'Madeleine officer in absence plea'

Chief Inspector Tavares Almeida's request, reported in the Portuguese newspaper 24 Horas, emerged after his boss, Goncalo Amaral, was taken off the case earlier this week.

A police source told 24 Horas: "As a rule, requests of a short, medium or long duration are granted. It is very unlikely to be denied. If that happened, it would be the first time in the PJ (Judicial Police)."

Mr Almeida reportedly refused to confirm or deny the report, telling the newspaper: "I don't speak to journalists."

To lose a second senior officer would raise further concerns about an inquiry that appears no closer to finding out what happened to four-year-old Madeleine.

Mr Amaral was removed from the investigation after reportedly saying that her parents, Kate and Gerry, had been calling the shots by identifying lines of inquiry for officers in their home county Leicestershire. The officer, who heads the regional Policia Judiciaria in Portimao, also accused the couple of releasing new information each day in a bid to distract and confuse the five-month inquiry.

Now the PJ's investigation looks set to lose a man described by one colleague to 24 Horas as "an excellent investigator ... very good, very committed and persistent".

It is reported that Mr Almeida has asked for a "licenga sem vencimento" - an extended period of absence, lasting between one month and a year, usually used for studying or training.

Guilhermino Encarnacao, currently director of the Judicial Police in Faro, is said to be favourite to replace Mr Amaral as the head of the PJ in Portimao.

Asked about Mr Almeida's reported move, Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns, said: "Gerry and Kate are very happy to continue to co-operate with the Portuguese inquiry, irrespective of which officers are in charge of it. We would hope that any officers who are removed are replaced swiftly and that this is an opportunity to re-focus and re-energise the search for Madeleine."