A woman has been named ‘prime suspect’ in the Madeleine McCann case

A woman has allegedly been named as the prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

A source close to Scotland Yard told the Sunday Express that police officers are eager to speak to the woman who was seen near Algarve holiday resort of Praia da Luz when the three-year-old vanished from apartment 5a of the Ocean Club on May 3, 2007. The suspect is not thought to be living in Portugal at this time. Speaking about the investigation team's next move, the source told the newspaper:

"After months of tireless police work they will soon be in a position to move in and finally get some answers after a decade of dead-ends."

Speaking to the BBC about what's being described by officials as a ‘critical’ line of inquiry, Madeleine's mother Kate McCann said:

"We’ve come a long way and there is progress and there are some very credible lines of inquiry that the police are working on. "Whilst there’s no evidence to give us any negative news, hope is still there."

Kate, 48, and Gerry McCann, 49 gave an interview to BBC news presenter Fiona Bruce over the weekend to mark a decade since Madeleine vanished from their holiday apartment as they dined with friends nearby. Scotland Yard has so far declined to comment on the investigation.