Amid the palm trees and sun-baked villas of Praia da Luz, local residents are praying for the safe return of Madeleine McCann. But, at the same time, many are becoming increasingly irritated at the relentless international attention.

The mounting criticism of the way that Portuguese police have handled the search has stung authorities, unused to such harsh and sustained scrutiny from abroad. There is a growing note of defensiveness in much of the Portuguese press, with many newspapers rallying to the defence of the police.

“I think the authorities are doing a fine job in the search to find Madeleine,” Pedro Tadeu wrote in 24 Horas newspaper. “They have mobilised hundreds of people to find the girl – police, specialists, investigators, boats, helicopters and cars.” Portuguese newspapers have also become increasingly convinced that any kidnapper could not have been Portuguese. Many have run prominent stories claiming the abductor must be British – and could be known to the family.

“Maddie was taken by someone who knew her, someone who spoke her language and was close to her family – that much is certain,” Júlia Pinheiro wrote in 24 Horas.She suggested that the parents knew who had taken their daughter but refrained from saying so to avoid “provoking the kidnapper into a desperate act”.

Many Portuguese also expressed surprise that the parents should have left their children sleeping alone, for however short a time, while they ate out 100 yards away.

Portuguese families are accustomed to taking their children out to dinner with them, even late at night. LuÍs Villas-Boas, a psychologist, accused the McCanns of being “negligent through overconfidence”. “Leaving two twin babies and a three-year-old girl alone for more than a minute is not exactly a recommended pattern of behaviour in Portugal or any other part of the world,” he said.

British newspapers have painted the Portuguese authorities as bumbling and inept, allegedly taking 12 hours to alert authorities at the Spanish border and four days to post a photo of the girl on their missing persons website. Police have also been accused of being uncommunicative and inconsistent with the press.

But Portuguese police say that they are bound by “judicial secrecy” laws, which prevent them divulging any information about the state of the case. In Britain police tend to appeal to the public for help in identifying suspects in such cases. Once someone is caught and charged, they impose a news blackout to protect the suspect’s right to a fair trial.

However, in Portugal police say that they are not allowed to reveal details of suspects at any stage of the investigation to protect the integrity of the case. Artur Rego, a local lawyer in Praia da Luz, said that the limited information emerging from the police was perfectly normal. “It has a focus to protect the investigation and the character of the person being investigated in case they are cleared,” he said.

Portuguese police have had fewer leads to follow than their British counterparts. The country does not have the extensive CCTV network that blankets Britain, making kidnapping cases far more difficult to crack.

Times Recommends

• UN may halt 400-year-old 'freedom of the seas'
• Where the Rosetta belongs can’t be set in stone
• Gas deal on hold, but Ukraine may pay in the end