Madeleine suspect set to be quizzed
British police are preparing to interview a convicted paedophile in Germany who is being investigated over Madeleine McCann's disappearance.
Raymond Hewlett, 64, is alleged to have been staying near the McCanns' holiday flat in Praia da Luz, Portugal, when the little girl went missing in May 2007.
UK-born Hewlett, jailed several times for sexually assaulting young girls, is now reportedly being treated for throat cancer in a German hospital.
Hewlett, a former soldier who previously lived in Blackpool and Telford, is wanted for questioning by British detectives.
West Yorkshire Police confirmed they were seeking him in connection with an indecent assault in 1975.
"We have made contact with the German authorities. We are just waiting for clearance so we can actually go and speak to him regarding that incident," said a spokeswoman. "We cannot go into details on the incident."
Two retired UK detectives hired by Madeleine's parents to search for their daughter hope to interview Hewlett with the help of British police.
A source said: "A proper police force such as West Yorkshire may get first crack. It's then a question of us liaising with the police to see what access we can get."
But the source added: "He is one of a number of possible leads that we are looking at. We are not going to give it any more weight than that. We are being quite cautious on this."
Leicestershire Police, which handled the British end of the inquiry into what happened to Madeleine, refused to comment.
