Former Belgian minister says police issued warning days before Madeleine McCann disappearance

A former Belgian justice minister has told UK media that police issued a warning about a paedophile network three days before Madeleine McCann vanished in Portugal in 2007, and said the case bore similarities to a high-profile Belgian child abuse investigation.

Marc Verwilghen, who led an inquiry into the crimes of convicted Belgian child murderer Marc Dutroux, told The Sun that intelligence suggested a group in Belgium had placed an "order for a young girl" shortly before the three-year-old disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.

Verwilghen said the tip appeared to have come from Belgian police and that those handling the Dutroux inquiry had uncovered reports of possible paedophile rings operating in Belgium at the time. "As soon as I heard about the case I had deja vu — because it reminded me straight away of Dutroux," he said. "When you look at the case it is of course possible Madeleine was stolen to order. The alert that was sent looks like it must have come from Belgium police and it should have been taken seriously."

Marc Dutroux was convicted in Belgium for the abduction, rape and murder of several girls during the 1990s. He was arrested in 1996 and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2004. Prosecutors and investigators in the Dutroux case concluded there were links to wider networks of child sex-traffickers across Europe, a finding Verwilghen said showed "the abduction of children took organisation and planning and more than one person to make this work."

Verwilghen said intelligence indicated someone connected to the alleged Belgian group had photographed a child in Portugal, sent the image to Belgium and received approval from a purchaser before the child was taken. He said the Dutroux inquiry had not been allowed to pursue all leads into broader networks because it focused on Dutroux as an individual.

The claims come as attention focuses on the imminent release from prison of Christian Brueckner, a German man who is the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. The Metropolitan Police's Detective Chief Inspector Mark Cranwell said investigators had requested an interview with the suspect via an International Letter of Request but that the request was refused.

"For a number of years we have worked closely with our policing colleagues in Germany and Portugal to investigate the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and support Madeleine's family to understand what happened on the evening of May 3, 2007," DCI Cranwell said in a statement. "We are aware of the pending release from prison of a 49-year-old German man who has been the primary suspect in the German federal investigation into Madeleine's disappearance. We can confirm that this individual remains a suspect in the Metropolitan Police's own investigation. We have requested an interview with this German suspect but, for legal reasons, this can only be done via an International Letter of Request which has been submitted. It was subsequently refused by the suspect. In the absence of an interview, we will nevertheless continue to pursue any viable lines of enquiry."

Authorities in several countries have conducted long-running inquiries into Madeleine McCann's disappearance, which drew global attention after she was last seen in a family holiday apartment while her parents dined at a nearby restaurant. Portuguese, British and German prosecutors and police have each carried out investigations at different times; no one has been convicted in relation to her disappearance.

Verwilghen's comments, published in UK tabloids on Tuesday, are a restatement of his view that organised paedophile and trafficking networks operated in Europe during the period that encompassed both the Dutroux crimes and the McCann disappearance. He said the pattern of planning and the possibility that children could be targeted for purchasers matched elements of the Dutroux case.

Investigators in the Dutroux prosecutions found evidence of organised activity that prompted wider inquiries into the existence of networks, but the structure and reach of such activity have remained subjects of debate and further investigation. In the McCann inquiry, police in multiple jurisdictions have followed leads provided over many years and have said they will continue to pursue any new or existing lines of enquiry.

The Metropolitan Police said it would continue to work with German and Portuguese authorities and to support Madeleine McCann's family. Legal and procedural requirements govern cross-border requests for interviews and evidence, and the Met said it would pursue lawful avenues to seek further information as allowed by international cooperation mechanisms.

Neither Verwilghen nor the outlets reporting his comments provided independent documentation of the alleged Belgian warning. The Metropolitan Police did not comment on the specific allegation of a tip from Belgium, reiterating only that the suspect in Germany remains of interest and that investigations continue.

The McCann family has repeatedly asked for privacy but has expressed the desire to know what happened. Police appeals and public interest in the case have persisted for nearly two decades, with periodic developments prompting renewed media coverage and investigative activity.