THE German suspect in the Madeleine McCann case allegedly confessed to her abduction on the 10th anniversary of her disappearance in 2017, according to reports.
Sky News reported that the man admitted to a friend he had "snatched" the young girl as they drank in a German bar.
The suspect reportedly shared the revelation as the pair watched a TV news report on the case, with him claiming he knew what had happened to Madeleine.
The claims come as police received hundreds of contacts from the public following the launch of a new appeal for information on Madeleine's disappearance.
DCI Mark Cranwell, who is leading the Metropolitan Police's Operation Grange investigation into the case, said more than 270 calls and emails had been received by 4pm on Thursday.
It followed British, German and Portuguese authorities launching an appeal for information on Wednesday night relating to the suspect.
German prosecutors have said they believe Madeleine is dead and are investigating the child sex predator on suspicion of her murder.
The suspect is a 43-year-old German national named in media reports as Christian Brueckner and is reportedly serving a seven-year prison sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal in 2005.
He is known to have lived on the Algarve coast and his Portuguese mobile phone received a half-hour phone call in Praia da Luz around an hour before Madeleine, three, went missing on May 3 2007.
READ MORE: Madeleine McCann case: Police inundated with calls and emails
Scotland Yard said he was believed to have been living in a distinctive early 1980s VW T3 Westfalia camper van at the time and re-registered a 1993 Jaguar XJR6 in someone else's name the day after her disappearance.
Operation Grange still considers the case a missing person inquiry because there is no "definitive evidence whether Madeleine is alive or dead".
German newspaper Braunschweiger Zeitung have reported the suspect, who has been partially identified as Christian B by local media due to the country's strict rules on the naming of criminals, was convicted of rape in Braunschweig District Court in December last year.
Der Spiegel reported he is serving a prison sentence in Kiel, having been initially extradited from Portugal in 2017 and convicted of drug trafficking.
The German magazine said his criminal record contains a total of 17 entries, including child abuse while he was still a teenager Christian Hoppe, from Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), has said that German police have not ruled out a sexual motive for the alleged crime against Madeleine.
He said that the suspect may have broken into an apartment in the Ocean Club complex, where Madeleine was on holiday with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, and her twin siblings Sean and Amelie, before spontaneously kidnapping her.
German prosecutors said the suspect was living in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007, where he funded his lifestyle by committing crimes.
A £20,000 reward is available for information leading to the conviction of the person responsible for Madeleine's disappearance.
The Met's investigation was tipped off about the German national, already known to detectives, following a 2017 appeal 10 years after she went missing.
Madeleine disappeared shortly before her fourth birthday, while her parents were eating dinner with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.
Kate and Gerry McCann have welcomed the appeal, saying: "We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel