Madeleine's mother returns to Britain for first time since abduction

Kate and Gerry McCann had attended the baptism of two of their godchildren in Skipton, north Yorkshire, yesterday.

Mr McCann had flown to Britain on Thursday to attend meetings with UK police officers and speak at the Police Federation's annual dinner.

The cardiologist also met with child abduction experts at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) in London, to learn about criminal profiling techniques being used in the search for his daughter. Mrs McCann travelled to Yorkshire from Faro on Friday.

Of her brief journey home, Mrs McCann said: "Yesterday was an emotional day. We were reunited with family to celebrate welcoming two children into the Catholic faith.

"Gerry and I wanted to be there, to take part and to support our godchildren on one of the most important days of their lives.

"But, I am sure every mother in the world will understand that it was heart breaking for me to be with our family, yet not be with Madeleine.

"Gerry and I have returned to Portugal to continue the search for our daughter Madeleine."

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The couple have based themselves in Portugal since their four-year-old daughter was snatched from her bed at a holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia de Luz 73 days ago.

Last week, Robert Murat, the only official suspect in the case, was questioned again by Portuguese police. Officers brought together close friends of Madeleine's parents and Murat to discuss discrepancies over what happened on the night the little girl was taken, a spokesman said.

The three friends, who were on holiday with the McCanns when the four-year-old was abducted in May, flew back to Portugal to meet police.

Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, spokesman for the Policia Judiciaria (PJ), said Mr Murat and the McCanns' friends came together at the PJ headquarters in Portimao on Wednesday.

"I know they have been brought together in the same building," he said. "I know they have been discussing some differences between the things they said about the night Madeleine disappeared."

Expatriate Mr Murat, 33, who was formally named as a suspect on May 15 and remains an "arguido", spent two days being re-interviewed by police.