The police file of the investigation into disappearance of Madeleine McCann was leaked online today.

A 57-page report dated June 20, 2008 and written by an Algarve-based inspector with the Policia Judiciaria  was placed on the website of the well-regarded Portuguese newspaper Expresso today.

The apparent leak comes just a day after the McCanns were cleared of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance.

The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell criticised the leaking of the document.

Despair: Kate and Gerry McCann said they had been devastated when they were named 'arguidos' by Portuguese police

He said: 'As always we simply will not comment on anything that appears to be from the usual anonymous sources.

'If any elements of the police report are being placed online, that would not only be wrong, you have to ask yourself who is behind it and why.

'Gerry and Kate's lawyers in Portugal will be applying formally for access to the complete file and they will be analysing everything in it in their own time without making elements public at this stage."

Earlier it was revealed that the McCanns may sue the Portuguese police over the bungled investigation into the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine.

As their relief at having their 'arguido' status revoked turned to anger, the McCanns have said that have not ruled out initiating legal proceedings.

The couple's spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: 'By the end of this week, lawyers will have complete access to everything.

'They will have 20 days to assess the work of the police and what has been done and what hasn't been done. If they feel legal action is necessary, we could press charges.'

He added: 'It's going to be a long, slow process, both for the lawyers in examining the volumes and for Kate and Gerry to be informed of their contents and whether there's any need for legal redress.

'The priority has always been finding Madeleine so the investigative work is first and foremost.

'If there are any leads from the files, for instance new sightings, that's what the private investigators will focus on in the first instance.

'The question of legal action remains an option but that is not the priority right now. It is something Kate and Gerry will take advice on from the British and Portuguese lawyers.'

Mr McCann, speaking last night after he and his wife were cleared, also did not rule out taking legal action, although he said it would come second to finding Madeleine.

'We don't have any immediate plans to return to Portugal at the moment. Obviously we want to digest the statement and also to get access to the files to see what can still be done,' he said.

The couple's lawyers have already started the legal process to get their hands on the full police files into the fruitless investigation.

They are said to be using international investigators including Spanish-based agency Metodo 3 and British-based private detectives.

Their Portuguese lawyer Carlos Pinto de Abreu was lodging an application for access to the files today and they are expected to be released by the end of the week.

The McCanns will then have 20 days to appeal against the Portuguese attorney general's decision to drop the case, although this is unlikely.

Hours after they were officially cleared by Portugal's Attorney General yesterday, the couple appeared side by side last night in their home town of Rothley, Leicestershire,

'Utterly despairing': Kate was trembling and tearful during the press conference

Mrs McCann, struggling to keep her emotions in check, spoke of the terrible effect the police decision to make them 'arguidos' has had on them and the search for Madeleine.

Trembling and clutching a child's pink rucksack with her daughter's favourite toy Cuddle Cat inside, she said:
'It is hard to describe how utterly despairing it was for us to be named as arguidos and subsequently portrayed in the media as suspects in our own daughter's abduction and worse.

'It has been equally devastating to witness the detrimental effect this status has had in the search for Madeleine.'

The couple fear that potential witnesses who might have come forward with vital information were deterred when they were named arguidos in September.

They held a brief news conference at a hotel near their home after Portuguese officials admitted they had found no evidence against them, lifted the suspect status and announced they were shelving the investigation.

Since being made arguidos - official suspects - ten agonising months ago, the McCanns have not commented on the state of the investigation or aired their views about the police because they were gagged by Portugal's strict judicial secrecy laws.

As her husband clutched her hand tightly for support, Mrs McCann, looking pale and close to tears, added: 'We can assure you we will never give up our search for Madeleine.'

Their official spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the couple had been 'wrongly accused' and 'now the world will see that they (the Portuguese police) were wrong.'

They said that while they welcomed the lifting of the arguido status and the Portuguese attorney general's admission that police had failed to find any evidence that they had committed any crime, it was 'not a cause for celebration'.

Glasgow-born Mr McCann and his wife, both 40, had not ruled taking legal action against the Portuguese authorities for the way they have been treated.

They said they hope that now their lawyers are allowed access to the police file, it will give them new leads in their private investigators' search for Madeleine, who went missing just before her fourth birthday in May last year.

Mrs McCann said: 'We are looking forward to scrutinising the police files to see what has actually been done and more importantly to see what can still be done as we leave no stone unturned in our search for our little girl.'

The files are believed to include thousands of leads, hundreds of witness statements and alleged DNA links between missing Madeleine and her parents. They also contain the supposed evidence for making them suspects.

