Madeleine: McCanns 'in the clear' as DNA evidence proves inconclusive

A team of senior Portuguese police and forensic experts spent all day discussing the DNA results gleaned by their British counterparts, but are understood to have decided they are inconclusive.

Last night, as it was confirmed by the Forensic Science Service that their tests remain "ongoing", the McCanns' legal team called on the Portuguese police to lift the couple's status as official suspects.

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The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "Enough is enough. There can be nothing that incriminates Kate and Gerry, because they are innocent.

"We are hopeful this meeting will help speed up the process eliminating Kate andGerry from the inquiry.

"They just want the injustice of being suspects to end and the real job of finding Madeleine to resume in earnest.

"We are hopeful common sense will prevail and that Portuguese police will see Kate and Gerry have no case to answer.

"Forensic evidence – if there is any – is inconclusive or explicable, so they should be eliminated from the inquiry."

The four-strong Portuguese team met five experts from the FSS at Leicestershire Police headquarters yesterday to review and interpret the DNA results.

The FSS has been conducting the tests for the Portuguese authorities at its base in Birmingham for the last four months.

Tests are said to have been conducted on blood samples, bodily fluids and hair found inthe Mrs McCanns' holiday apartment in Praia da Luz and in the car the couple hired 25 days after Madeleine disappeared on May 3.

Mr and Mrs McCann, both 39-yearold doctors from Rothley, Leicestershire, were made official suspects in September.

It is understood that at yesterday's meeting the Portuguese team were told all the tests done so far have proved inconclusive and have produced results which would not stand up in a court of law.

Portuguese scientists wanted the summit to determine how their UK counterparts had achieved results analysing samples they themselves had earlier deemed worthless.

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Yesterday an FSS spokesman said: "The tests remain ongoing. We are a world leader in DNA technology and are consulted on a daily basis by police authorities from all over the world.

"We are used to dealing with language barriers and it is not an issue in this or any other case."

• Portuguese detectives are under pressure to finish the Madeleine investigation before January 14, it was claimed yesterday.

That is the deadline when lawyers can apply to see crucial case documents.

The police's political masters want charges brought or the case filed before then, according to the Correio da Manha newspaper.

After January 14, lawyers for Britsh expatriate Robert Murat, the first suspect to be named, can apply to see the files. It would be the first time they would know why he was declared a suspect on May 14.

The equivalent files on the McCanns would not be made available to their lawyers, because the couple were not named as suspects until September 7.