Madeleine McCann’s father publicly welcomed yesterday the Portuguese police inquiry putting himself, his wife and the friends who joined them on holiday under fresh scrutiny.

Gerry McCann suggested that detectives were starting with a clean sheet after the only named suspect, the British expatriate Robert Murat, was due to be eliminated from their inquiries.

Madeleine’s parents will attend a prayer service today in the resort of Praia da Luz to mark 100 days since the girl, aged three, vanished from her bed in a holiday flat.

In a further sign that police are leaving no stone unturned, it was reported that they want to interview a British man who was on holiday at the same time as the family.

The Timesunderstands this is someone who befriended Mr McCann and joined in the hunt for Madeleine, along with Mr Murat. His identity was already known to police and a report, in Jornal de Noticias, that his hire car was being checked merely confirms how thoroughly everyone is being reexamined.

Gerry and Kate McCann told the Portuguese station TVI that detectives had started their investigation again from scratch. “If that means they are saying ‘Well actually we are not excluding you as much’, if that brings the focus back on us, that is fine, as long as it is part of the process of saying ‘Let’s go back to the beginning and see what are the scenarios’.”

Police are expected to reinterview the McCanns and the friends who were on holiday with them. The couples went to have dinner, leaving Madeleine and her two-year-old twin brother and sister alone in their beds. The adults are said to have checked regularly on the sleeping children.

“We have absolutely no doubt that they are not involved but the important thing is what the police think and that they are objective about their evidence,” Mr McCann said.

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