Portuguese police have apologised to the parents of missing Maddie McCann for the way detectives investigated the case and treated the family.
Little Madeleine vanished in May 2007 while on holiday with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, in Praia da Luz.
The family, who have strong ties to Donegal, have undergone years of torment after Maddie was snatched from an apartment while her parents went out to dinner with friends.
According to BBC Panorama, a delegation of senior Portuguese police officers travelled from Lisbon to London earlier this year, where they met and apologised to Mr McCann.
The delegation reportedly said the initial investigation was not handled properly, insufficient importance was given at the time to missing children, and officers did not properly appreciate the McCanns’ position as foreigners in an environment they did not understand.
During questioning of Madeleine’s parents in September 2007, detectives made them both “arguidos” – or suspects – in their daughter’s disappearance.
That status was eventually lifted and the investigation was shelved in 2008, but the couple remained under suspicion in Portugal for years.
