A man in Germany has been charged in connection with the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann nearly 15 years ago

This comes as German paedophile Christian Brueckner has been named as a suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.

Portuguese authorities officially declared him a suspect yesterday.

This comes only months before the 15th anniversary of the young girl’s abduction.

ABC reports a man has been charged in Germany, according to the Portugese prosecutor’s office.

The man’s identity has not been revealed.

Previously, Maddie’s parents had both been labelled as suspects when she disappeared in 2007 but this was lifted when the investigation was dropped by Portuguese police in July 2008.

Some are suspecting that the investigation is being accelerated due to Portugal’s strict 15 year limit for a murder charge unlike Germany which has no time limit.

Brueckner’s lawyer says “the step taken by the Portuguese authorities should not be overrated”.

He says “Without knowing the Portuguese legal situation in detail, I assume that this measure is a procedural artifice to stop the statute of limitations threatening in a few days.”

Brueckner was first named as a suspect by German police in mid 2020, after mobile phone records placed him in the same area the night Maddie disappeared.

This prime suspect is currently in a high security prison in northwest Germany serving a rape sentence.

Maddie went missing in May 2007 during a family holiday in Portugal, where she was staying in a holiday apartment while her parents went out for a meal nearby.