UPDATED 09.50 SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 9 2007
KATE AND GERRY McCann left the Algarve today (Sunday), less than 48 hours after pledging to remain and clear their names following the announcement that both were now considered formal suspects by PJ investigators.
The couple, who are on a flight that is due to arrive at East Midlands airport at around noon, had previously said they would “not run away” but now wanted to return to their home in Rothley Leicestershire, for the sake of their twins.
No bail conditions, travel restrictions or charges were imposed on the couple following their change of status from witnesses to formal suspects.
In various newspaper interviews published today, the McCanns accused the Portuguese police of trying to frame them after they were named as formal suspects or arguidos.
Madeleine disappeared from the family’s holiday apartment on May 3.
The McCanns left their rented villa in Praia da Luz at shortly after 7am this morning.
A police cordon had been set up to allow their silver Renault Scenic to drive through the media camped at the foot of the drive way to their villa.
The decision to leave comes after a dramatic turn of events in the case.
During an 11-hour interview, detectives suggested to Mrs McCann that traces of Madeleine’s blood were found in the family’s hire car. The family say this is impossible, as they did not rent the vehicle until 25 days after Madeleine disappeared.
Mrs McCann told the Sunday Mirror that Portuguese police pressured her to confess that she killed her daughter by accident. She said that police “want me to lie – I’m being framed”.
Speaking on Friday, before she was made an arguida, she added: “Police don’t want a murder in Portugal and all the publicity about them not having paedophile laws here, so they’re blaming us.”
Her husband Gerry told the News of the World that Portuguese officers were looking for a quick end to the case and were exploiting apparent discrepancies in the couple’s account of what happened.
He said: “In a system that you don’t know and don’t really trust it’s incredibly frightening.”
Mr McCann said he and his wife had thought they were “in our worst nightmare but now it just keeps getting worse and worse”.
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