The parents of Madeleine McCann said that there was no cause for celebration after they were cleared by the Portuguese authorities yesterday, 14 months after the disappearance of their daughter.

After the investigation was shelved, Gerry and Kate McCann described their “utter despair” at being named as suspects. The Portuguese police announced that they had lifted the arguido (suspect) status from the couple and were shelving the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance from the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz in May last year.

The arguido status was also lifted from Robert Murat, the British property developer living in Portugal who was the first man to be named as a suspect.

Speaking in Rothley, Leicestershire, yesterday the McCanns, both 40, described the devastating impact of being labelled suspects and the effect this had on the investigation.

Mrs McCann said: “We welcome the news today but it is in no way cause for celebration. It is hard to describe how utterly despairing it was to be named arguidos and subsequently portrayed in the media as suspects in our own daughter's abduction. It has been equally devastating to witness the detrimental effect this status has had on the search for Madeleine.”

Mr McCann refused to confirm whether the couple would take legal action against the Portuguese authorities, saying: “Our priority has always been to search for Madeleine. Anything else is secondary and will be considered in due course.”

He added that the family had no immediate plans to return to Portugal.

Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman, said the couple’s lawyers would be making an immediate application for full access to the police files so they could follow up any leads.

He said: “There is a degree of relief but no air of celebration whatsoever. They should never have been arguidos. This shows them to be the wronged couple they are.”

Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro, Portugal’s Attorney-General, told police to halt the investigation into of Madeleine’s disappearance.

A statement released by his office confirmed that it had decided to “close the file on the investigation concerning the disappearance of the minor Madeleine McCann due to lack of evidence that any crime was committed by the persons placed under formal investigation”.

The files have been archived but they will be reviewed periodically and could be reopened if new evidence emerges, he said.

Madeleine was nearly four when she vanished from her family’s holiday apartment on May 3, 2007, as her parents dined in a nearby restaurant with friends.

Police named Mr Murat, 34, as their first suspect but later focused their investigation on the McCanns. All three have strenously denied any involvement.

Mr Murat also welcomed the clearing of his name, adding: “It doesn’t take away from the fact that there is still a child missing, which is very sad. It would be better to be cleared and know exactly what happened, and have a feeling of finality, but that hasn’t happened.”

According to reports yesterday, one key error that led to the McCanns being declared suspects was made by Britain’s own Forensic Science Service.

The report, apparently from the Portuguese authorities and which was leaked to the London Evening Standard newspaper, states that the Policia Judiciaria, Portugal’s criminal investigation department, was told that DNA evidence found in the couple’s hire car, on the window sill of their holiday apartment and in the car park of the apartment complex, belonged to Madeleine.

The document claims that it was given categorically as her DNA and as a result the McCanns were questioned and later made suspects. But, one month later, the forensic service wrote another report saying that it could not be sure that those findings were correct.

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