Key witness casts doubt over Kate McCann's account of Madeleine's disappearanceBy REBECCA CAMBER - More by this author ?
Last updated at 18:38pm on 16th December 2007
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A crucial witness has cast fresh doubt over Kate McCann's account of the night her daughter disappeared in a new police quiz.
Detectives consider the testimony of an Ocean Club waiter as the "trump card" in their investigation, it was claimed today.
The holiday resort employee was first on the scene moments after Madeleine's mother discovered she was missing at 10pm on May 3.
His evidence, which highlights a number of contradictions in the McCanns' statements, is said to be so vital to the police inquiry that they have re-interviewed the waiter for the third time in recent days.
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Kate McCann: A vital witness has cast doubt on her account of the night her daughter Madeleine disappeared
Crucially, the member of staff, who has not been identified, claims that the parents and their holiday friends, the so-called Tapas Nine, did not check on their children every 30 minutes.
Contrary to what Kate McCann told police, the tapas restaurant worker also said that Kate McCann did scream: "They've taken her, they've taken her" when she learnt Madeleine was missing.
He said instead of running back to the tapas bar where she was dining with her husband Gerry and friends, Mrs McCann raised the alarm from the balcony of their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.
The mother's precise words have become a pivotal issue in the case, with Portuguese police questioning why she would automatically assume Madeleine had been abducted.
Madeleine McCann has been missing since May 3rd
His version of events contrasts dramatically with the account friends of the couple have given.
They claim that the 39-year-old GP raised the alarm when she ran back to the restaurant on 3 May shouting "Madeleine's gone, Madeleine's gone."
The highly respected Portuguese newspaper, Diario de Noticias reported today that the eyewitness account is considered a "trump card", critical to pining down supposed contradictions in the accounts of the Tapas Nine.
The Ocean Club employee has been re-interviewed at Portimao police station in recent days about the McCanns' behaviour where he reaffirmed his original statement.
Policia Judiciaria detectives believe the key to unlocking the mystery of Madeleine's disappearance lies within the group and alleged inconsistencies in their witness statements are at the heart of the investigation.
The revelation comes as police prepare to fly to Britain where Kate and Gerry McCann and their holiday friends will be re-interrogated about their movements on the night she went missing.
Police suspect that Madeleine died in an accident in the apartment and the McCanns disposed of her body - an allegation the couple have denied.
Detectives are working on the theory some of their friends helped cover up the crime and some could be named as suspects when they are re-interviewed.
But the McCanns have always insisted Madeleine was snatched from their Ocean Club apartment while they were dining with their friends just yards away.
The waiter's account mirrors that of nanny Charlotte Pennington who said she heard Kate McCann scream: "They've taken her, they've taken her!"
But other waiters working at the holiday complex have disputed key elements of his evidence, saying that the group checked on their children every 20 minutes.
Yesterday the McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell furious denied the claims. He said: "This is all lies. Kate has consistently and categorically absolutely denied that she said that on the veranda.
"But in the evening she may have said it at some stage as a general remark, but she did not run out with this phrase.
"Whoever this guy is and if he is saying this, he is either making it up or he is mistaken.
"Kate, Gerry and their friends told the truth. They will continue to maintain their stories, because it is the truth. Whatever this guy is saying, we reject it, it is not true."