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Portuguese sources have revealed police are working on information received from Scotland Yard about a foreign alleged “paedophile".

News website Expresso cited a judicial source as saying the unnamed man was in Portugal when Madeleine disappeared.

And it also claimed he was known to Portuguese police and had been investigated on suspicion of involvement in paedophile cases.

His nationality was not revealed.

The website, reacting to news the PJ had a “new suspect” published earlier today by Portuguese tabloid Correio da Manha, said: “The PJ [Portuguese detectives] is following a tip received from Scotland Yard and sent recently to Portugal relating to the Madeleine McCann case, Expresso has learned from a judicial source.

(Image: Getty Images)

“According to the source, it relates to a complaint made about a foreigner who was in Portugal in May 2007, when the English girl disappeared from a tourist complex in Praia da Luz.

“The suspect is no stranger to Portuguese police. At the time the PJ investigated him on suspicion of being involved in cases of paedophilia but in light of the information coming from London, the investigators are looking into this case in more detail.”

The source told the website: “This is a line of investigation that is still open. Like others.”

The PJ are already said to have spoken to witnesses who could help.

(Image: PA)

Expresso also highlighted author Anthony Summers’ mention in the Netflix documentary of an English-speaking sexual predator who was active in the Praia da Luz area and had entered properties rented by British holidaymakers.

In one case a girl woke up and asked ‘Is that you Daddy.’ and the intruder replied ‘Yes’ with a foreign accent.

The website said it had asked the Operation Grange team in London and the PJ in Portugal about the information on the intruder aired in a final chapter of the documentary, but said it was told by both that it would not be “appropriate” at this stage to give out information.

Earlier today, leading Portuguese daily Correio da Manha reported Policia Judiciaria have been given extra resources to look at a “new clue” and a “new suspect”.

The newspaper also claimed that “Portuguese police admit to being nearer to knowing what happened to Madeleine McCann” and said authorities had “many doubts” she was still alive.

It's said public prosecutors had turned down its request to see new material relating to the case because of “active lines of investigation”.

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“Police are following new Maddie kidnap clues,” the well-known tabloid reported today.

It added: “More inspectors are advancing with an investigation into a new suspect.

“A new clue and a new suspect, which the PJ are trying to keep an absolute secret, has led to new resources being put in place to investigate the little girl’s whereabouts.”

There was no immediate official response in Portugal to today’s report, which coincides with the 12th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance from her family’s Algarve holiday apartment as her parents ate tapas nearby.

Madeleine's parents today vowed to carry on looking for their missing daughter “for as long as it takes”.

In a message to mark the latest harrowing milestone which they wish they could “fast forward”, her parents have shared their heartache that Maddie would soon be turning 16.

In a posting on the Official Find Maddie Campaign website, the couple from Rothley, Leicestershire, jointly say: “It’s that time of year again.

(Image: PA)

"As much as we’d like to fast forward the first couple of weeks of May, there’s no getting around it."

Last month Portugal’s Attorney General’s Office was unable to say if British authorities had made any further formal requests for help.

Asked if any more rogatory letters had been received from authorities in the UK, where a separate investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance is continuing, a spokesman said: “As is public knowledge, an inquiry in the Portimao section of the Faro DIAP Public Prosecutors Office is ongoing.

"It is under investigation.”

A spokesman for Portugal's Attorney General's office said: “Regarding these facts, as is public knowledge, an inquiry in the Portimao section of the Faro DIAP Public Prosecutors Office is ongoing. It is under investigation.”

Scotland Yard said: "The investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann remains ongoing. We are not providing a running commentary."