KATE and Gerry McCann are flying home today after deciding to quit Portugal following hours of police questioning and being named as suspects over the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine.

Friends said they have been told they are under no travel restrictions and the couple have given assurances they will return for further questioning if asked.

Their decision late yesterday to return to their Leicestershire home came after Portuguese police tried to pressure Kate McCann into admitting killing Madeleine by repeatedly showing her video footage of sniffer dogs allegedly finding the scent of a body in the family’s hire car. They will fly into East Midlands airport this lunchtime.

“They are leaving with the full agreement of the Portuguese authorities and police,” said a family spokesman.

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During 16 hours of interrogation Kate was shown the footage of the dogs clambering over the Renault Scénic car in the hope that she would break down and confess. She was yesterday said to be distraught and exhausted by the ordeal.

The dogs’ reaction was a key reason why the police suspect her of killing Madeleine. Officers told Kate they had found her daughter’s DNA in the car even though it was hired three weeks after her disappearance.

Kate and her husband are said to be mortified that the investigation team — with whom they have co-operated throughout — have apparently turned against them. “We are being absolutely stitched up,” Gerry told a friend. “We are completely f*****. We should have seen this coming weeks ago and gone back to Britain.”

Police hoped to force a confession from Kate after she was formally declared a suspect on Friday and subjected to further questioning. Jon Corner, a friend of the family, said: “They kept coming back to the hire car and kept showing Kate the video of sniffer dogs. They also told her that Madeleine’s DNA was found in the car.”

Another friend said: “The suggestion being put to Kate was that if she had somehow killed Madeleine in an accident, then used a hire car to dispose of the body three weeks later, she should confess and the judge would look at it in a lenient light and offer three to four years in jail. It’s absolute nonsense.”

As it emerged that the family are considering approaching David Miliband, the foreign secretary, Portuguese detectives last night faced questions about the value of the evidence they hoped would force Kate to break down. The family claim it is ambiguous and flawed.

They were supported by British forensic scientists who have been surprised by aspects of the investigation.

The family point out Kate has carried Cuddle Cat, Madeleine’s soft toy, since her disappearance, which could explain the presence of her DNA in the rental car. Initial reports that the DNA source was blood have not been confirmed.

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