Gerry McCann named as suspect

Gerry McCann has been declared an arguido, or formal suspect, by Portuguese police investigating the disappearance of his daughter Madeleine, his lawyer said.Mr McCann walked out of the regional police headquarters just after midnight after nearly eight hours of questioning.On Friday his wife Kate, also an arguido, was asked directly by detectives whether she had accidentally killed Madeleine.Mrs McCann has been warned by her lawyer that she could be charged over her daughter's death.Police offered her a reduced sentence if she admitted killing her daughter accidentally, hiding her body and disposing of it, according to Mr McCann's sister, Philomena McCann.But Mrs McCann refused, saying: "How dare you, how dare you use emotional blackmail to get me to confess to something I didn't do."During her questioning, detectives suggested that traces of Madeleine's DNA were found in the family's hire car, a silver Renault Scenic that they are still using.Mrs McCann is understood to have told them angrily there was "no way" that could be possible because the couple did not lease the vehicle until 25 days after their daughter disappeared.Portuguese detectives appear to be working on the theory that Mrs McCann killed her daughter by accident and covered up the death by claiming she was abducted.Test results from the Forensic Science Service in Birmingham received in recent days have apparently boosted this hypothesis.Mr McCann's alleged role is not clear, but sources said police believe he was an accessory to the killing.Family and friends of the McCanns dismissed any suggestion Mrs McCann could have been involved in Madeleine's disappearance on May 3 as "ridiculous".It is now 127 days since four-year-old Madeleine went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while her parents dined with friends nearby.Until now there had only been one arguido in the case, Anglo-Portuguese expatriate Robert Murat.He is widely expected to be formally ruled out of the inquiry shortly.Under Portuguese law, an arguido has legal protection that is not extended to a witness, including the right to remain silent during questioning and the right to legal representation.It is not uncommon for people caught up in criminal investigations in Portugal to declare themselves arguidos in order to receive this protection.Until today, police have always stressed that the McCanns were being spoken to as witnesses.The latest developments have upset the McCanns' plans to return to their home in Rothley, Leicestershire, with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie on Sunday.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | September 8, 2007

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