No suspect will ever face trial in the Madeleine McCann investigation because of mistakes made in the few hours after her disappearance, a forensics expert have said.
Defence lawyers would demolish scientific evidence in the case because of the wholesale contamination of forensics samples, the former head of the Portuguese police laboratory claimed.
Jose Manuel Anes said the seven-month police inquiry amounted to a complete waste of time and money.
"Huge amounts of money were spent but if, in the first hours, the due precautions for the preservation of the crime scene were not taken, all this hard work goes down the drain," he said.
"We can spend rivers of money which will all go down the drain if the crime scene is not properly isolated."
Portuguese police failed to seal off the McCann family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz immediately after the parents reported her abduction, meaning up to 50 people were free to tramp through the flat, destroying potentially vital evidence.
Mr Anes's damning analysis of the investigation has inspired "alarm" in Kate and Gerry McCann who still hope to learn what happened to their daughter on the night of May 3. (Daily Mail)
