[Josy]

The dramatic arrest of a Brit in the hunt for Madeleine McCann has been described as “potentially highly significant”.

It has boosted the hopes of the missing youngster’s anguished parents Kate and Gerry.

A source close to the couple said: “The arrest only happened as a result of a claim that Madeleine may still be alive.”

The suspect was held in a swoop by Greater Manchester Police after the Sunday Mirror last week revealed that a man bragged about seeing Madeleine alive just weeks ago.

A respected barrister told us the man boasted to him that he had met the child on a Mediterranean island. It was claimed Maddie was “introduced” to the man this summer.

It is understood that the Manchester officers who made the arrest also seized computers from a private address and sent them for forensic examination.

Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange team have been handed the barrister’s detailed statement, which is rated as “high up on the credibility scale”.

The Yard officers had reopened the probe into the disappearance of Madeleine, then aged three, from the McCanns’ holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.

The dramatic twist in the inquiry comes as Kate and Gerry, both 45, prepare to appear in a Crimewatch appeal on BBC1 tomorrow night.

It is understood they are being kept fully briefed on developments.

We told last week how the barrister went to police after being told of the Maddie sighting.

Tourist resorts popular with Brits are now thought to feature in the active inquiry. A family source confirmed last night: “This is high up on the credibility scale.

"The barrister did the right thing by going to police. His information has gone into the Operation Grange system and I know they are working on it.

Read more here
http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/world...rested-2366183


Would be one of the biggest shocks ever if this girl had to be found alive.