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Britain’s top policeman Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe revealed the breakthrough on a radio phone-in show yesterday.

Radio Five host Nicky Campbell, 52, asked: “And you have lines of inquiry, you have suspects, you have names?’’

Sir Bernard, 56, replied: “That’s right.’’ Asked if detectives had “spoken to those people” the Met chief said: “I’m not going to go any further.’’

But he said the investigation was being hampered because Portuguese police were pursuing a different line of inquiry.

He repeated his call for both forces to unite for the sake of Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry, both 45.

The police chief said: “In the middle of all this quite often their torment gets lost.

“Have they lost a child by being murdered, sadly, or have they lost a child by someone else stealing them? Either way they have got that terrible uncertainty.”

UK detectives are hunting a three-strong burglary gang they suspect snatched Madeleine in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz seven years ago.

But Portuguese police suspect a heroin addict who has since died.

Sir Bernard added: “We have said ­clearly that we have got lines of inquiry that are different to the Portuguese police and we are working with them to try and resolve that. We really can work in genuine partnership on this.

“We’re making some progress. Let’s see how it comes over the next few months.’’

He refused to criticise the original Portuguese investigation which was shelved as unsolved in 2008.

“No matter what they did or didn’t do we have got to work together on this,’’ he said. “We can’t police Portugal. They can’t do everything over here.’’