Madeleine Parents Call Portuguese Police to Produce Evidence of Death

The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have pleaded with Portuguese police to reveal evidence to them showing why they believe their daughter is dead.

The development comes as Portuguese newspapers repeated claims that detectives now believe Madeleine was killed in the McCann holiday flat rather than abducted, which the couple are reported to have found "very hurtful". The McCanns have consistently said they believe their daughter is still alive.

Gerry McCann's call for evidence to show that this may be the case comes as he and his family move to a new apartment in the Algarve village of Praia da Luz, where their four-year-old daughter disappeared on 3 May. However, this week they have been surrounded by a "huge gaggle" of Portuguese media outside their new accommodation, a family spokesman said.

This has forced the couple to stop their daily routine of taking their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie to the creche at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz.

Mr McCann told BBC News he was unaware of any "evidence of serious harm".

Under Portuguese law, police are not allowed to speak publicly about the details of an investigation. But in recent days, several newspapers have printed articles in which unnamed police sources have suggested Madeleine might have died in the family's holiday flat on the night she disappeared.

In a BBC interview, Gerry McCann acknowledged that there appeared to be a shift in detectives' thinking running contrary to what he and his wife had always been told.

He said: "I had a fairly strong belief that there was a lack of evidence, certainly initially, that there was no evidence of serious harm and I do not know of any specific evidence now that alters that.

"I think, as parents, if there is evidence then we need to know about it."

Meanwhile, Francisco Pagarete, lawyer of Robert Murat, the only suspect in Madeleine's disappearance, said he thought it "strange" that parents would leave their children alone in a foreign country.

Madeleine was abducted when Mr and Mrs McCann left their three children asleep in their apartment while they ate with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

On Friday the McCanns will help to unveil a new section of website YouTube for footage of missing children.

The 'Don't You Forget About Me' channel will be managed by the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in Washington DC.

There are already more than 200 videos related to the Madeleine campaign on the YouTube site.

On Saturday, the McCanns will mark the 100th day since Madeleine disappeared.