Christian Brueckner, the convicted paedophile and key suspect in Madeleine McCann's disappearance, "knows something" about the case, a former close friend has said.
Ralph H, 49, said Brueckner, 47, was "a very sick man" with a "thing about children", in a wide-ranging interview - the first since police turned up at his home in Germany to quiz him over his links to the suspect a couple of weeks ago.
Ralph, a career criminal and self-described "accomplice" of Brueckner, detailed his many years of involvement with the 47-year-old - the pair had first met in 2013, and had "bonded" over crime in order to "earn a few Euros on the side".
He said Brueckner had stopped short of blatant admissions of paedophilia, but "his thing for little girls" had come out after he started asking questions.
Christian Brueckner continues to deny all charges levelled against him, as well as any involvement in the McCann case
PA/Reuters
After police discovered child pornography on Brueckner's camera, Ralph began to ask him about the McCann case - involvement in which Brueckner officially denies.
Ralph told the Olive Press: "I bombarded him with questions about the case and could see he was lying... He didn't want to talk about it and kept avoiding it.
"But I didn't let up and suddenly he lost his nerve and dropped his guard for a moment and brought up the Maddie case, and that was that, I really grilled him on it.
"He shuffled around and then finally replied irritably: 'Actually, I don't want to say anything about that' - it was obvious he knew something and had just stopped short of opening up."
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Ralph's questioning of Brueckner eventually drove the pair apart, he claims
PAEventually, Ralph's line of questioning was too much for Brueckner - who Ralph says became "really aggressive" before running away - bringing an end to the pair's friendship.
Despite the fallout, Ralph said he was sure Brueckner was in the know - he said: "While he told me he doesn’t want to talk about the Maddie case, I’m sure he knows something!"
Though Ralph himself has kept quiet - it has been claimed that the German equivalent to the FBI, the BKA, wanted to talk to him about the missing girl. But in a blow to the ongoing investigation, he categorically refused.
He told reporters: "I will never speak to you, I will never speak to the police. I will never speak to the state police, I will never speak to the BKA."
German authorities believe Brueckner is responsible for Madeleine's kidnapping from her holiday home in Praia da Luz, Portugal - though no charges have been filed against him relating to the case.
Brueckner's ongoing trial in Braunschweig - which was suspended in bizarre circumstances last month after a lay judge allegedly called for the murder of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on social media - sees him accused of three rapes and two counts of sexual abuse against children between 2000 and 2017 in Portugal.
The 47-year-old continues to deny all the charges - as well as any involvement in the McCann case.
The trial is set to continue next week.