The couple have fought long and hard to gain access to the masses of information. Earlier this month they won a legal battle against Leicestershire Police for access to 81 pieces of information.

Determined: The McCanns have pledged never to give up searching for their daughter, above

The news that they will now be able to look at the complete set of police files came as an unexpected bonus to the couple, friends say.

Attorney general Jose Cunha Pinto Monteiro's announcement yesterday raised immediate questions about why the McCanns were forced to endure months under the cloud of suspicion, and to live with the constant threat that they could face charges over the disappearance.

Yesterday it was claimed that forensic evidence which led to the McCanns being named as suspects could have been misunderstood by Portuguese police.

Detectives wrongly believed the evidence supported their theory that Madeleine had died in her parents' rented holiday apartment when in fact the DNA analysis was inconclusive, it was suggested.

Mr Monteiro was careful to highlight the fact that the McCanns and fellow arguido Robert Murat were no longer under suspicion of any crime.

There had been widespread speculation that the couple might have faced child neglect charges over their decision to leave their three youngsters alone in their rented holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, while they had dinner with friends at a tapas bar nearby.

The attorney general said: 'The investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been archived as no evidence was discovered of any crime committed by the arguidos.

'Hereby the condition of arguido of Robert James Queriol Eveleigh Murat, Gerald Patrick McCann and Kate Marie Healy ceases, and the bail measures imposed upon them have expired.'

He said the case could be reopened if fresh evidence is uncovered, and said the McCanns' legal team and Mr Murat's lawyers would be allowed to see the case files once a few legal formalities had been completed.

Mr Monteiro's long-awaited decision to shelve the 15-month police investigation came as a huge relief to the McCanns, but their spokesman said there could be no sense of jubilation while their daughter was still missing.

'They welcome this news but the whole thing has been an unnecessary distraction since September,' said Mr Mitchell.

'The main thing now is to get everything back to finding Madeleine. The only thing they care about is finding Madeleine.

'We hope that the Portuguese authorities will continue to co-operate with their private investigation.'

No crime: Ex-pat Robert Murat, the first official suspect, has also been cleared

Murat: I'm free to rebuild my life

Robert Murat told of his relief yesterday as he was formally cleared as a suspect.

The Briton, who lived near the flat where Madeleine disappeared, spent almost 15 months as an arguido after he was questioned on May 14 last year.

Mr Murat, 34, said he wanted to rebuild his life as a property consultant in the Algarve.

Asked if he was still in shock, he said: 'I think if you spend 15 months under a cloud of suspicion none of this feels entirely real.'

He told Sky News: 'There's a little girl still missing out there, so it's a time for relief but not for celebration.

'I hope in the future something comes out that proves that I had nothing to do with this. I do hope they keep on investigating and they find out what happened.'

Goncalo Amaral insists naming the McCanns as suspects was not persecution by Portuguese police

Former police chief: I still believe she's dead

The former head of the Madeleine police investigation yesterday told why he still believes she is dead.

Goncalo Amaral said all the evidence suggested she had died inside her parents' rented holiday apartment on May 3 last year - the night of her disappearance.

Mr Amaral, who is publishing a book about the case on Thursday, denied he had led a 'persecution' against Kate and Gerry McCann.

He told the BBC: 'The evidence that we had gathered by the time that I left the case pointed to the girl being dead - and having died inside the apartment.

'I don't know what happened next. I can't say. We'll have to wait for the case files to be made public.'

Mr Amaral led the police investigation but was removed from the case in October after he accused British police of checking only leads which helped the McCanns.

He was widely criticised for focusing solely on the theory that Madeleine died in her parents' care and that they disposed of her body to cover up her accidental death.

But he insisted he was not acting alone when he decided to name them as suspects.

'In this case, it wasn't purely and simply a decision taken by police officers - Portuguese and British police. There were others involved.

'There was no persecution. The police don't want to persecute anyone, just to investigate what happened in a given case.'

Mr Amaral said that he retired recently because he wanted to be

able to speak freely. He denied he was seeking to profit from Madeleine's disappearance by publishing his 224-page book, The Truth of the Lie.

'People can say what they like,' he said. 'I'm trying to contribute to the discovery of the truth.

'I worked 27 years as a police officer - and my conscience can't accept that this is the first case that slipped through my fingers.'

Friends of the McCanns have warned that their legal team will study the book and have not ruled out bringing libel proceedings against Mr Amaral.

He is also facing a perjury trial over claims that he helped to cover up the alleged torture of the mother of another missing girl in the Algarve by some of his officers.