The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has refused to be interviewed by the Metropolitan Police before his pending release from prison in Germany, Scotland Yard has confirmed.
Christian Brückner, 49, a German national, declined a formal international request to be questioned as part of Operation Grange, the Met's ongoing investigation into the three-year-old's disappearance from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell, the senior investigating officer, said the force had submitted a letter of request but it was refused. He added: 'In the absence of an interview, we will nevertheless continue to pursue any viable lines of inquiry.'
Brückner is serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in the same Portuguese resort in 2005 and could be released on Wednesday. He remains a suspect in the German-led investigation but has not been charged in connection with Madeleine's case.
Operation Grange has received over £13.2 million in Home Office funding since its launch in 2011, with a further £108,000 secured in April. The case continues to be investigated jointly by British, German and Portuguese authorities.
