Briton remains Madeleine 'suspect'

Robert Murat, 33, who had been helping the McCanns with translation during the traumatic days following her disappearance, on Tuesday became the first person to be officially classed as a suspect by police.

Portugal's Policia Judiciaria (PJ) announced later that they did not have enough evidence to bring him to court. But when asked whether he was still hopeful whether charges would be brought against the suspect, Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa said: "Let's wait and see."

And he went as far as to say: "We are hopeful that this case will be over in the near future."

Friends and relatives of Mr Murat, a former property developer, strenuously deny that he could have had any involvement with Madeleine's abduction. He was said to have been with his mother on the night Madeleine disappeared. Mr Murat had been living just yards from where the youngster was abducted 12 days ago.

In the days after she was snatched Mr Murat was seen going in and out of the family's flat, saying he was helping with translation work. But on Monday night he found himself being questioned by police alongside a German woman and a Portuguese man who were treated as witnesses rather than suspects. The other two were subsequently released.

Four other properties in Praia Da Luz were also searched.

Police seized boxes of potential evidence for analysis and revealed that further investigations were going on linked to those searches. The PJ said that detectives had narrowed down the number of lines of inquiry in recent days. Over the weekend one of those lines had gained "strength and consistency" prompting officers to launch Monday's searches.

While two were released, one man - named by sources as Mr Murat - was formally classed as an "arguido" - suspect - for the first time. They conceded they were not able to charge or even formally arrest him and was on Tuesday free to come and go.

But Chief Inspector Sousa said of the suspect, whom he did not publicly identify as Mr Murat: "We are not saying we have no evidence, we are just saying we don't have enough evidence." Asked if he could rule out further action against the suspect, he added: "The investigation goes on, let's wait calm and lets hope we can go further in the investigation."