The freed suspect in the Madeleine McCann case has spoken publicly for the first time since his release – but refused to discuss the mystery of the missing British toddler.

In an exclusive Sky News interview, he hit out after trying to confront the prosecutor who has accused him of abducting and murdering Madeleine.

Christian B, who cannot be fully identified under German privacy laws, travelled more than a hundred miles from a secret address to prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters’ office, but was stopped from going in.

The suspect said: “I want them to stop this witch-hunt against me and give me back my life.

“I’m not feeling free. I have this ankle tag and I’m followed around by police 24/7, so I’m not feeling free.”

Mr Wolters has stated publicly that he has evidence, which he has not revealed, to show Christian B abducted and killed Madeleine, who vanished from her bed during a Portuguese holiday in 2007.

But he said he doesn’t have enough evidence to arrest or charge him.

The suspect, who was released from a rape sentence two weeks ago, said: “The prosecutor refused to meet me, but I told his representative I wanted his help to get my life back.

“I’m being hounded by the media and it’s his fault. I want him to take responsibility.

“I was told there was nothing they could do to help. They said I had been convicted and released and I wasn’t their responsibility.”

As he spoke, the electronic tag that has monitored his movements since his release was clearly visible above his right ankle. He has also had to surrender his passport and report regularly to probation staff.

The suspect has not been arrested, charged or even questioned by German authorities about the Madeleine case. He’s also refused to talk to Scotland Yard and Portuguese police, who are also involved in the investigation.

Asked directly if he had abducted and killed Madeleine McCann, he said: “My defence lawyers have told me to say nothing on this topic and unfortunately I have to abide by that.”

Christian B, 49, was driven from jail by his lawyer, Friedrich Fulscher, on 17 September and, since then, has lived in local authority accommodation in the town of Neumunster, north of Hamburg.

Journalists quickly tracked him down and exposed his new address, prompting anger in the community from people worried about his convictions for child sex crimes.

Local councillor Karin Mundt, of the hard-right populist movement Heimat Neumunster (Homeland Neumunster), took to Facebook to warn locals to be vigilant, not go out alone, and make sure that their children and elderly were safe.

She also called for a public protest under the slogan ‘Christian B out of Neumunster – tougher measures against child abusers and rapists to protect all citizens!’

Germany operates draconian privacy laws, whereby even the media must get the consent of someone they photograph, or disguise their features.

Yet the group even decided to publish photos of Christian B, arguing that the danger he presents meant he was a public person of interest, and that they had to make sure that elderly people were able to recognise him.

Two separate chat groups were set up, one dedicated to campaigning for Christian B to be booted out of Neumunster, the other to discuss alleged sightings of him.

‘Out for a steak’

Some claimed that Christian B had turned up near schools and that the police were called round, though other people said they worked at these schools, and that no police had been there.

A woman at Domino’s pizza claimed he had turned up in a false beard, yet just days later her colleague said she had seen the pictures and she was unsure that it was Christian B.

Throughout all this, a source close to Christian B’s defence claimed he had not been out at all apart from to sort out his phone, and also once for a steak.

On Wednesday, one chat even discussed gathering at the town hall in the evening, and police vans then turned up to try to prevent this.

The language of the chat became ever bolder – with people openly posting addresses they were convinced he was living at – and, at one point, all people with English-sounding surnames were ejected from the group as people suspected they were journalists.

Read more from Sky News:
What we know about Christian B
Christian B celebrates release with burger and cigarette
Sky News tracks down woman at centre of hit-and-run theory

Police moved Christian B out of Neumunster, and reports say he’s since been spotted at a hotel in an unnamed town.

In a recent interview with Germany’s Stern magazine, Christian B’s main lawyer, Dr Fulscher, said: “The Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office has fuelled this media campaign of prejudgement.

“It has told the public that it is certain it has the right person. Without presenting sufficient evidence or even allowing my client to inspect the files.

“I find this highly questionable from a constitutional point of view. In my opinion, the Braunschweig public prosecutor’s office has made rehabilitation impossible.”

Prosecutor Mr Wolters told Sky News he’d been tipped off about the suspect’s visit to his office in Braunschweig, near Hanover, and refused to speak to him.

Christian B denies any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.

Andy Burnham would beat Sir Keir Starmer among Labour members by two to one if there were a leadership contest today, an exclusive poll for Sky News reveals.

A poll of 704 Labour members taken a week ago by YouGov found that 62% would back Mr Burnham, and 29% would back Sir Keir. Just 9% don’t know or would not vote.

