Madeleine in Donegal, pictured second from left in April 2007. She disappeared in Portugal two weeks later
A taxi driver who says he could help solve the mystery of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance says he wants to tell British police about seeing the three-year-old the night after she vanished.
Antonio Castela claims he picked up three men, a woman and a girl who looked like the missing three-year-old near the Spanish border in the Algarve.
He has previously claimed he told Portuguese detectives what he saw, but was not questioned, even though a lawyer for Madeleine’s parents said he could provide vital clues.
British police are expected to arrive in Portugal next month to investigate the girl’s disappearance. Madeleine’s grandparents are from Donegal and she spent the Easter here before her tragic disappearance in May 2007.
Mr Castela, 73, said: “I want to tell them what I saw and assist in the investigation. I remember all the details. I would be very happy if the police re-open the investigation and if I could help in this case. This case has haunted me for a long time.”
He says he picked up the men, woman and child at 7.50pm, an hour’s drive away.
He took them two miles to the Hotel Apolo in his neighbourhood, Vila Real de Santo António, near Faro, where they got into a blue BMW and drove away.
He said: “In 2007 I called police and told them what I had seen. Since then, no one from the police has spoken to me or showed interest in my story. No one came to collect my statement.”
He said he recalls Madeleine, in pink pyjamas, sitting on one of the men’s laps, and he noticed the “black spot” — a distinctive mark in her right eye. “I think my story may give a clue that has not been followed. I do not know what happened to Maddy, but I know that day, she was still alive in my cab.”
The Met has identified 38 potential suspects, including 12 Britons “of interest” who were in Portugal when Maddy vanished.