The investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance has been hijacked by her parents' "gigantic propaganda machine", Portuguese detectives have claimed.

Senior police officers have condemned the recruitment of Metodo 3, the Spanish private detective agency hired by the couple to find their daughter.

And they have claimed that the 39-year-old doctors from Rothley, Leicestershire are using a string of "new witnesses" reported recently as "diversion tactics" aimed at distracting the police away from the couple.
A source close to the official police investigation told the Daily Express: "Who do the McCanns think they are? "The discovery of new witnesses in the last few weeks lead the authorities to believe they are at war with a gigantic propaganda machine.

"The McCanns have some very powerful people on their side - millionaires, celebrities, even politicians."

This week salesman Paul Gordon, 34, from Hampshire told how he confronted an intruder trying to break into the same holiday apartment from where Madeleine disappeared just days before the British youngster vanished.

Last week Irishman Martin Smith, from Drogheda, County Louth, told how he saw a man carrying a child towards the beach shortly before 10pm on the night of May 3, about the time that Madeleine disappeared.

In December sisters Annie Wiltshire, 58, and Jayne Jensen, 54, both from Kent, told police they saw suspect Robert Murat outside the Ocean Club complex half an hour after Madeleine was reported missing from her family's holiday flat on the night of May 3.

And in November Metodo 3 revealed how a lorry driver told them he saw a woman handing a young child over to a man near the town of Silves, 25 miles from Praia da Luz, two days after Madeleine disappeared.

Criticism of the McCanns has peaked in recent days following revelations that they are in talks with film-makers to make a film about their daughter's disappearance, already dubbed 'Madeleine the Movie'.

Senior figures in Portugal have also been shocked by the celebrity-style interview the couple granted to American glossy magazine Vanity Fair.
Home improvements millionaire Brian Kennedy has provided tens of thousands of pounds to bankroll the Find Madeleine campaign.

Footballers David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo and even Prime Minister Gordon Brown have spoken out in support of the McCanns.

A police source said: "Their tactics are really beginning to annoy the detectives.

"Whenever a decisive date approaches the company (Metodo 3) takes a new rabbit out of the hat." The police also distrust the surge in new witnesses who claim they have seen the only other suspect in the case, British expat Robert Murat, close to the Ocean Club Resort, Praia da Luz, on the night of 3 May last year when Madeleine vanished.
The source added: "Just last week an Irish couple insisted they saw a man leaving, carrying a child, at the same time in which the parents spoke of abduction.

"They never said it before, although the case is reached such a high a profile, never before seen in whole of Europe."

Friends of Murat claim he has been made a scapegoat by the McCann's PR machine.
His lawyer Francisco Pagarete said: "Robert Murat does not have millionaires supporting him, nor campaign funds. "He just wants to see his name cleared in this case as he has nothing to do with Madeleine’s disappearance, despite every day people emerging trying to forcibly incriminate him."

The latest outburst follows previous attacks on the McCann by the police claiming the couple were wrecking the official investigation into Madeleine's disappearance.

In November the chairman of the Portuguese Union of Police Detectives, Carlos Anjos described the £1 million Find Madeleine campaign as a "monster" which was out of control and had to be stopped.

He said: "The McCanns created a monster of information about the Maddie case which they then lost control of."
He claimed the couple were 'partly to blame' for the media storm which has surrounded the police investigation and said they had not helped to solve the case.

At the same time police sources gave a brutal insight into the change in Portuguese public opinion about the McCanns.

The officer said: "The parents and their publicity campaign have turned her into a symbol of something ugly and wrong. People are sick of having it rammed down their throats."

He added: "They've over-done it. "People used to look at her picture and well up with tears "Now they see her picture and it gets no reaction. It's time to stop."

Police also claimed in November that reported sightings of Madeleine sightings all over the world, including in Bosnia, Morocco, Belgium and Malta, were part of a deliberate campaign to bring down their investigation and part of a deliberate campaign of misinformation.

A source told the Portuguese newspaper 24 Horas: "None of the reports indicating sightings of the McCanns' daughter have been confirmed. "Somebody is trying to draw attention away from what really happened that night.

"There are those who want to bring down an investigation that has been carried out honestly and rigourously.

"The Policia Judiciaria doesn't want to see any innocent person arrested. They only seek the truth."

Police have ridiculed the Spanish private detective agency Metodo 3, branding them "small fry", after claims that their agents were "very close" to solving the case.

Last night the McCann's official spokesman Clarence Mitchell denied the couple were running a propaganda campaign.

He said: "That's utter rubbish. We are not running a propaganda campaign.

"Everyone involved is simply following leads as information comes in.

"They are all genuine people who are well meaning in their intentions, on top of that I wish I was that powerful, that I could mount a propaganda campaign, I am just doing my job."

Mr Mitchell also dismissed rumours that Metodo 3 were on the verge of being sacked but confirmed that their contract will be reviewed in February.

He said: "We were unhappy with some of the public comments made and that was made very clear to Metodo 3 and since then Francisco has made no further comments.

"But in terms of what they are contributing to finding Madeleine we are happy. We are also happy with their invoicing for work done."

Metodo 3 were signed up for a six month contract worth £300,000 in September.
The firm has recently sub-contracted some of the work to private investigation firm Hogan International to conduct some interviews.