20/09/2007

Police Decision Welcomed By McCanns

The parents of Madeleine McCann have welcomed the decision by Portuguese police not to summon them for re-questioning immediately.

Gerry and Kate McCann have also been told that police investigating their daughter's disappearance have not ruled out other lines of inquiry.

The McCanns' spokesperson, Clarence Mitchell, said that the couple saw this as a "positive step" and that it meant that they could stay at home in Britain with their two-year-old twins, Sean and Amelie, and focus on having a normal family life.

However, the couple, both 39, form Rothley in Leicestershire remain official suspects - or 'arguidos' - in the case.

On Thursday, it was reported that the couple were in London meeting with their lawyers.

They were named as formal suspects in the case, following the discovery of DNA evidence in the car they hired three weeks after Madeleine disappeared.

However, on Wednesday it was reported that there could be "innocent explanations" for the evidence being found in the car.

According to reports, a source close to the couple, said that DNA evidence discovered in the car could have come from some of Madeleine's belongings being moved in the vehicle.

Madeleine McCann disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3.

(KMcA)

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