The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in 2007 has been charged in Germany with several sexual offences allegedly committed in Portugal.
Christian B allegedly committed the offences between 2000 and 2017, German prosecutors said.
The prosecutor’s office said the charges do not relate to the McCann case.
Madeleine was on holiday with her family in Praia da Luz in the Algarve region of Portugal in 2007 when she went missing from their holiday apartment.
Investigators believe the 45-year-old convicted sex offender killed Madeleine after abducting her. He has denied any involvement in the case, and was identified as a suspect by Portuguese officials in June 2020.
He is behind bars in Germany for raping a woman in the same area of the Algarve region of Portugal where Madeleine went missing in 2007.
Prosecutors say the sexual offence charges include three counts of aggravated rape and two counts of sexual abuse of children. They say he filmed the rapes.
The charges include:
Raping and beating a 70 to 80-year-old woman at her holiday flat in Portugal at an unspecified time between December 2000 and April 2006
Beating and forcing a girl aged over 14 to perform a sex act sometime between December 2000 and April 2006 at his house in Praia da Luz
Raping a 20-year-old woman from Ireland and performing a sex act on her at a flat in Praia da Rocha in Portugal on 16 June 2004
Exposing himself to a 10-year-old German girl at a beach in Salema in the district of Faro in Portugal on 7 April 2007
Exposing himself to an 11-year-old Portuguese girl at a playground in Bartolomeu de Messines in Portugal on 11 June 2017
The investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance is continuing irrespective of the charges brought, prosecutors said.
The Federal Criminal Police Office and the prosecutor’s office in Braunschweig issued a new request to the public for assistance with the McCann case.
Two people detained during a security incident at Gatwick Airport have been allowed to continue their journeys after a suspect package saw a “large part” of the South Terminal evacuated.
The terminal was closed for hours after the discovery of a “suspected prohibited item” in a passenger’s luggage sparked an emergency response. It reopened at around 3.45pm.
Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team “made the package safe” before handing the airport back to its operator, Sussex Police said.
Their statement continued: “Two people who were detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys.
“There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel.”
The force also thanked the public and airport staff for their patience while the incident was ongoing.
Earlier the airport, which is the UK’s second busiest, said the terminal was evacuated after a “security incident”.
“The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police,” it later said in a statement on Friday afternoon.
“The South Terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly.”
Gatwick said some flights were cancelled while others were delayed.
It said passengers should contact their airlines for any updates on flights.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of travellers heading away from the terminal building.
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“Arrived at London Gatwick for routine connection. Got through customs to find out they’re evacuating the entire airport,” one passenger said.
“Even people through security are being taken outside. Trains shut down,” another passenger added, who said “thousands” of people were forced to leave.
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Another passenger said people near the gates were being told to stay there and not go back to the departure lounge.
People outside the airport were handed blankets and water, passengers told Sky News.
The airport said its North Terminal was still operating normally.
Gatwick Express said its trains did not call at Gatwick Airport during the police response, but the airport said trains would start calling there again once the terminal was fully reopened.
More than 600 flights were due to take off or land at Gatwick on Friday, amounting to more than 121,000 passenger seats, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
The UK will “set out a path” to lift defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring, the prime minister has said, finally offering a timeframe for an announcement on the long-awaited hike after mounting criticism.
Sir Keir Starmer gave the date during a phone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, in the wake of threats by Moscow to target UK and US military facilities following a decision by London and Washington to let Ukraine fire their missiles inside Russia.
There was no clarity though on when the 2.5% level will be achieved. The UK says it currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence.
A spokeswoman for Downing Street said that the two men “began by discussing the situation in Ukraine and reiterated the importance of putting the country in the strongest possible position going into the winter”.
They also talked about the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russia.
“The prime minister underscored the need for all NATO countries to step up in support of our collective defence and updated on the government’s progress on the strategic defence review,” the spokeswoman said.
“His government would set out the path to 2.5% in the spring.”
The defence review will also be published in the spring.
While a date for an announcement on 2.5% will be welcomed by the Ministry of Defence, analysts have long warned that such an increase is still well below the amount that is needed to rebuild the armed forces after decades of decline to meet growing global threats from Russia, an increasingly assertive China, North Korea and Iran.
They say the UK needs to be aiming to hit at least 3% – probably higher.
With Donald Trump returning to the White House, there will be significantly more pressure on the UK and other European NATO allies to accelerate increases in defence spending.
Two people detained during a security incident at Gatwick Airport have been allowed to continue their journeys after a suspect package saw a “large part” of the South Terminal evacuated.
The terminal was closed for hours after the discovery of a “suspected prohibited item” in a passenger’s luggage sparked an emergency response. It reopened at around 3.45pm.
Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team “made the package safe” before handing the airport back to its operator, Sussex Police said.
Their statement continued: “Two people who were detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys.
“There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel.”
The force also thanked the public and airport staff for their patience while the incident was ongoing.
Earlier the airport, which is the UK’s second busiest, said the terminal was evacuated after a “security incident”.
“The earlier security alert has now been resolved and cleared by police,” it later said in a statement on Friday afternoon.
“The South Terminal is reopening to staff and will be open to passengers shortly.”
Gatwick said some flights were cancelled while others were delayed.
It said passengers should contact their airlines for any updates on flights.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of travellers heading away from the terminal building.
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“Arrived at London Gatwick for routine connection. Got through customs to find out they’re evacuating the entire airport,” one passenger said.
“Even people through security are being taken outside. Trains shut down,” another passenger added, who said “thousands” of people were forced to leave.
X
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You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable X cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
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Another passenger said people near the gates were being told to stay there and not go back to the departure lounge.
People outside the airport were handed blankets and water, passengers told Sky News.
The airport said its North Terminal was still operating normally.
Gatwick Express said its trains did not call at Gatwick Airport during the police response, but the airport said trains would start calling there again once the terminal was fully reopened.
More than 600 flights were due to take off or land at Gatwick on Friday, amounting to more than 121,000 passenger seats, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.