Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner should face trial in Britain ‘for her abduction and murder’, Met Police say

Metropolitan Police Detectives are reportedly pushing for Christian Brueckner to be tried in Britain for the kidnapping and murder of Madeleine McCann.

Brueckner, 48, was named by German police as the prime suspect in the little boy’s disappearance while he was serving a sentence for raping a pensioner.

But charges were never brought and he was released last year.

Now one of Scotland Yard’s most senior detectives is leading efforts to charge Brueckner by the end of the year.

The Met Police want to see him tried at the Old Bailey and are understood to be collecting evidence to send to the Crown Prosecution Service.

However, the German constitution does not allow the extradition of its citizens to countries that are not members of the European Union; This means transferring the suspect to the UK could lead to a diplomatic row.

Bruecker lived just a mile away from the Praia da Luz hotel where Madeleine was staying with her family at the time of her disappearance in 2007.

It comes just a day after Kate and Gerry McCann were warmly welcomed by supporters and well-wishers at an informal outdoor gathering in their hometown of Rothley, Leicestershire.

Madeleine disappeared in May 2007 while staying at a hotel in Praia da Luz, in Portugal’s Algarve region.

An official from Scotland Yard said: Telegram: ‘Next year will be 20 years since Madeleine McCann disappeared. If the evidence is strong enough to extradite the prime suspect and try him here, we will attempt to do so.

‘Obviously there are many obstacles but our priority right now is to gather the strongest evidence we can against this prime suspect.’

The news came just hours after Maddy’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, attended a prayer service in Leicestershire to mark the 19th anniversary of Maddy’s disappearance.

This meant that, for the first time, the parents were accompanied by their twins Sean and Amelie, and well-wishers gathered outside their family home.

In a statement posted online, Kate and Gerry promised: ‘The search continues to find him, deliver justice and make the world a little safer.’

Madeleine was sleeping alone with her younger twin siblings on the night she disappeared in May 2007; Meanwhile, Gerry, 57, and Kate, 58, were eating at a tapas restaurant.

The investigation, which has lasted 15 years since his disappearance in Britain, has so far cost the taxpayer around £13.5 million; The government recently approved a new request for cash support from Scotland Yard.

Britain’s most senior police officer, Sir Mark Rowley, confirmed last year that the Met was seeking a way to extradite convicted rapist Brueckner from Germany to the UK.

He said at the time: ‘One of the reasons we got involved in this is that murder is extra-territorial in most cases and potentially the murder of a British citizen could be charged in the UK in certain circumstances.

‘There are many possibilities, so we are currently evaluating with the Germans and Portuguese.’

This is breaking news, more will follow.