Madeleine suspect gives DNA

A convicted paedophile linked to the Madeleine McCann investigation has given a DNA sample to British police, it was reported yesterday.

Raymond Hewlett voluntarily gave a sample of his DNA to police in Germany after detectives investigating another, earlier, incident requested the sample.

The 64-year-old gave a saliva sample to police from his hospital bed at the University Clinic in Aachen where he is being treated for throat cancer, according to German newspaper Bild.

The sample relates to an investigation by West Yorkshire police into incidents which occurred in 1975.

A police spokesman said they "actively wanted to speak to" Mr Hewlett in relation to their ongoing investigation into the 34-year-old case.

Mr Hewlett, who was born in Britain and is a former soldier, previously lived in Blackpool and Telford.

He is said to have been staying about an hour's drive from the McCanns' holiday flat in Praia da Luz in Portugal when their three-year-old daughter vanished on 3 May, 2007.

Madeleine went missing just days before her fourth birthday while her parents dined with friends nearby.

Despite a massive police investigation and huge publicity worldwide, she has not been found.

A West Yorkshire police spokesman said: "We want to speak to [Mr Hewlett] in relation to an incident in 1975. We have requested a saliva sample to be taken on our behalf as part of our inquiry. It is a routine matter for us."