British detectives will 'go too easy' on the McCanns, claim Portuguese police

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The Portuguese authorities have prepared a formal request for the couple and their holiday friends to be re-interviewed by officers in Leicestershire.

However, Policia Judiciaria sources believe their UK counterparts will fail to put the McCanns under any pressure.

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The ordeal goes on: Kate McCann looks strained as she leaves church in Rothley yesterday

Portuguese detectives believe the interviews are their last hope of cracking the case after forensic evidence proved inconclusive.

They told Portuguese newspaper 24 Horas that the fate of the inquiry hinged entirely on the competence of the British police in extracting information from the group.

Yesterday it emerged that it is unlikely police will be able to question the McCanns before Christmas.

The Portuguese "letters of appeal", which detail questions detectives want put to the couple, had been due to be sent this week, but have been held up by red tape.

They must go before a judge in Portugal before being translated and sent to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and then on to the police.

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Madeleine McCann has been missing since May 3

The interviews are set to take place at a UK police station with Portuguese officers being allowed to watch while British detectives pose the questions.

A Policia Judiciaria source said: "The Portuguese investigators may only sit in on the questioning and make suggestions.

"It would be different if those involved were directly interrogated by our investigators and were targets of pressure."

Portuguese police are said to want a "confrontation" with the McCanns and the friends they dined with the night Madeleine vanished, about supposed inconsistencies in their statements.

But they fear British detectives will not scrutinise alleged contradictions.

It is 220 days since Madeleine vanished from the McCanns' holiday apartment in the Algarve.

Yesterday the strain was showing on Mrs McCann's face as she left church in Rothley in Leicestershire.

Heavy bags under her eyes suggested the 39-year-old doctor is struggling to settle back into life in Britain.

The latest police row comes after clashes between UK and Portuguese forensic experts.

British scientists have criticised the "amateurish" way evidence was collected by Portuguese officials.