Maddie McCann Suspect Speaks Out For First Time Since Arrest

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PA

On the tenth anniversary of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, a former police suspect has spoken out about his questioning. 

Paul Ribiero was hauled in for questioning after Madeleine McCann went missing from a holiday apartment in Praia Da Luz as her parents ate at a nearby tapas restaurant, aged three.

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You can watch the events of May 3 2007 in the video timeline below: 

Mr Ribiero was among four local men who were suspects in the notorious missing persons case, and has now expressed his shock over the line of police investigation, reports the Evening Standard.

The former suspects were part of a Met Office line of enquiry working on the theory that Madeleine was taken in a botched burglary. There have been numerous theories put forward by experts in the case of Madeleine McCann, and new ‘significant lines of enquiry’ are still being investigated.

You can watch Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley explain in the clip below:

None were charged, but Mr Ribiero and the other three men still reside in the Portuguese tourist town of Praia Da Luz.

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In a BBC Panorama programme airing tonight, Mr Ribiero said:

I knew of nothing when the police arrived at my door with a piece of paper that had a drawing on it, saying it bore a likeness to me and that someone had said I was involved and that I looked like the person who had kidnapped Maddie.

I don’t know who that person was.

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Ribiero’s statement comes as the former head of the Portuguese Policia Judiciaria officers’ union, Carlos Anjos spoke out, saying he believed the Met investigation to be a ‘waste of money’.

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To date, Scotland Yard has spent £11 million on their investigation into the Madeleine McCann mystery.

Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann are still tirelessly campaigning to bring their daughter, who they believe to be alive, home.