MADDIE 'HOPE' AS COPS SAY SORRY

Prosecutor believes apology 16 years on is progress for case

- TOM PETTIFOR

THE parents of Madeleine McCann have received an apology from Portuguese police 16 years after their botched handling of her disappearance.

Kate and Gerry McCann were named as suspects after the three-year-old went missing while on holiday in the Algarve in May 2007.

Senior officers met Mr McCann in London earlier this year and apologised to the family, according to BBC Panorama.

They also briefed them on their ongoing investigation and gave their support to German authorities, who believe 46-year-old German national Christian Brueckner abducted and killed Madeleine. The couple have not commented on the apology and the r case remains unsolved.