McCanns face agonising wait to clear their names

Kate and Gerry McCann may have to wait nearly a year for details of the Portuguese police case against them.

They had expected to be given access to the files on November 14 so they could begin preparing their defence.

But police have applied to the investigating judge to have the deadline extended because they are still awaiting the results of forensic tests from Birmingham.

And they have yet to question some of the so-called Tapas Nine, the McCanns' friends who were with them on the night their daughter Madeleine, now four, disappeared.

If the judge, Pedro Frias, grants the extension and gives the case "special complexity" status, it will mean the couple will not learn exactly what they are accused of until May at the earliest, and possibly much later.

It represents a serious blow to the McCanns, who were hoping to have their status as "arguidos" (official suspects) lifted early so they could concentrate on searching for their daughter.

Reports in some Portuguese newspapers claimed yesterday that police have yet to see the couple's potentially crucial mobile phone records from the night of May 3 when Madeleine disappeared from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.

A source said: "Portuguese police say it is hampering their investigation. But you have to question why they've been so quick to jump on the McCanns when they've yet to see something as basic as their phone records."

But a judicial source quoted in one newspaper, 24 Horas, said: "We are facing a problem which has to do with the international co-operation this case requires.

"The Policia Judiciaria and Public Prosecution Service have made all the necessary requests. But the fact they're dealing with foreign citizens requires the execution of tasks they're not involved in."

Scroll down for more...

Last night the McCanns were criticised by police union leader Carlos Anjos over their publicity campaign and the new e-fit they have produced.

The computer image was based on evidence from the McCanns' friend Jane Tanner, who said she saw a man running away from their holiday apartment with a child in a blanket.

The McCanns' spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, has claimed its release had the "tacit approval" of Portuguese police.

But Mr Anjos, chairman of the Union of Portuguese Detectives, insisted that police had not approved the move and labelled the e-fit a "boneco" - Portuguese for "cartoon".

He told Portuguese daily newspaper Diario de Noticias: "It's a simple cartoon that anyone could come up with. It's no e-fit nor does it have anyone's approval. This simply does not exist."

He added: "The Madeleine case is a criminal investigation for the Policia Judiciaria. For the McCanns it is a case of social communication judging by the campaign they've played out in the media, the largest to date."

Another paper said the sketch was abandoned by detectives because Jane Tanner's information lacked "conclusive proof".