Two quizzed over Madeleine 'hoax'

Four-year-old Madeleine has been missing since 3 May

Police are continuing to question an Italian man and a Portuguese woman who allegedly tried to extort money from the parents of Madeleine McCann.

The couple were arrested near Algeciras in southern Spain after reportedly trying to contact the McCanns.

They had allegedly tried to claim more than £2.5m as a reward by giving bogus information about the disappearance of the four-year-old.

Police say there is no direct link between them and Madeleine's kidnap.

The man's arrest arose from an international search warrant while the arrest of the woman, who is believed to be the man's partner, was by association, a Spanish police spokeswoman said.

Police say the man has served time in a French jail for mistreating a child.

The pair were arrested in the early hours of Thursday morning in the town of Sotogrande, near Algeciras.

Reportedly, the arrests followed a surveillance operation in the far south of Spain.

Officers also raided the couple's apartment in Sotogrande.

'Hopes dashed'

A spokeswoman for the McCanns said the family were not commenting directly on the potential development.

"They will be looking to the Portuguese police to advise them on any developments.

"They treat everything fairly and they look to the Portuguese as to what is given more weight and what is given less weight," said the spokeswoman.

Madeleine's great uncle, Brian Kennedy, had not heard about the potential development in the investigation until he was contacted by the media.

He said the family was trying not to get its hopes up too much because they had so frequently been dashed.

The McCanns, from Rothley, Leicestershire, went to Spain last month to ask for assistance to help find Madeleine.

They think it is one of the places she might have been taken because of its proximity to Portugal.

Border controls were not put on alert for the first 12 hours of Madeleine's disappearance.

Madeleine was taken from her apartment as she slept in the Algarve village of Praia da Luz on 3 May.