Friend 'saw man with Madeleine'

Jane Tanner was among a group of friends dubbed "the tapas nine" who dined with the McCanns at their Algarve holiday resort while their children slept nearby.

Earlier that evening she saw a mystery man walking away from the complex carrying a sleeping child who she now firmly believes was Madeleine.

Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, vanished from the holiday apartment in Praia da Luz just days before her fourth birthday.

Ms Tanner said she decided to speak out despite the instructions of the Portuguese police after being labelled a liar and a fantasist in the media.

Speaking to the BBC, she said: "I know what I saw and I think it is important that people know what I saw because I believe Madeleine was abducted."

Describing the night of the abduction, she said another friend came to her apartment at about 10pm and said the child was gone.

She said: "That was the first I heard about it. Then I saw Kate and Fiona running around shouting 'Madeleine.' Kate said to me: 'Jane, Madeleine's gone, Madeleine's gone'."

Ms Tanner denied reports she has refused to cooperate with Portuguese detectives or that she changed her story.

Last month the McCanns released an artist's impression of the man created by a forensic artist using details provided by Ms Tanner.