A Portuguese prosecutor today decided there was sufficient evidence to pass the case against missing Madeleine McCann's parents to a judge, who will decide which charges will be brought against them over her death.

Despite the insistence of Kate and Gerry McCann that they had no involvement in their daughter's disappearance, Jose Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses, an Algarve-based prosecutor, concluded that the evidence against them was strong enough to apply for a prosecution.

In a complex case which has from the start been beset by rumours and contradictions, the McCanns could face a protracted and agonising wait before learning whether they are to be charged. Judge Silvia Bidarra, an instructional judge who rules on whether to bring charges in cases still under investigation, has 10 days to consider a number of options, including placing them under house arrest in the Algarve, ordering further interrogations and authorising further searches.

Earlier today, Portuguese police denied a report that they had found a perfect DNA match for Madeleine McCann in a sample of body fluids taken from a car hired by her parents 25 days after her disappearance.

But a source close to the investigation told The Times that forensics experts had found a surprising amount of Madeleine's hair in the hired Renault Scenic, which detectives now suspect was used to transport her corpse.

Detectives had expected to find some of Madeleine's genetic material, skin flakes or hair in the car because it had been used to carry the family's belongings, including her clothes and toys, when the McCanns moved from their holiday apartment to a nearby villa.

But the amount of hair came as a surprise, the source said, although detectives were not confident that they could prove beyond doubt their suspicions that Madeleine's body was ever in the car.

Relatives insisted the family was unconcerned about the referral of the case to a judge, saying it was an opportunity for the couple - who returned home to Rothley, Leicestershire, on Sunday after been named as suspects in Madeleine's disappearance - to clear their names. “That was expected - it doesn’t change a thing,” Madeleine’s aunt, Philomena McCann, said. “We will have to wait and see if they are bringing charges or not.”<QA1>

Senior PJ officers decided to submit the file despite not having all the results from the Forensic Science Service in Birmingham on samples collected by British and Portuguese investigators, although a source close to the investigation said all results of substance had already been handed to Leicestershire Police and the Portuguese authorities.

"The bulk of the evidence has been sent on. In a case such as this the evidence is assessed, rather like a batting order, on what is most important," the source said. "We have reached the tail end now."

Sky News reported last night that FSS tests on a specimen from the Renault Scenic showed that it was a full match of Madeleine's DNA – suggesting that her body had been in the boot of the car. Another sample is said to show an 80 per cent match to the genetic profile of Madeleine, who disappeared just a few days before her fourth birthday.

But police today denied that there had been any perfect match, or one strong enough to stand up in court.

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