Police charge girl abduction suspect

Police were granted more time on Monday to question a man suspected of abducting schoolgirl Shannon Matthews.

The 39-year-old man, whom they have not named, was arrested on Friday after the nine-year-old was found at a house just a mile from her home in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

Her accused abductor went before magistrates on Monday who granted a warrant for 24 hours' further detention. Under a previous warrant, police had until lunchtime on Monday to either charge or release him.

"(The man) will continue to be interviewed by police officers today," a spokeswoman said in a statement on Monday.

Newspapers have named him as Michael Donovan, formerly known as Paul Drake, an uncle of Matthews' stepfather Craig Meehan.

Also on Monday, police continued the delicate task of talking to Matthews to find out what happened to her between her disappearance from the gates of her school in Dewsbury and her dramatic rescue 24 days later.

She is currently the subject of an emergency police protection order.

Her mother Karen said the family was planning a party on her daughter's return home, but added she understood it may be a while before that happens.

"Of course I want her back with us as soon as that's possible but I understand that could take some time," she said in a statement released at the weekend.

"When she does come home, I want it to be for good. Our main priority is Shannon's welfare."

She added: "The most important thing is that Shannon is safe. I have seen Shannon and I am completely happy that she is being very well looked after and is being given all the care she needs."

West Yorkshire police have rejected suggestions in the media by MEP Edward McMillan-Scott that they would have found her quicker if they had used a so-called amber alert scheme, under which local radio and TV stations broadcast alerts about abducted children as soon as possible, including any details of suspected vehicles, for maximum early publicity.

"...its use would have been wholly inappropriate in this case and the suggestion it could have somehow speeded up Shannon's recovery is totally inaccurate," the force said in a statement.

At one stage, about a tenth of its officers were involved in the investigation, making it one of the biggest in the area since the Yorkshire Ripper inquiry in the late 1970s.

The girl had gone missing on February 19 after a swimming trip. She was found, apparently unhurt, in the base section of a divan bed.