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Anne Harrison, Detective Chief Superintendent from the NPIA said that it was possible Madeleine was still in Praia da Luz but was being hidden and appealed for anyone that knew where she was to come forward.

“We do not know the reason why she was taken but the Portuguese authorities have searched extensively around Praia da Luz and she has not been found. It is possible she is being hidden or concealed in some way and if you know where then by now you may have realised it is in everybody’s interest that she is returned to her family”.

She also wanted anyone who took part in the initial search for Madeleine before the Portuguese police arrived to contact them on 0800 096 1233.

Earlier today, in Praia da Luz, holidaymakers, workers and shoppers joined Madeleine’s mother in observing "a minute of hope" at the Algarve town where she disappeared 18 days ago.

As the clock struck noon at the 16th century church of Nossa Senhora Da Luz, the town of Praia da Luz fell silent for one minute in a sign of the enormous public support and sympathy for the McCann family.

Kate McCann, a GP from Rothley, Leicestershire, had earlier spent almost an hour at the church praying in front of a photograph of her daughter surrounded by a red heart. She left at 11.50am to return to her two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

The "minute of hope" had been initiated by an anonymous chain e-mail circulated around Portugal at the weekend. It was given the blessing of the family who are spearheading a campaign to imprint Madeleine's image on the minds of people across Europe and North Africa in the hope that she will be found.

They are convinced that she is alive and well despite no news of her whereabouts for two-and-a-half weeks.

The silence comes ahead of a nationwide prayer initiative launched by Carmelite nuns in the north of the country who have sent out emails across Portugal, calling for people to pray for Madeleine at 10pm tomorrow.

Mrs McCann is apart from her husband, Gerry, for the first time since the abduction on May 3 as he is in the UK on a short visit.

Mr McCann will visit Rothley’s war memorial this evening to see the yellow ribbons and messages of hope tied to its railings, a Foreign Office official said today.

“(Mr McCann) is here for a number of reasons - to attend to a few personal matters, to meet police and of course to thank everybody once again for the overwhelming support they have had from around the world,” said the official.

At Praia da Luz’s busy Baptista supermarket a loudspeaker announcement in both Portuguese and English signalled the start of the silence. Music was turned off, cash registers stopped and staff and customers stood silently.

Among them was local Portuguese woman Natalie Ferreira, 56. She said: “I was silent for the child, it is very important, for all the children, in Portugal children are sacred.”

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