Christian Brueckner, who German police believe killed Madeleine McCann, was not involved in her disappearance, it was claimed by a senior Portuguese police official.
The statement was made to a respected Spanish newspaper by an unnamed Portuguese police chief.
The officer, described as a former Policia Judiciaria chief with in-depth knowledge of the Madeleine McCann probe who still works for the force, told ABC: ‘There’s no evidence Christian Brueckner is involved in her disappearance.
Christian Brueckner (pictured), who German police believe killed Madeleine McCann, was not involved in her disappearance, it was claimed by a senior Portuguese police official
‘Strong enough reasons to be able to charge him were never found.
‘People talk about surprises in the Madeleine McCann case with the capture of this German man, but for me it’s no surprise.
‘This individual was already investigated around four years ago.’
Insisting the aim of German police revelations about the man, now identified as the prime Madeleine McCann suspect, was simply to put the case back into the public eye, ABC quoted the veteran PJ boss as saying: ‘At this stage of the investigation, I think they’ve done it because they think it’s needed to shake up the case and attract new witnesses.
‘They work very closely with Portugal and now they’ve wanted to turn this case around.
‘They’re not looking to solve it now, because that’s very difficult. What they’re looking to do is agitate the waters.’
It is the first time any high-ranking Portuguese police officer has been publicly quoted as saying he does not believe Brueckner is regarded as a genuine Madeleine McCann suspect, even though he appeared to hide behind the cloak of anonymity for the interview.
The unnamed Portuguese police chief, who still works for the force, said there is ‘no evidence’ Christian Brueckner was involved in the Madeleine McCann (pictured) case and was investigated four years ago
The PJ has released only one written statement since the new Met Police Madeleine McCann appeal on Wednesday and subsequent German police comments about the new suspect.
It said hours after photos of the camper van and Jaguar car Brueckner used on the Algarve were published: ‘The PJ confirms that as part of the investigation into the disappearance of a British child in the Algarve in 2007, measures are still being taken to clarify completely the situation.
‘Through close coordination with the German authorities (BKA) and the Metropolitan Police, through the sharing of information and the undertaking of formal investigative and expert work, in Portugal and abroad, material was collected that indicates the possible involvement of a German national in the disappearance of the child.
‘The suspect in question, who is 43 and has a criminal record, lived in Portugal between 1996 and 2007 and is currently serving a prison sentence in Germany.
‘The family of the missing child has been informed of these developments by the British authorities.
‘The investigation continues.’
On Friday the PJ deputy director gave an interview to Portuguese news agency Lusa, but used it to hit back at criticism over the way Brueckner slipped through their net.
Christian Brueckner is currently in prison (pictured) in Kiel, northern Germany, for a drugs offence
Carlos Farinha insisted the German’s name was one of those passed on to British police in case files in 2012 – and said Scotland Yard had never asked the PJ to take a closer look at him.
Responding to reports Breuckner only became a serious suspect a decade after Madeleine’s May 3 2007 disappearance following a bar admission to a drinking pal, Mr Farinha said: ‘If the suspicions about this man were so obvious, he would have been the subject of requests made by the British, which were always authorised by Portugal, but those requests about him were never made.
He added in his interview with Lusa: ‘If the PJ is being accused of giving Brueckner a lack of priority, the same could be said of the Metropolitan Police.
‘In theory everything could have been different but in 2007 and in 2012 we didn’t known what we knew in 2017.’
He also described this week’s fresh appeal as an initiative of the German police, who were ‘convinced it could lead to additional information coming in from the Germany community.’
But appearing to hint that the evidence the three police forces have at the moment may not be enough to bring charges and a successful prosecution, he was quoted as saying: ‘Suspicions about the German national have grown but unfortunately they are not enough to make him an arguido and formally accuse him.’
The interview ABC carried with the unnamed PJ officer was written by the paper’s Lisbon correspondent.