Portuguese police brought together close friends of Madeleine McCann's parents and the chief suspect in the case to discuss discrepancies over what happened on the night the little girl was taken, a spokesman has said.
The three friends, who were on holiday with Kate and Gerry McCann in the Algarve when the four-year-old was abducted in May, flew back to Portugal earlier this week to meet police.
While there, Rachael Oldfield, 36, Dr Russell O'Brien, 36, and Dr Fiona Payne, 34, compared their versions of events on May 3 with the only named suspect - "arguido" - Robert Murat. It is understood they saw Briton Mr Murat on the night Madeleine disappeared, while he has insisted he was at his nearby home all evening with his mother Jenny.
Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, spokesman for the Policia Judiciaria (PJ), said Mr Murat and the McCanns' friends came together at the PJ headquarters in Portimao on Wednesday.
"I know they have been brought together in the same building," he said. "I know they have been discussing some differences between the things they said about the night Madeleine disappeared."
Expatriate Mr Murat, 33, who was formally named as a suspect on May 15 and remains an arguido, spent two days being re-interviewed by police. It is thought that among things he was asked about was an email which reportedly mentioned "the missing English girl".
Mr Murat has consistently remained at the centre of the case. He lives just a short walk from where she was snatched, has a daughter the same age and volunteered his services to help police investigating the case with translation.
On the night Madeleine was taken in the resort town of Praia da Luz, the McCanns were having dinner with a group of friends from the UK in a tapas restaurant opposite. Police have already interviewed the party in detail, including one woman - whose identity has not been confirmed - who saw a girl being carried away by a man in Praia da Luz. The McCanns are convinced it was Madeleine.
Dr Payne and her husband David, also a doctor, were among those who stayed on in the Algarve to support the McCanns for several weeks after the abduction.
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On Thursday night, Mr McCann, 38, was given a standing ovation as he attended an awards ceremony in London which honoured police bravery. He thanked police officers from all over the country for their help in the search for his daughter and urged them not to give up.
