The prime suspect in the high-profile case of Madeleine McCann's disappearance has declined to be interviewed by the Metropolitan Police, the force has said.
The Met stated that an international letter of request was sent to Christian Brückner, ahead of his imminent release for a separate offence, which he later rejected.
German national Brückner, 48, has never been charged with any crime in relation to the McCann case and denies any involvement.
Madeleine vanished in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in 2007, while she and her siblings were left sleeping in a holiday apartment as their parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, went for dinner.
They had checked on the children periodically until Kate discovered Madeleine was missing around 22:00.
Brückner is serving a seven-year prison sentence in Germany for the rape of a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005, and he is set to be released on Wednesday.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell confirmed that Brückner remains a suspect in the MP's investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. He has been identified as the prime suspect in the German and Portuguese investigations since 2020 and 2022, respectively.
We have requested an interview with this German suspect, but for legal reasons, this can only be done via an International Letter of Request which has been submitted. It was subsequently refused by the suspect. In the absence of an interview, we will nevertheless continue to pursue any viable lines of inquiry, Cranwell stated.
Madeleine's case has become one of the highest-profile unsolved missing persons investigations globally. German prosecutors have pointed to evidence, including mobile phone data indicating Brückner may have been in the area when she vanished, and they consistently assert that he is responsible, though they lack strong enough evidence to charge him.
Brückner, who spent many years in the Algarve and has convictions for child sexual abuse, has faced ongoing scrutiny from law enforcement. In 2023, fresh searches were conducted in connection with the case, but no breakthroughs have been made. Given differing legal systems, while German authorities suspect Brückner of murder, British police continue to classify her disappearance as a missing persons case. As of now, funding for the Met's investigation, Operation Grange, has surpassed £13.2 million since its inception in 2011.
