Met Police detectives have secretly flown to Portugal to interview Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner's old friends, it has been revealed.
Investigators spent several hours quizzing a couple who housed the sex offender just three months before Madeleine vanished from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.
The 48-year-old is believed to be the prime suspect for the 'murder and abduction' of Madeleine and was released from jail earlier this year after serving six of a seven-year sentence for rape.
Now, grandmother Elke Piro, 69, who was acquainted with Brueckner for a number years, has revealed her unequivocal belief that the toddler was hurt by the German suspect.
Ms Piro, alongside her husband Bernhard, 72, were previously interviewed by both Portugese and German detectives, having first met Brueckner in 1995 and remaining in contact with him until 2018.
