Portuguese police have reportedly identified a new formal suspect in the case of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
It comes just after they finished questioning the girl's mother, Kate McCann, for a second day.
But in line with legislation that bans the release of identities, police did not name the new suspect.
However a McCann family spokesman said of Mrs McCann's time in police questioning: 'It was clearly suggested to her that she had accidentally been responsible for Madeleine's death.'
A police spokesman said that there was previously one suspect in the investigation and now there are two.
The first formal suspect in the case was Robert Murat, a British expatriate who lived near the holiday complex from where Madeleine disappeared.
No action has been taken against Mr Murat.
Earlier, the father of the missing toddler, Gerry McCann, had dismissed the suggestion that his wife was involved in his daughter's disappearance, claiming she is completely innocent.
Gerry McCann wrote the comments on his blog as his wife was questioned for a second day at a Portuguese police station.
Mr McCann is currently being questioned by Portuguese police.
Kate McCann was questioned for over ten hours yesterday and left the Portimao police station at around 1am this morning.
She was back at the police station a few hours later and was questioned for some six hours today before she returned to her apartment.
This morning, Mrs McCann was told she could be charged in connection with her daughter's disappearance and was declared a formal suspect or 'arguido'.
Under Portuguese law, a suspect has certain legal protection that is not extended to a witness, including the right to remain silent during questioning and the right to legal representation.
A family spokesperson, Justine McGuinness, said they were victims in an extraordinary set of events.
Police questions and the answers have to be consecutively translated between Portuguese and English, and the answers written down by hand, adding to the time the interviews take.
Portuguese police confirmed they have received partial results of new forensic tests carried out in Britain on samples taken from the McCann holiday apartment a month ago, but have given no indication of what those results are.
