Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner breaks silence with 4 word reply

Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann's disappearance, has broken his silence, denying any role in the toddler's abduction with a blunt four-word retort: "No, of course not." Brueckner, 48, a convicted rapist and child sex offender whose movements are being closely monitored by British and German investigators, vehemently denied any involvement during an interview with a freelance journalist earlier this month.

The meeting unfolded in a restaurant in the German city of Kiel, days after Brueckner's release from a seven-year jail term for raping a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal. Dishevelled in a creased shirt, battered jacket and hat, Brueckner ordered schnitzel and beer before refusing to elaborate on the denial.

Instead, he sought to portray himself as a state-persecuted victim shadowed by police, shunned by communities and hounded by the media.

He accused prosecutors, led by Hans-Christian Wolters, and Germany's federal police - the BKA - of inventing a "phantom bad guy" to frame him, claiming they wanted him dead to silence his voice.

He told journalist Rob Hyde: "They have created a phantom, and to this phantom they added the name Christian Brueckner. But I am not this man."

Madeleine's vanishing from a Praia da Luz holiday apartment on May 3, 2007.

Mr Wolters, who spearheaded the investigation, maintains Brueckner is the sole suspect, backed by "strong evidence" - though none has surfaced publicly.

At the time, Brueckner prowled the Algarve. A mobile phone connected to him pinged near the Ocean Club resort that fateful night.

Prosecutors face a race against time - double-jeopardy laws grant just one shot at charges, amid calls to act before the trail goes cold.

Although free, Brueckner is fitted with an electronic ankle tag monitored from Wiesbaden.

He whined that it "keeps buzzing for no reason" and claimed BKA officers trail him relentlessly - to hotels, homeless shelters and even as he slept rough outdoors.

He also claimed journalists dogged him too, with online forums broadcasting his whereabouts.

His lawyers, Friedrich Fulscher and Philipp Marquardt, slammed the surveillance as harassment breaching human rights, proposing he temporarily flee Germany to dodge public venom.

Brueckner drifts between hostels and budget hotels, shuttled by authorities for his protection as anger simmers.

In Neumünster, he was rumbled sporting a fake beard while begging for scraps; councillors urged residents to pin up his photo and tip off vulnerable neighbours.

He scrapes by on state handouts - €1,000 monthly if homeless, slashed to €550 if accommodated.

As Mr Hyde departed, Brueckner revealed plans for Berlin - and dropped a hint of vanishing altogether.

Brueckner's criminal record includes convictions for rape, child abuse and indecent exposure.

He faced charges for raping Irish tourist Hazel Behan in 2004 and filming a teenage girl's assault, but a Braunschweig court acquitted him over procedural errors.

The hearing descended into farce. Judge Ute Insa Engemann drew bias claims for yelling at prosecution witnesses, revoking Brueckner's warrant mid-trial - a move prosecutors saw as presuming innocence - and compelling a tearful young victim to re-enact sex acts in court.

Brueckner hailed her as "extremely fair", dismissing the probe as a "big show" to demonise him.