Car Hire Probed

The only suspect in the abduction of Madeleine McCann has denied there was anything sinister in his hiring a car two days after the four-year-old disappeared from her holiday apartment.Staff at the car rental firm in Praia da Luz, Portugal, grew suspicious about Robert Murat's behaviour when he came in on Saturday and reported him to police. Documents show he hired a Hyundai Getz from Auto Rent III from Saturday to Tuesday.Anglo-Portuguese Mr Murat, 33, was interviewed on Monday and the following day he was named as the first "arguido" or suspect in the case.Car rental sales assistant Maria Rocio said: "There was something about his voice when he asked for the car. He was saying, 'I need to have the car quickly'. His voice was very impatient. When I said he could not have it straightaway, he said, 'Oh, maybe I need to try somewhere else'."But Tuck Price, a Murat family friend, said Mr Murat only needed the hire car because his mother Jenny was using their one vehicle to transport tables for a stall appealing for information about Madeleine.Mr Murat's home in Praia da Luz, just yards from the spot where four-year-old Madeleine was abducted 15 days ago, has been the centre of intense police activity.The Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha has reported that police have so far found no traces of Madeleine anywhere in Mr Murat's villa. Mr Murat has told police he was at home with his mother on the night Madeleine went missing.Although police say they do not have enough evidence to charge or even formally arrest Mr Murat, he is the first person they have formally classed as a suspect. Mr Murat strenuously denies any involvement in Madeleine's abduction, but faces jail under Portuguese law if he speaks out to clear his name.The international campaign to find Madeleine is gathering pace, with more than 50 million people visiting a new website appealing for information about her abduction, according to its organisers. Meanwhile detectives are examining telephone calls between Mr Murat and a Russian computer expert on the night the little girl was abducted.Sergey Malinka, 22, who designed a website for Mr Murat, insisted he had nothing to do with Madeleine's disappearance after being questioned by detectives until the early hours of Thursday morning