McCanns vow to continue search

Kate and Gerry McCann vowed to continue the search for their daughter Madeleine after the Portuguese authorities shelved their investigation into the child's disappearance.

The couple welcomed prosecutors' decision to lift their status as "arguidos", or formal suspects, but said they had no cause for celebration.

Her voice breaking with emotion, Mrs McCann said: "It is hard to describe how utterly despairing it was to be named arguidos and subsequently portrayed in the media as suspects in our own daughter's abduction. It has been equally devastating to witness the detrimental effect this status has had on the search for Madeleine."

After an exhaustive investigation lasting more than 14 months, Portuguese prosecutors announced that they had no evidence that the three suspects in the case committed any crimes.

As a result they shelved the case and lifted the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Algarve resident Robert Murat.

The inquiry can be reopened if credible new evidence comes to light, Portuguese attorney-general Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro's office said.

The McCanns' lawyers are to be given access to the police files by the end of the week, their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said. This will help their private investigators continue the search for Madeleine now the Portuguese authorities are shutting down their inquiry.

The McCanns, both 40, looked drawn and tired as they addressed a press conference in their home village of Rothley, Leicestershire. Mrs McCann read a brief statement in which she made a fresh appeal for information about Madeleine's whereabouts and thanked their supporters.

Answering questions from journalists, her husband refused to rule out either going back to Portugal or taking legal action against the Portuguese authorities. "Our priority has always been the search for Madeleine and that will be what will be very much prioritised in the coming weeks," he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Murat, 34, an Anglo-Portuguese property consultant, spoke of his huge relief at finally having his name cleared.