Friends of the parents of Madeleine McCann have condemned police leaks and a hurtful smear campaign in the Portuguese media which has labelled them as suspects in the disappearance of the four-year-old.

Seven friends who were dining with the McCanns when Madeleine was taken three months ago have come under increased scrutiny in Portugal as police investigate a new theory that she was killed inside her apartment.

One of the group, Rachael Oldfield, who was with her husband and their one-year-old girl in Praia da Luz, has now broken her silence, branding the allegations as "very hurtful and rather ludicrous".

Speaking from London, Mrs Oldfield said that she was not able to talk about the investigation, because of strict judicial secrecy laws in Portugal, but that the group were increasingly frustrated by a series of leaks and wild speculation.

She said: "I think there are some leaks coming from the police but a lot of what I have read recently has been completely untrue.

"Whether a journalist has had a bit of information and made the rest up, or the police are feeding some truth or untruths I just don't know."

Tabloid Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias has claimed that police have intercepted emails and phone calls between the McCanns and their friends in recent weeks which "prove" the theory Madeleine was killed inside the apartment.

The same paper claimed that it was specks of Madeleine's blood found by British sniffer dogs this week inside her apartment bedroom.
However the samples have only just been sent to a laboratory in Birmingham for tests, which could take up to two weeks to process.

Mrs Oldfield said: "They are throwing mud at us and we are not able to defend ourselves. It does not help to find Madeleine. We just have to hope the investigation progresses to a point where something concrete comes out of it."

She added that she still believed it was an abduction.

"There would only be a small window for somebody to do it (abduct Madeleine) but presumably if somebody had been watching our movements then it would have been possible," she said.

Mrs Oldfield was with her husband Matthew, a doctor, as part of a group of seven adults the McCanns were holidaying with.

The others dining on May 3 were the McCanns, Jane Tanner, Russell O'Brien, David and Fiona Payne and another person who has not been named, but is thought to be the mother of one of those present.

Kate and Gerry McCann said regular visits were made to check on the children as they ate 100 yards away from them at a tapas restaurant on the Ocean Club complex.

But the exact chronology of the night has never been revealed.

According to police statements leaked to Spanish magazine, Sol, Mr McCann checked the children at 9.05pm.

His friend Jane Tanner said that ten minutes after he returned to the table, it was her turn to check the rooms.

A few minutes later Dr Oldfield checked, entering the room and seeing the McCann children asleep.

An aerobics teacher from the resort who joined the table at 9.30pm said there was a vacant seat.

It was at 10pm that Mrs McCann discovered Madeleine had disappeared, and the twins remained sound asleep.

Some reports have claimed there were "discrepancies" between the times the group members had given to police on what happened on the night she disappeared.

Mrs Oldfield said this was not correct, adding: "When we gave a statement to police in Portugal we were told it is all confidential. We have stuck to that. We are all good citizens and have integrity."

British police are continuing to carry out a review of evidence in Portugal and specialist sniffer dogs have been searching beaches and scrubland areas.

Meanwhile, Mr and Mrs McCann continued to campaign for Madeleine's plight and wider issues of child protection.

Mrs McCann, speaking on Radio 4's Woman's Hour, called for a Europe-wide "quick response" system to react to reports of child abductions.

She said that abductions were more common than many parents realised.

Britain's child protection measures, such as the sex offenders' register and system of Criminal Record Bureau checks, should be enforced across the continent, she said.

She added that the United States - which her husband, Gerry, visited a few weeks ago - seemed far ahead in its ability to respond to child kidnappings.

Citing statistics from the Protect American's Children organisation, Mrs McCann said that during 2002-03 there were 1,000 attempted child abductions in England and Wales. She said 100 children were successfully kidnapped by strangers.

"It's really important that parents know these things and take extra care," she said. "Systems need to be in place across Europe for a quick-response for children that have gone missing. All countries in Europe should have a sex offenders register and Criminal Bureau Checks in place.

"It is important that the general public are informed about the scale of the problem. I was horrified of things that I have learned about since this happened."