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The parents of Madeleine McCann said last night that they still hold out hopes for her safe return, with Portuguese police apparently no closer to finding the three-year-old - a week on from her abduction.
Gerry and Kate McCann were unable to face the cameras yesterday but in
a statement said they continued to remain positive.
"We are grateful to all of those currently taking part in the search for our daughter Madeleine," they said.
"At present we are channelling all of our emotions and all of our efforts into the steps that are being taken to secure Madeleine's safe return."
Clues to Madeleine's disappearance from an apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz, as her parents dined in a nearby tapas bar, seemed few and far between yesterday and an e-fit of the 'abductor' shown by police to local businesses contained no face, which suggests that police are some distance from finding her.
Detective Chief Inspector Graham Hill from Britain's Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), one of only two centre of excellence for child abduction and paedophile behaviour in the world, continued to work with the Portuguese yesterday.
His colleague, forensic psychologist Joe Sullivan, the second CEOP officer called in by the Portuguese, has already returned to Britain to fulfil previous commitments, but will continue to work with the Portuguese police.
After identifying the failure to circulate images of Madeleine as a weakness of the investigation, CEOP also issued an internet appeal for Madeleine's safe return yesterday.
It came through the Virtual Global Taskforce (VGT) which receives hits from more than 130 countries.
It also came to light yesterday that Portuguese police have included a photograph of Madeleine and a telephone number for the public to call on its own website but had failed to draw attention to the site or to make the number available at any of its press conferences.
David Hill, a former area commander of the National Crime Squad who was awarded the Queen's Police Medal for helping write the police response procedures for kidnap scenarios, said the Portuguese response had been "apathetic" and had failed to provide the requisite speed of response.
Stung by criticism of their efforts, Portuguese police adopted a higher profile yesterday, with mounted officers and maritime patrols among the search teams.
Officers have been passed a CCTV tape from a service station a few miles from where Madeleine was abducted, showing a woman with a girl fitting her description who raised staff suspicions.
The woman was said to be urging the girl to say "thank you" to staff but had appeared reluctant, apparently wanting to say something.
The Galp service station is the first stop on the N22 motorway, which cuts across the Algarve towards Spain, which is less than an hour away.
Portuguese police are said to focusing their search on the possibility that Madeleine was abducted by an organised paedophile network.
But the investigative Policia Judiciaria (PJ) have not commented publicly, hinting only that they have narrowed down their hypotheses.
The force has come under intense criticism for its handling of the case but refuses to reveal details of the investigation - or even an e-fit - because of the national segredo de justica law which prevents details of a criminal investigation being revealed.
Madeleine's uncle, John McCann, who is just back from Portugal, stepped in to defuse criticism of the Portuguese police.
"Everybody's working to the same end," he said.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman indicated that Mr Blair was following the case.
"These are very difficult days for, first and foremost, the family, and we clearly understand that and appreciate that," he said.
"We have a certain level of expertise which has been made available and has been taken advantage of by the Portuguese authorities.
- INDEPENDENT
