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The German man reportedly made the admission to a friend as they drank in a German bar on the 10th anniversary of her disappearance in 2017, reports The Sun. The suspect is alleged to have admitted he “snatched” the girl as he and a friend watched a TV news report on the case. The Sun said he claimed to know what had happened to Madeleine, who was last seen aged 3.

It comes after reports emerged photos of the child sex predator are similar to the description of a suspicious man spotted in Praia da Luz around May 3, 2007, on the day Madeleine went missing.

At a press conference, German prosecutors said they believe Madeleine is dead and are investigating the child sex predator on suspicion of her murder.

The suspect is a 43-year-old German national and is reportedly serving a seven-year prison sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal in 2005.

He is known to have lived on the Algarve coast and his Portuguese mobile phone received a half-hour phone call in Praia da Luz around an hour before Madeleine went missing on May 3, 2007.

Police released images of two men in a 2013 appeal, which share similarities to the suspect, according to the Daily Mail.

Previous sightings suggest a blonde man was seen in the area at least three times, the first appearance on April 30, 2007, two days after the McCann’s arrived at Praia da Luz.

He was also spotted staring at the apartment at 8am and was wearing sunglasses.

On May 2, a blonde male was reported to be acting suspiciously at the Ocean Club’s reception at midday.

And later that day, a witness reported seeing the same man at the Habana seafront internet cafe, a five-minute walk from the apartment, with a friend.

Scotland Yard said Christian B was believed to have been living in a distinctive early 1980s VW T3 Westfalia camper van at the time and re-registered a 1993 Jaguar XJR6 in someone else’s name the day after her disappearance.

Operation Grange still considers the case a missing person inquiry because there is no “definitive evidence whether Madeleine is alive or dead”.

German newspaper Braunschweiger Zeitung have reported the suspect was convicted of rape in Braunschweig District Court in December last year.

Der Spiegel reported he is serving a prison sentence in Kiel, having been initially extradited from Portugal in 2017 and convicted of drug trafficking.

The German magazine said his criminal record contains a total of 17 entries, including child abuse while he was still a teenager.

Christian Hoppe, from Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), said German police have not ruled out a sexual motive for the alleged crime against Madeleine.

He said that the suspect may have broken into an apartment in the Ocean Club complex before spontaneously kidnapping her.

German prosecutors said the suspect was living in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007, where he funded his lifestyle by committing crimes.

A £20,000 reward is available for information leading to the conviction of the person responsible for Madeleine’s disappearance.

The Met’s investigation was tipped off about the German national, already known to detectives, following a 2017 appeal 10 years after she went missing.

Madeleine disappeared shortly before her fourth birthday, while her parents were eating dinner with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Kate and Gerry McCann, from Rothley, in Leicestershire, have welcomed the appeal, saying: “We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive.”

It comes as police received hundreds of contacts from the public following the launch of a new appeal for information on Madeleine’s disappearance.

DCI Mark Cranwell, who is leading the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Grange investigation into the case, said more than 270 calls and emails had been received by 4pm on Thursday.

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