It is believed that Portuguese police are now convinced the McCanns were not involved in their daughter's disappearance
Restart hunt: Portuguese police are to begin looking for Maddie again
It is five long years since police in Portugal gave up the search for Madeleine McCann.
They closed the file on the three-year-old who vanished in May 2007 during a family holiday in the resort of Praia da Luz.
Now, in a dramatic development, they are seeking permission to reopen the investigation which they shelved in 2008.
And it is largely down to a number of new leads uncovered by cold case detectives from Britain.
A team of officers from the Policia Judiciaria, based in Porto, are understood to have issued an official request to relaunch the search after considering new material from the UK.
Sources say an official announcement is expected today. Under Portuguese law the probe can only be reopened after a ruling by senior prosecutors.
Pedro do Carmo, deputy head of Policia Judiciaria, last night refused to confirm or deny the move - which would be a huge boost for Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry.
It is believed that Portuguese police are now convinced the McCanns were not involved in their daughter's disappearance and are ready to probe the abduction theory.
A spokesman for the McCanns said the change of heart may be partly due to massive publicity surrounding the case, including an appeal on BBC's Crimewatch and the recent discovery of a mystery blonde girl, Maria, who was found living with a gypsy family in Greece.
Scotland Yard says it has received more than 2,400 calls and emails since a number of TV programmes on Madeleine's disappearance were broadcast across Europe.
The McCanns' spokesman added: 'Kate and Gerry don't want to get their hopes up too much. But if the Portuguese do resume their investigation it would be a significant development and an important step forward.'
Home Secretary Theresa May, along with senior police and prosecutors, has been lobbying the Portuguese authorities to reopen their probe.
Earlier this month, police spoke of a possible breakthrough after it emerged officers were analysing data from the phone records of people who were in Praia da Luz when Madeleine vanished.
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The Scotland Yard team, who began their review of the case in May 2011, have also revealed that new evidence adds further weight to claims that Madeleine's abduction may have been pre-planned.
They say they have identified 41 'persons of interest', including 12 Britons who were in Portugal at the time. They have also released two e-fit images of a man seen near the scene on the night Maddie was snatched.
Goncalo Amaral, head of the regional Policia Judiciaria during the initial investigation, was removed from the case and his post in October 2007 after criticising British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.
He went on to publish a book in July 2008, making claims that were so controversial the McCanns sued him for libel - a lawsuit which is still ongoing.
Amaral was convicted of perjury in 2009 for falsifying documents in a separate case involving the disappearance of an eight-year-old Portuguese girl.
It is believed that Portuguese police are now convinced the McCanns were not involved in their daughter's disappearance
Britain's top cop defends Portuguese investigation, adding that the discovery of two girls with Roma gypsies may give the McCanns hope
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