Madeleine fund used to pay loan

London: The McCanns used some of the money donated to help find their daughter to make mortgage payments, it was revealed yesterday.

Esther McVey, one of the trustees of the Find Madeleine fund, confirmed that two months' payments were made from the £1 million (Dh7.5 million) raised by public donations.

The amount - a few thousand pounds - covered payments in July and August on the family home in Rothley, Leicestershire.

McVey said Kate and Gerry stopped using the fund for mortgage payments once they were named official suspects by Portuguese police last month.

Legal advice given to the fund suggested it would be lawful to continue paying the McCanns's living expenses but they would have to pay it back if convicted of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance. The McCanns were told last month by the trustees that they could not access the fund to pay their legal fees. The family said they had never intended to do so.

Murat interrogation

The McCanns paid £460,000 for their four-bedroom detached house last year. It is believed they have a mortgage of around £350,000, costing £2,300 a month. The search for the girl is now being bank-rolled by double-glazing millionaire Brian Kennedy.

Separately, officers on the Madeleine case are to interview Robert Murat again.

New police chief Paulo Rebelo ordered his team to conduct a fresh interrogation of the first official suspect after he visited the McCanns's holiday apartment for the first time.

Rebelo examined the windows and shutters and paced out all possible escape routes - including walking the 100 yards to Casa Liliana where Murat, 33, lives with his mother.

One officer passed a blue blanket through the window of the bedroom where Madeleine was sleeping to re-enact the moment an abductor could have taken her.

Hanging around

Murat, a British-born property developer, was named an "arguido" 10 days after Madeleine went missing on May 3. He had aroused suspicions by hanging around the McCanns's apartment in Praia da Luz although he claims he was helping as an interpreter.

Officers searched his home but found no evidence linking Madeleine to the property. His lawyers have challenged Portuguese police to search his home once more or clear him.

But police sources say that Rebelo is examining a series of "facts that do not fall into place" - including some linked to Murat's interview.

One source said: "Murat has not been ruled out. The new head of the investigation wants every single line of inquiry to be fully re-examined as he is not satisfied with the evidence gathering at the start of the investigation - and obviously much of that work was focused on Murat."