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| Madeleine McCann: UK police request Portuguese assistance | Madeleine McCann: UK police request Portuguese assistance |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A letter has been sent to Portuguese authorities requesting help with the UK police probe into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, prosecutors say. | |
| The Daily Mirror said the letter sought permission to arrest three burglars believed to have been working in the resort where Madeleine went missing. | The Daily Mirror said the letter sought permission to arrest three burglars believed to have been working in the resort where Madeleine went missing. |
| The police said last year the possibility she was snatched by burglars was a key line of inquiry. | |
| Prosecutors and the police would not comment on the details of the letter. | |
| Madeleine, from Leicestershire, was three when she disappeared in May 2007 from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve, where she had been staying with her family. | |
| Between January and May 2007 there had been a four-fold increase in the number of burglaries in the area, police later established. | |
| Police said in October that in the 17 days before she disappeared there was one burglary and one attempted burglary in the block where the McCann family were staying. | |
| Crimewatch appeal | |
| The international letter of request was sent last week, the Crown Prosecution Service said. | |
| According to its guidance, "requests for evidence which require a judicial oversight and/or involve a degree of coercion or invasion of privacy usually require a letter of request". | |
| It should be a request to obtain "specific evidence" and not a "fishing expedition", the CPS says. | |
| And when it comes to an investigation, a letter of request "should ideally be no more than the formal request for assistance that has already been agreed in outline with the competent overseas authority". | |
| The CPS previously sent one such letter on behalf of British police in July, when the Met upgraded its review - codenamed Operation Grange - to a formal investigation, in light of new evidence and new witnesses. | |
| At that time, the police said there was a chance Madeleine was still alive and it was investigating 38 "persons of interest". | At that time, the police said there was a chance Madeleine was still alive and it was investigating 38 "persons of interest". |
| The search for Madeleine was given fresh impetus in October when a BBC Crimewatch appeal that aired in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands in October led to 5,000 calls. | |
| In November, Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said the force was seeking an agreement to set up a "joint investigation team" with the Portuguese authorities. | In November, Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said the force was seeking an agreement to set up a "joint investigation team" with the Portuguese authorities. |
| That came after Portuguese police reopened their inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance in light of "new elements of evidence". | That came after Portuguese police reopened their inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance in light of "new elements of evidence". |
| A Freedom of Information request showed that from May 2011 up to 31 August last year, Operation Grange had cost £4.7m, with 29 police officers and eight support staff assigned to the investigation. | A Freedom of Information request showed that from May 2011 up to 31 August last year, Operation Grange had cost £4.7m, with 29 police officers and eight support staff assigned to the investigation. |
| Thursday 3 May 2007: Timeline | Thursday 3 May 2007: Timeline |
| Clickable map and timeline | Clickable map and timeline |