Mr Burnham has claimed some Labour MPs are asking him to stand for the leadership, and has used this conference to set out his stall, though there is not an obvious route for him to return to Parliament.

Tap here for the latest from Labour Party conference

If returned to the Commons, he would have to resign as Manchester Metro Mayor, with a Reform UK replacement in prime position to win the mayoralty.

The poll reveals that around a third of Labour members polled no longer think that Sir Keir is a good prime minister, and would rather he did not fight the next election. Some 33% say he is doing a bad job, compared with 63% who think he is doing a good job.

Even more – 37% – say Sir Keir should not take the party into the next election, while 53% say he should and 10% don’t know. People are more likely to say that Labour is doing a good job than Sir Keir.

Mr Burnham is the favourite to succeed him by a long distance – the top pick of 54% of members.

Next is Angela Rayner, the now-sacked deputy leader (10%), then Health Secretary Wes Streeting on 7%. Ex-leader, now energy secretary, Ed Miliband and foreign secretary Yvette Cooper are on 6%, and new home secretary Shabana Mahmood is on 2%.

Mr Burnham comfortably beats all in a final round of voting, according to the poll.

In the event that Mr Burnham was unable to stand, YouGov polled a number of head-to-head races. Wes Streeting beats Shabana Mahmood and Ed Miliband, but would lose to Angela Rayner and Yvette Cooper. Ms Mahmood would lose to Mr Miliband and Ms Cooper. And Ms Cooper would beat Mr Miliband.

The poll also examined attitudes to the deputy leadership contest.

The poll found 35% would back Lucy Powell and 28% would back Bridget Phillipson, while 30% do not know and 5% will not vote. Excluding ‘don’t know’, this suggests Ms Powell is ahead of Ms Phillipson with 56% to 44% – a closer margin than some other pollsters.

Broadly, members who back Ms Powell are less likely to support Sir Keir.

The poll makes tough reading for Angela Rayner – 60% said she was right to resign, against 34% who said it was the wrong decision.

A woman has pleaded guilty to money laundering offences over the UK’s biggest-ever cryptocurrency seizure of Bitcoin, currently worth more than £5bn.

Chinese national Yadi Zhang, 47, who is also known as Zhimin Qian, was arrested in April last year after spending years on the run.

She first arrived in the UK on a false St Kitts and Nevis passport in September 2017 after allegedly carrying out a £5bn investment scam in China involving 130,000 investors in fraudulent wealth schemes between 2014 and 2017.

Police first raided her £5m six-bedroom rented house near Hampstead Heath, in north London, on 31 October 2018.

But it was another two and a half years before investigators discovered more than 61,000 Bitcoin in digital wallets – one of the biggest ever cryptocurrency seizures in the world.

The cryptocurrency was worth £1.4bn at the time but its value has now risen to more than £5bn and the fortune is at the centre of an intense battle between the UK government and Chinese investors over who gets to keep it.

The seized assets have reportedly been earmarked by Chancellor Rachel Reeves to help plug the hole in the public finances.

Zhang was due to face trial at Southwark Crown Court but has pleaded guilty to charges of possessing criminal property and transferring criminal property on or before 23 April 2024.

She appeared in the dock wearing glasses and a beige cardigan over an animal print blouse, nodding to confirm her identity before entering her pleas with the help of a mandarin interpreter.

Judge Sally-Ann Hales remanded Zhang in custody ahead of sentencing at a later date.

Prosecutor Gillian Jones KC said she would not apply to launch confiscation proceedings because of the ongoing proceedings in the High Court.

Jian Wen, 43, was last year jailed for six years and eight months after being found guilty of one count of money laundering between October 2017 and January 2022 relating to 150 Bitcoin, now worth around £12.5m.

Her trial heard Wen was not involved in the alleged fraud but was said to have acted as a “front person” to help disguise the source of the money, some of which had been used to buy cryptocurrency and smuggled out of China on laptops.

Will Lyne, the Metropolitan Police’s head of economic and cybercrime command, said Zhang’s guilty pleas marked the culmination of “years of dedicated investigation”.

“This is one of the largest money laundering cases in UK history and among the highest-value cryptocurrency cases globally,” he said.

Zhang’s solicitor, Roger Sahota of Berkeley Square Solicitors, said: “By pleading guilty today, Ms Zhang hopes to bring some comfort to investors who have waited since 2017 for compensation, and to reassure them that the significant rise in cryptocurrency values means there are more than sufficient funds available to repay their losses.”