·  Madeleine McCann DNA 100 per cent match

All have been questioned at length, all have protested the McCanns' innocence, and one believes she saw the real kidnapper leaving the apartment with a child wrapped in a blanket.

Jane Tanner, 36: The mother-of-two believes she saw Madeleine's kidnapper carrying her away from the apartment wrapped in a blanket at 9.15pm. She thought nothing of it until the alarm was raised an hour later.

She said the man was 5ft 10in tall and aged about 35. Her description of the child's clothing matched Madeleine's pyjamas. Miss Tanner has never publicly discussed what she saw.

Dr Russell O'Brien, 36: Last month Dr O'Brien was to defend himself against "completely untrue and extremely hurtful" reports in Portuguese newspapers that he was to be named as a suspect. He left the dining table for 25 minutes to look after his young daughter, who was ill.

Dr O'Brien, who works in the Peninsula Medical School at the University of Plymouth's Exeter campus, lived near the McCanns in Leicester before moving to Devon with Miss Tanner.

Rachael Oldfield, 36: Recruitment consultant and mother of a 22-month-old daughter. She spoke for the first time last month to dismiss "hurtful and ludicrous" reports in the Portuguese press which suggested police had intercepted phone calls and emails between the McCanns and their friends which contradicted earlier statements they had given.

She said: "They are throwing mud at us and we are not able to defend ourselves."

Dr Matthew Oldfield, 37: Worked with Gerry McCann at a Leicester hospital before moving to London with his wife Rachael. He works in the endocrinology

department of Kingston Hospital, Surrey.

Together with his wife and Dr O'Brien, he was one of three witnesses brought by Portuguese police to a meeting in July with Robert Murat, then the only named suspect, to discuss discrepancies over their accounts of what happened that night. They had said they saw Murat near the apartment but he insisted he was at home all evening.

Dr Fiona Payne, 34: She and husband David stayed in the Algarve to support the McCanns after Madeleine's disappearance.

With two children of their own, they are reported to have been the only couple in the group to have used a baby monitor that night. Issued a statement last week protesting the McCanns' innocence.

David Payne, 41: Senior research fellow in cardiovascular sciences at Leicester University. Helped run the Find Madeleine campaign after May 3.

Like his wife, he has never given an interview but broke his silence last week to say: "We know they didn't do it. One of our party saw Madeleine being abducted. We were waiting for something to happen but didn't in our worst nightmare think it would be this."

Dianne Webster: Fiona Payne's mother. She told police that on the night each couple was responsible for looking after their own children. Has given no interviews.