Detectives from London’s Metropolitan Police are reportedly advocating for Christian Brueckner to face trial in the UK for the alleged kidnapping and murder of Madeleine McCann.
Brueckner, aged 48, emerged as the primary suspect in the young girl’s disappearance, identified by German authorities while he was serving a prison term for the rape of an elderly woman.
Despite being named as a suspect, formal charges were never filed, and Brueckner was released from custody last year.
Currently, a senior detective from Scotland Yard is spearheading efforts to have charges brought against Brueckner before the end of the year.
The Metropolitan Police aims to have him tried at the Old Bailey and is reportedly in the process of compiling evidence to present to the Crown Prosecution Service.
However, a potential legal hurdle looms, as German law prohibits the extradition of its nationals to non-European Union countries. This could lead to diplomatic tensions over Brueckner’s possible transfer to the UK.
Bruecker was living just a mile away from the Praia da Luz hotel where Madeleine had been staying with her family at the time of her disappearance in 2007.
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police are reportedly pushing for Christian Brueckner to stand trial in Britain for the abduction and murder of Madeleine McCann
It comes just a day after Kate and Gerry McCann were warmly welcomed by supporters and well-wishers for the informal outdoor gathering in their home village of Rothley, Leicestershire
Madeleine disappeared in May 2007 while staying at a hotel in Praia da Luz in the Algarve, Portugal
An insider at Scotland Yard told the Telegraph: ‘Next year marks 20 years since Madeleine McCann went missing. If the evidence is strong enough to extradite the prime suspect and try him here, that is what we would seek to do.
‘Clearly, there are numerous hurdles but our priority at the moment is to amass the strongest evidence we can against that prime suspect.’
The news comes just hours after Kate and Gerry McCann, Maddy’s parents, joined a prayer vigil in Leicestershire to mark the 19th anniversary of her disappearance.
It marked the first time that the parents had been accompanied by their twins – Sean and Amelie – as well-wishers gathered outside their family home.
Kate and Gerry vowed in a statement posted online: ‘The search goes on to find her, to achieve some justice, to make the world that bit safer.’
Madeleine had been sleeping alone with her younger twin siblings on the night of her disappearance in May 2007 while Gerry, 57, and Kate, 58, were out dining at a tapas restaurant.
The 15-year investigation in Britain since she vanished has so far cost the taxpayer around £13.5million – with the Government approving a fresh request from Scotland Yard for a cash boost earlier this year.
Sir Mark Rowley, the UK’s most senior policeman, confirmed last year that the Met were looking for a way to extradite from convicted rapist Brueckner to the UK from Germany.
He said at the time: ‘One of the reasons we are involved is that murder is in many situations extraterritorial and potentially a murder of a British subject can in certain circumstances be charged in the UK.
‘There’s lots of maybes, so at the moment we are taking stock with the Germans and Portuguese.’
Having served seven years behind bars in Sehnde prison, near the town of Hanover, Brueckner was released in late September 2025.
He had been named as a ‘top suspect’ in Madeleine’s disappearance in 2020 but was never charged due to a lack of evidence, prosecutors said.
Hans Christian Wolters, who led the investigation in Germany into Brueckner, has repeatedly insisted that there is concrete evidence against the sex offender.
He said he was ‘100 per cent’ sure that Brueckner had murdered Madeleine while speaking to reporters in 2021, adding: ‘We’re confident we have the man who took and killed her. It is now possible that we could charge. We have that evidence now.
‘But it’s not just about charging him – we want to charge him with the best body of evidence possible.’
And speaking only this week, Mr Wolters said: ‘The investigation into the Madeleine McCann case continues. Christian B remains the only suspect. I cannot say when the investigations will end or what the outcome will be.’
Brueckner has always denied any involvement in the case.
This is a breaking news story, more to follow.
