Madeleine's parents 'left patio doors unlocked'

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Until now, it was believed that shutters at the front of the apartment had been jemmied open by the little girl's abductors.

But Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, spokesman for the investigation, has confided in British former Chief Inspector Albert Kirby that neither the windows nor their shutters had been tampered with.

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Police in Portugal are working on the theory that Madeleine was snatched through patio doors

Mr Kirby, who led the investigation into the abduction and murder of Liverpool-born toddler Jamie Bulger, revealed that it was the unlocked patio doors of the apartment that allowed Madeleine to be taken away swiftly and quietly.

Sources close to the investigation also confirmed that police attention was solely focused on the back of the apartment, which leads on to a small garden easily accessible from a public path through a gateway.

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Madeleine's mother: Kate McCann

Gerry and Kate McCann would have used the patio doors as they checked on their daughter and her twin siblings during their meal near the Mark Warner holiday complex swimming pool and it is these doors that were left unsecured.

The McCanns and all their friends on the holiday left their patio doors open throughout the evenings for fear of fire.

Mr Kirby told The Mail on Sunday: "I had a very interesting chat with the officer in charge. The window shutters are not an issue.

"Their mechanism makes them almost impossible to open. The door was left unlocked. They did that every night.

"I think the police have a very specific understanding of what they are looking for."

Mr Kirby believes Portuguese police will solve the case of the missing toddler within days. He said: "I am impressed by the investigation. I have a feeling we will have a result by the end of the next week."