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| Madeleine McCann: Police confirm Portugal 'activity' | Madeleine McCann: Police confirm Portugal 'activity' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Police investigating Madeleine McCann's disappearance have said "activity" is to begin in Portugal soon. | |
| The disclosure comes amid reports Portuguese authorities have given permission for sites in Praia da Luz, where the toddler went missing, to be searched. | |
| Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said he would be unable to provide details of activity. | |
| But he said he believed it "will occur in the coming weeks". | |
| A letter was sent to media editors amid speculation about excavation work. Mr Rowley asked them to "think carefully" about information they publish. | |
| Madeleine was three when she went missing from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Algarve, in May 2007. | |
| Bureaucratic and slower | |
| A request to search a number of sites was among a series of requests made to police in Portugal by British detectives working on the case, according to reports. | |
| Mr Rowley said he had discussed the case with his opposite number in Portugal and highlighted the "high levels of interest" that activity would generate in the British media. | |
| But he said Portuguese police do not provide the media with updates on current investigations. | |
| He adds that "activity will cease" if police in Britain provide information or reporters "cause any disruption to their work in Portugal". | |
| Mr Rowley also said the processing of requests had been "more bureaucratic and slower than we would wish". | |
| But he asked media editors to respect the requests of Portuguese authorities as they carry out the work. | |
| "We do not want to undermine our prospects of providing Mr and Mrs McCann with answers in this tragic case", he added. | |
| Anniversary | |
| The development comes after the seventh anniversary of Madeleine going missing was marked on Saturday. | |
| Gerry McCann, Madeleine's father, expressed his family's gratitude that the Metropolitan Police team investigating Madeleine's disappearance was now moving on to a "very active" phase in their investigation. | |
| He said at the weekend: "They are chipping away and obviously there is new evidence so we are going to continue to hope that we will get a happy outcome." | |
| Kate McCann also disclosed last week that she returns to the Portuguese resort where her daughter disappeared to "walk those streets" and "look for answers" once or twice each year. | |
| She also backed a revamped alert system triggered when missing children are kidnapped or their lives are at risk - known as Child Rescue Alerts. |