COPS in Portugal are confident they have a watertight case against Kate and Gerry McCann to prove their involvement in Maddie’s death.

But what is in the 1,000-page dossier handed to a judge that makes them so convinced?

Here we examine the evidence ? some of it ridiculously far-fetched.

Cops find it difficult to understand why Kate and Gerry left their three children alone in an apartment to join friends for dinner.

The tapas restaurant is not within earshot or clear sight of where they sat with pals.

And they chose not to take advantage of a free baby-sitting service offered by respected holiday company Mark Warner, explaining they did not want to leave the youngsters with a stranger

 

But perhaps, police believe, Maddie may have already died by this stage.

They allege Kate and Gerry concocted an incredible plan which meant they were prepared to accept criticism for neglecting their kids by leaving them alone, in order for an “abduction” to take place.

Cops are of the opinion there was an accident in their apartment some time after Maddie was last seen alive.

Their theory is that Kate either slapped Maddie and she banged her head and died, or she had a reaction to sedatives dispensed by her GP mum to help her sleep ? or even took an overdose of prescription medication left lying around the apartment.

Either way, cops suspect panic set in when they realised they could not revive her.

They say the McCanns were fearful of going to prison in a foreign country, having their other children taken away and losing their livelihoods.

So the parents are said to have hatched the unlikely plan to cover up her death and move the body, possibly with the help of others.

Details of the hour or so they spent dining with their friends are hazy and police say they have never been fully established.  

But as far as can be confirmed by the police, Gerry checked on the children at 9.05pm. Next friend Matthew Oldfield left the table at 9.30pm to check on the kids.

Crucially, instead of going into the bedroom Maddie was sharing with two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie, he just listened at the door.

Fifteen minutes later, another friend Jane Tanner, saw a man walking away from the Ocean Club resort carrying a child in pyjamas. The clothing matched those worn by Maddie. Nobody else has come forward to say they too had seen this person.

For weeks, the McCanns enjoyed a close relationship with the police. But by the beginning of August the relationship turned frosty.

That coincides with the time when police began to tap the phone calls and emails between Kate, Gerry and their pals.

Detectives believe they picked up evidence from the surveillance pointing to the McCanns knowing that Maddie was dead.

Around the same time, UK cops brought in forensic teams and sniffer dogs which located areas of blood and bodily fluid in both the apartment and the Renault Scenic rented 25 days after Madeleine went missing.

A few days after reports on the samples came back, Kate and Gerry were quizzed and named as suspects.

Cops say Madeleine’s blood, bodily fluid, and a mass of blonde hair was found in the boot.

They claim there is too much material for it simply to be explained away as having rubbed off on the car from Madeleine’s belongings.

Toxicology reports are also described as significant. This could indicate whether Maddie was sedated ? which Kate and Gerry deny.

If police can prove the presence of a sedative, they can also prove the McCanns have lied.

j.moult@the-sun.co.uk