Madeleine McCann: Suspect's lawyer says main witness against him is unreliable

Friedrich Fulscher says informant swapped information for police favour

(Sky News)

The lawyer for the suspect in the Madeleine McCann case has claimed that the main witness against him is a criminal who swapped information for an early release from jail.

Lawyer Friedrich Fulscher insisted that if the unnamed witness is who he believes him to be, his claim that suspect Christian Brueckner confessed guilt to him is unreliable.

The witness is thought to have told police that Brueckner, who is being investigated in Germany, confessed to him that he knew what had happened to Madeleine, who disappeared on a family holiday in Portugal in 2007.

Mr Fulscher said he believes the witness gave information to police and was in return granted early release from a prison sentence he was serving in a foreign country.

"If this is the person I think it is, it's the worst witness you can get. A man who has spent his whole life cheating people for his own benefit is never a reliable witness," Mr Fulscher said in an interview with Sky News.

Mr Fulscher said that even if the case against Brueckner were dropped it would be too late to restore his reputation.

“If you pee in the same place long enough it will stink. And that's definitely what's happening in the Christian B case. He won't be able to lead a normal life at any point, without being recognised and facing hostility.

“A prosecutor who goes public knows that. He can destroy a reputation and it was taken very lightly in this case.”

Brueckner has a list of prior convictions for crimes including rape, child sex offences and theft. He is currently serving separate sentences in a German jail for rape and drug trafficking.

"Of course, he is no 'innocent lamb', he has made many mistakes in his past which have been punished by the law - and that is completely right," Mr Fulshcer said.

"It is a basic principle of our system that someone who has served his sentence can claim his right to be part of society again."

Hans Christian Wolters, who is leading the investigation into Brueckner, said prosecutors have some evidence against him but not yet enough to bring a court trial.