Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley has confirmed that British authorities will explore the possibility of extraditing Christian Brückner, the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, to face trial in the UK. Brückner, 49, was released from a German prison on Wednesday after serving a seven-year sentence for the rape of an elderly woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2005.
The German national remains the main suspect for both British and German police in the case of Madeleine, who vanished from the same Portuguese resort town while on holiday with her family in 2007. However, German prosecutors have so far been unable to gather sufficient evidence to charge him under German law in connection with her disappearance.
Speaking to mark his third anniversary as commissioner, Rowley said: “They’ve got to a particular point in their inquiry where the prosecutor doesn’t feel they’re able to prosecute. We’re now at a stage where he remains a suspect for us.” Rowley noted that murder can be tried extraterritorially, and a murder of a British subject could potentially be charged in the UK, opening the door for extradition proceedings.
The former head of extradition at the Crown Prosecution Service, Nick Vamos, stated that extradition is “feasible,” though the main obstacle remains the requirement of sufficient evidence to charge before extradition can take place. Brückner has denied any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance and refused a request from the Met to be interviewed.
Rowley also addressed the Met’s ongoing efforts to root out corruption, revealing that 1,400 corrupt or failing officers and staff have been removed during his tenure, in what he described as the biggest purge in British policing history. He acknowledged that corrupt cliques still exist, and recent revelations about misconduct at Charing Cross police station highlight the need for continued vigilance.
