UK police accused of initially ignoring Bruckner

British police failed to identify Christian Bruckner as the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, a senior Portuguese police officer has alleged.

Carlos Farinha, deputy director of the Policia Judiciaria, said that Bruckner’s name was handed over to the Metropolitan Police in 2012, but they never requested any information on the serial sex offender. The failings of British, Portuguese and German authorities to pursue the convicted paedophile were laid bare at the weekend, as the Met confirmed Bruckner had formed part of their long-standing investigation, but he had not been treated as a suspect until 2017.

On Thursday, it emerged Portuguese police had investigated Bruckner in the aftermath of Madeleine’s disappearance, but no further action was taken.

Former detective Goncalo Amaral, who led the initial investigation into the events in May 2007, told an Australian podcast: ‘‘He was investigated by the Policia Judiciaria, and when the case ended they discarded him.’’

Defending his force’s actions, Farinha said: ‘‘If the Policia Judiciaria is being accused of not prioritising Bruckner, the same can be said of the Metropolitan Police, because since at least 2012, they have had knowledge of him.’’

‘‘If the suspicions about that person were so evident, he would have been the subject of intelligence requests by the English, which have always been authorised in Portugal, but they never asked,’’ he told Lusa, a Portuguese news agency.

There has been a long-running war of words between British and Portuguese authorities about the McCann case, particularly over the woeful preservation of the crime scene and Madeleine’s parents being incorrectly named as suspects. –