The lack of evidence surrounding Madeleine’s disappearance has led to lurid theories appearing in internet chatrooms and blogs about what might have happened to her. Among the most widely discussed are:

Prearranged abduction

Theory: Madeleine was drugged so that a prearranged abduction by a third party could take place. When Kate cried out “They’ve taken her” shortly after she discovered Madeleine had disappeared, she did so because she has some knowledge of who “they” are. Others speculate that the McCanns, who are of Catholic faith, had become involved with a strange religious cult.

Flaws: Kate was in genuine distress when she discovered Madeleine missing, say her friends; what she cried out means little. There is no other indication at all that any abduction was prearranged.

They did it for money

Theory: the McCanns sold their daughter and “laundered” the proceeds through the fund set up to help the hunt for Madeleine.

Flaws: Gerry McCann is a consultant cardiologist and Kate is also a doctor, though she was working part-time after having children. They both had healthy incomes. Although more than £1m has been raised for Madeleine’s fund, the money has been used exclusively to help with the search for her. Trustees were appointed at the outset to monitor and authorise all spending.

The accidental killing

Theory: Madeleine was killed by her parents by accident, either through the misuse of a sedative or in horseplay that went wrong. In the first version, the McCanns plied their children with a sedative so they could enjoy an uninterrupted evening meal with friends. When Madeleine accidentally died from an overdose, they hid the body, pretended she had been abducted and dumped the corpse later. Alternatively, they undertook the same cover-up after she received a bang on the head.

Flaws: Extensive searches immediately after Madeleine’s disappearance found no sign of her. The McCanns have been under constant scrutiny ever since - so how could they have recovered and disposed of a decomposing corpse? Hugh White, a Home Office pathologist from Bath, also suggests that the body would have been easily detectable by smell after three weeks unless it had been kept in a refrigerator.

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