The mystery benefactor behind Kate and Gerry McCann's fight back is a double-glazing magnate with a £250million fortune.
Brian Kennedy, who made his money from Everest windows, has pledged to meet all the growing costs of 'Team McCann', the nickname given to the array of legal and media advisers supporting the family.

A senior source close to Mr and Mrs McCann said Mr Kennedy, 47, decided to act after being moved by the plight of the missing girl's parents when they were made formal suspects in her disappearance.

Mr Kennedy is believed to have had no previous contact with the McCanns.

He made his offer shortly after it was made clear the McCanns would not be drawing on the £1million donated to the Find Madeleine Fund to pay for legal fees and media advice

Benefactor: Tycoon Brian Kennedy is supporting Kate and her husband Gerry

The couple had feared they would be forced to sell their home in Rothley, Leicestershire, as they struggled to rebut the leaks and allegations coming from the Portuguese authorities.

However, with Mr Kennedy's help, the McCanns have in recent weeks been able to take on former BBC reporter Clarence Mitchell and lawyers Kingsley Napley to fight their case. One of Britain's leading lawyers, Michael Caplan, QC, has also been employed.
Last week the couple's Portuguese legal team was strengthened with their lawyer Carlos Pinto de Abreu being joined by one of the country's brightest legal brains, Rogerio Alves.

Ed Smethurst, the in-house lawyer and legal director of Mr Kennedy's plastics firm, Latium, will also be on hand to assist the family. Despite not having a background in criminal law, it is understood his legal acumen and contacts could be of value.

In addition, funds will be made available for the continued efforts by the McCanns to find Madeleine. A leading international security firm founded by former SAS soldiers has been taken on to 'do the work that the Portuguese have failed to do'

In a move that underlines the couple's despair at the Portuguese police's handling of the inquiry, they have turned to Control Risks Group, which began 30 years ago by helping kidnap victims in Latin America. Using CRG is costing tens of thousands of pounds a week.

The McCanns' benefactor – who shares his name with Kate's uncle, but to whom he is not related – is the son of an Edinburgh window cleaner, who was brought up a Jehovah's Witness.

 

The double-glazing magnate will be funding 'Team Madeleine' as Kate and Gerry McCann continue searching for their daughter
He is one of Britain's richest businessmen. In 2003 he sold double-glazing firm Everest for £63million, three years after buying it for £47million.

Mr Kennedy's business empire includes about 20 firms spanning plastics, conservatory-roof manufacturer Ultraframe, glass processing, kitchens and other home improvement retailing. They have a combined annual turnover of £500million. He also owns Sale Sharks rugby club.

Reportedly described by friends as a rough diamond, the father of five plays rugby and regards himself as 'one of the lads'. He lives in the village of Swettenham, in Congleton, Cheshire, with his wife Christine. The average house price in the area is close to £1million.

The McCanns are believed to earn about £120,000 a year as doctors, but have not worked since May when Madeleine vanished. They were widely assumed to be dependent on a £100,000 donation made by Sir Richard Branson.

But Sir Richard was just one of several high-profile millionaires who have given them financial support. Others have included Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling and entrepreneurs Sir Tom Hunter, Sir Philip Green and easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou.

Most, however, have refused to get involved in their legal costs because of the 'sensitivities' of the investigation.

Last night Mr Kennedy said that he had been happy to step in.

He said: 'In light of the quite literally incredible accusations against Gerry and Kate McCann, which are clearly exacerbating their emotional torture, I felt compelled to offer, along with other like-minded businessmen, financial support and the full logistical support of the Latium team.

'That support is principally our in-house lawyer Ed Smethurst and Clarence Mitchell. This will relieve the McCanns of the daily pressure of co-ordinating the legal teams that will expedite the clearing of Gerry and Kate's names, allowing all parties to refocus on finding Madeleine.'

Madeleine has been missing since May 3

It is believed that Mr Mitchell, who resigned from the Cabinet Office's media monitoring team to take up the McCanns' cause, will work for Mr Kennedy once his job with Madeleine's parents comes to an end.

Mr Mitchell's predecessor, Justine McGuinness, quit her position eight days ago to launch her bid to become a Liberal Democrat MP.

She has been accused by some in the Find Madeleine Trust of filing 'high' expenses and it is believed that she did not have a great relationship with the McCanns. However, accusations that she was fired by the McCanns have been denied by sources close to the family.
Meanwhile, the McCanns have asked search and rescue experts CRG to launch an investigation independent of the Portuguese police. Madeleine's parents believe detectives have failed to follow up dozens of crucial leads and have told friends that the advice and logistical support from CRG is worth the huge overheads.

The security group has a small team in Portugal. However, a key strand of the group's investigation has been to follow up on an early sighting of Madeleine in Morocco, made just five days after she disappeared from her parents' apartment in Praia da Luz.

Norwegian holidaymaker Mari Pollard, 45, reported seeing a 'lost-looking' toddler asking a man in a petrol station in Marrakesh: 'Can I see Mummy soon?' The McCanns have now learned of an earlier sighting at a hotel next door to that garage by a man from Yorkshire who was on holiday.

A source said that the Portuguese police had failed to quiz the witness, who did report his sighting to Leicestershire police.

Control Risks, which has been working with the McCanns for several weeks, is believed to be focusing on this sighting, which came a day before Ms Pollard spotted a girl similar to Madeleine.

The man's identity is not yet known by the McCann team but they are said to be keen to get in touch with him.

Other leads are also being pursued by the group, which has been advising the McCanns on the veracity of all the tip-offs that have come their way since Madeleine disappeared.

The McCanns are in constant contact with senior representatives of the company, according to a source close to the family. They turned to CRG after the Portuguese police began to move their attentions away from the search for Madeleine.

CRG, based in London and with high-profile connections to the Foreign Office, is held in high regard worldwide and has more than 600 employees, many of them former Special Forces members.
CRG declined to comment, saying: 'All our dealings with clients are highly confidential.'