maddie suspect refuses to be interviewed by police over her disappearance

Christian Brückner (right) has refused to be interviewed by Met Police about his possible involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (Picture: PA/AFP)

Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner has refused to be interviewed by Met Police,the force has revealed.

Brueckner,48,is set to be released from prison on Wednesday after serving a sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman in an unrelated conviction.

He is yet to be charged in relation to Madeleine’s case and has denied being involved in the girl’s disappearance from Praia da Luz,Portugal.

The Met Police has disclosed that officers requested to interview the German suspect via an international letter of request.

However,DCI Mark Cranwell,who is the senior investigating officer in Madeleine’s case,said that Brueckner had refused the invitation.

He added that the force would pursue other ‘viable lines of enquiry’ as it continues to search for evidence.

‘For a number of years we have worked closely with our policing colleagues in Germany and Portugal to investigate the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and support Madeleine’s family to understand what happened on the evening of 3 May,2007 in Praia da Luz’,Mr Cranwell said in a statement.

Madeleine’s parents,Kate and Gerry McCann (Picture: PA)

He continued: ‘We are aware of the pending release from prison of a 49-year-old German man who has been the primary suspect in the German federal investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance.

‘We can confirm that this individual remains a suspect in the Metropolitan Police’s own investigation.

‘We have requested an interview with this German suspect but,for legal reasons,this can only be done via an International Letter of Request which has been submitted.

‘It was subsequently refused by the suspect. In the absence of an interview,we will nevertheless continue to pursue any viable lines of enquiry.

Brueckner is due to be released from prison on Wednesday after serving a sentence for his rape conviction (Picture: AP)

‘We can provide no further information while the investigation is ongoing. Any questions about the conditions around his release should be directed to the German authorities.’

Madeleine’s case has continued to mystify investigators 18 years after she disappeared while on holiday with her family while her parents went out to dinner,leaving her sleeping in a room with her twin siblings.

Brueckner was listed as a suspect after being known to be in the Praia da Luz area in the Algarve between 2000 and 2017.

He was convicted of raping a 72-year-old woman in Portugal in 2005.

The suspect told a journalist earlier this year that he plans to leave Germany for a country with no extradition treaties and ‘lie low’ once he is set free.

German investigators said they had found insufficient evidence to bring charges against Brueckner in the Madeleine case (Picture: AFP)

In July,German police raced against time to search for fresh evidence tying Brueckner to Madeleine’s disappearance in order to bring charges against him before his current sentence expires.

Hans Christian Wolters,who has led the German effort to solve the Madeleine case,said that Brückner was his sole suspect.

But while the prosecutor said last month that he had found evidence which ‘strengthens’ his case against Brueckner,it was not sufficient to make a guilty verdict likely.