McCanns 'asked back to Portugal'

The parents of Madeleine McCann have reportedly been asked to return to Portugal for a reconstruction of the night she vanished.The Portuguese police made the request to Gerry and Kate McCann as they continue to sit in on interviews with the couple's close friends.British detectives are quizzing members of the so-called Tapas Seven, the group who ate with the McCanns on the night the four-year-old went missing.Their Portuguese counterparts are sitting in on the interviews at Leicestershire Constabulary's force headquarters in Enderby.According to the McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell, the questions will focus on clearing up inconsistencies Portuguese officers have in their own timeline of events immediately after Madeleine's disappearance.Jane Tanner, 37, who says she saw a man carrying a girl from the McCanns' apartment is believed to be the first friend to be questioned. It is understood her partner Russell O'Brien will also be interviewed.None of the friends will have lawyers present and all are being interviewed as witnesses. Mr Mitchell said no property will be searched or seized.Mr McCann, 39, continues to work as a doctor while his 40-year-old GP wife remains at home in Rothley, Leics.Both have said they are happy to face questions but the Portuguese police officers have not requested an interview with them.The couple are preparing to travel to Brussels where they plan to lobby MEPs for the introduction of a child alert system that is used in the US in cases where children are victims of a suspected abduction.Madeleine disappeared on May 3 last year during a family holiday at the coastal resort of Praia da Luz.

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ITN | April 8, 2008

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