![\"PORTUGAL](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SEI_295910388-7283.jpg\")
\n\t\tBrueckner said: \u2018Extradition would require an arrest warrant. But there certainly isn\u2019t one.\u2019 (Picture: PA)<\/p>\n
\t\t
\n\t\tBrueckner said: \u2018Extradition would require an arrest warrant. But there certainly isn\u2019t one.\u2019 (Picture: PA)<\/p>\n
The Metropolitan Police<\/a> announced they want to push ahead with plans to put Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner on trial.<\/p>\n Shortly after the news came out, Brueckner, 48, a convicted rapist, issued a sinister response: \u2018I have good lawyers.\u2019<\/p>\n If the Met can convince the Crown Prosecution Service<\/a> to authorise charges against one of the most high-profile suspects in the disappearance of Madeleine, he could stand trial.<\/p>\n \u2018Next year marks 20 years since Madeleine McCann<\/a> went missing. If the evidence is strong enough to extradite the prime suspect and try him here, that is what we would seek to do,\u2019 a Met insider told the Telegraph.<\/p>\n Brueckner backed down, however, adding: \u2018I suspect this is just hot air again. Extradition would require an arrest warrant. But there certainly isn\u2019t one.<\/p>\n \u2018Like all countries, Germany only extradites individuals if there is an arrest warrant against them. And I actually think it\u2019s out of the question that there is an arrest warrant against CB in the Maddie case. I am not in a position to say whether the British police can obtain an arrest warrant from a British court.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tSign up for all of the latest stories\t\t\t<\/p>\n Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates<\/a> newsletter or get Breaking News<\/a> alerts the moment it happens. <\/p>\n \t\t The German national was named as the prime suspect in the disappearance of the British tot in 2022 by German authorities.<\/p>\n The Met\u2019s announcement comes days after the 19th anniversary of Madeleine\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n On the anniversary, Kate<\/a> and Gerry McCann<\/a> shared a new message on the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook<\/a> page.<\/p>\n \u201919 years. The search goes on\u2026 to find our Madeleine, to achieve some justice, to make the world that bit safer,\u2019 they wrote.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tPrefer us to the others? Then tell Google!\t\t\t<\/p>\n As a loyal Metro reader, we want to make sure you never miss our stories when searching for your news. Whether it is the latest politics news explained, live football coverage or a showbiz scoop.<\/p>\n Click the button below and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.<\/p>\n \nAdd us as a Preferred Source<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \t\t \u2018We remain very grateful for all our support from friends and family, people we know and those we don\u2019t, and from the police and authorities for their continued determination and effort. Thank you.<\/p>\n \u2018For Madeleine, whom we love and miss every day, we will never give up. Kate, Gerry and family.\u2019<\/p>\n Madeleine was three when she vanished from the Portuguese<\/a> resort of Praia da Luz on the Algarve<\/a> while on a break with her siblings and parents.<\/p>\n Where is Christian Brueckner now?<\/p>\n \t\t Prime suspect and convicted rapist\u00a0Brueckner\u00a0was released after serving a prison sentence in his native Germany<\/a> last September.<\/p>\n He had been serving a seven-year sentence for an unrelated sex crime. In addition to his conviction for the rape of the woman in the Algarve, he also has convictions for child abuse and drug trafficking.<\/p>\n State prosecutors in Germany have said there is circumstantial evidence suggesting\u00a0Brueckner was involved in Maddie\u2019s disappearance<\/a>, including three witnesses who said he had confessed to them.<\/p>\n He lived in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007, with a period spent working as a pool maintenance assistant at the Praia da Luz resort, where the McCanns were staying when\u00a0their daughter vanished.<\/a><\/p>\n But extensive searches for more direct evidence have ended without success.<\/p>\n He has never been charged with any crimes in connection with Madeleine. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"UNSPECIFIED](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SEI_295910386-32ee.jpg\")
\n\t\tMadeleine McCann has been missing for 19 years (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778075405_613_Headshots-1-78d4.jpg\")
\n\t\tOur journalists work hard to deliver the most important stories from around the world<\/p>\n![\"BRAUNSCHWEIG,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/SEI_295910387-59c1.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe prime suspect served a prison sentence in Germany last year (Picture: Getty)<\/p>\n
In March, it was announced that more funding had been granted to continue to investigate the disappearance.<\/p>\n