No reason to reopen Maddie probe - Police

Portuguese police have no new evidence that would give them cause to reopen an inquiry into the disappearance in 2007 of the British youngster Madeleine McCann.

"There are no new elements at the moment that would allow for the reopening of the inquiry," Pedro do Carmo, the deputy head of the criminal police department, told AFP on Thursday.

His comments come a day after British police reviewing her disappearance said they believed she could still be alive five years after she went missing in Praia da Luz and urged their Portuguese counterparts to reopen their search.

Do Carmo said a team of investigators would continue "to re-examine elements of the inquiry" in collaboration with British police but he said such a practice was normal and did not constitute a reopening of the probe.

A British team from Scotland, which has been sifting through material relating to the youngster, said on Wednesday they had identified 195 "investigative opportunities" that could be followed up.

They also released a computer-generated image, created by experts, of how Madeleine might look now approaching what would be her ninth birthday on May 12.

Do Carmo said the Portuguese police had received "no formal request for the reopening of the inquiry".

Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate McCann have never abandoned their high-profile campaign to find their eldest daughter, who disappeared on the Portuguese south coast on May 3, 2007 while her parents were at dinner.

Photo: Artist's rendering of what Madeleine McCan may look like if still alive. Getty Images