuously denies any involvement in her disappearance.
The McCanns have refused to discuss the investigation into Madeleine's
disappearance saying only that they have been assured by police that everything
is being done to find their daughter.
However, Mr McCann, in his blog, commented on his friends' visit to the police
station. "The Portuguese police interviewed three of our friends again, to
clarify points in their initial statements," he wrote.
"We would like to give more information, especially about inaccurate and
hurtful reports, but cannot for fear of prejudicing any subsequent court
proceedings.
"The Portuguese police have made it clear to us that all witnesses should
not divulge or discuss the information they have provided. Kate and I are, of
course, not party to all of the information coming into the inquiry for sound
operational reasons." |
