alive and it was investigating 38 "persons of interest" after
reviewing the evidence.
Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, said the shift from review
to investigation was "a big step forward".
Madeleine was almost four when she disappeared in Portugal in May 2007.
She went missing from her family's holiday flat in the Algarve resort
of Praia da Luz, as her parents dined out with friends at a nearby
restaurant.
Portuguese authorities dropped their investigation into her
disappearance in 2008, but Scotland Yard started a review in May 2011,
after Prime Minister David Cameron had responded to a plea from the
McCanns, of Rothley, Leicestershire.
New theories
Det Ch Insp Andy Redwood, who is heading what has been called
Operation Grange, said: "The review has given us new thinking, new
theories, new evidence and new witnesses."
His 37-strong police team is two-thirds of the way through examining
30,500 documents from files held by the Portuguese, private
investigators and British police. Some fresh interviews have also
taken place.
"Over the last two years what the review has told me is that there is
no clear, definitive proof that Madeleine McCann is dead," Det Ch Insp
Redwood said.
"So on that basis, I still genuinely believe that there is a
possibility that she is alive."
He added: "It is a positive step in our hunt for Madeleine that our
understanding of the evidence has enabled us to shift from review to
investigation."
Scotland Yard's decision to formally open its own investigation -
which, like the review, will be funded by the Home Office - follows
extensive discussions with UK prosecutors and the Portuguese.
BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said: "It's highly unusual -
although not unprecedented - for a British police force to launch its
own inquiry into an incident abroad."
In a statement, the McCanns said: "Kate and Gerry warmly welcome the
shift in the Met's emphasis from review to investigation.
"It is clearly a big step forward in establishing what happened and,
hopefully, towards bringing whoever is responsible for Madeleine's
abduction to justice."
Det Ch Insp Andy Redwood: "There is no clear, definitive proof that
Madeleine McCann is dead"
The Met said the 38 "persons of interest," who include 12 British
nationals, are from five European countries - Portugal, the UK and
three unnamed others.
Detectives say they need to find out more information and collect
evidence on them and are not anticipating any immediate arrests.
The 12 UK nationals, who are not all currently in the UK, are believed
to have been in Portugal at the time of Madeleine's disappearance.
Portuguese assistance
The Met said it was "at an advanced stage of dialogue" with the other
countries involved, and enquiries would be continuing with their
assistance in the months ahead "to establish more information about
the individuals concerned and any potential involvement".
A foreign national resident abroad could not be prosecuted in the UK
for any possible crime that may be linked to Madeleine's
disappearance.
Detectives say Madeleine's parents, the friends the McCanns were with
in Portugal and people known to the family before they went away are
not suspects or people they need to investigate.
The investigation is currently closed in Portugal and as part of the
country's criminal justice system it cannot be reopened unless judges
are convinced there are solid grounds to do so.
British police have formally asked the Crown Prosecution Service to
submit an international letter of request to Portuguese authorities
for assistance in obtaining evidence relating to their inquiries.
The Met has asked for a small number of its officers to be present in
Portugal for the inquiries there.
As part of the review, a computer-generated image of how Madeleine
might have looked at the age of nine was created with the help of her
family. They marked her 10th birthday on 12 May.
By May 2012 - one year into the review - the Home Office's costs had
reached £1.9m. The Met Police said a more up-to-date figure for the
cost of the review would be released in due course.
The former head of the National Police Improvement Agency Peter
Neyroud said it was a difficult investigation because it involved two
countries, possibly more.
"It was always going to be an expensive inquiry and it is a fine
judgement as to how far you go on but if, as appears, there are fresh
lines of inquiry and a case worth pursuing, there is a young lady out
there who deserves to be reunited with her parents - or a murder case
that deserves to be pursued."
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