Prime suspect in Madeleine McCann case chillingly boasts about his plans for release in first interview from behind bars

In the wake of police launching a fresh search for Madeleine McCann in Portugal, the main suspect in the case has given his first interview from prison and has boasted of his plans if he is to be released.

Christian Brueckner, 48, was initially named by German officials as the prime suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance back in June 2020.

German police have requested a fresh search to begin near the spot where she was last seen this week - an area where Brueckner used to live.

A recent documentary released never-before-seen footage of inside a property belonging to Brueckner and made some horrifying discoveries, including a huge number of children's swimsuits, incriminating images and chemicals inside his car.

An insurance document also proved that he attended a festival in 2008, something he had previously denied after a witness reported him saying that Madeleine 'didn't scream'.

Christian Brueckner, a convicted peadophile, could be released from prison later this year (Alexander Koerner/Getty Images)

All of this evidence was seemingly enough to convince the documentary makers that Maddie is sadly dead, nearly 20 years on from her initial disappearance from Portugal in 2007.

Despite all this, Brueckner - who is a convicted paedophile - has never been charged in relation to Maddie's disappearance and is currently set for freedom later this year, having been thrown in prison in 2019 after being found guilty of the rape of an elderly woman in Las Vegas.

After months of correspondence with German media outlet RTL, Brueckner finally agreed to an interview in prison recently.

Despite the DNA evidence connecting him with the aforementioned rape, he asserted his innocence in letters to the media outlet, saying: "As I told you, what matters most to me is that I've been in prison for many years for something I couldn't have committed, and that, thanks to the media's involvement, half the world thinks I'm a cruel rapist."

On the advice of his lawyers, Brueckner refused to make any statements related to Maddie but did reveal the hard time he was facing in prison.

It's nearly 20 years since Madeleine McCann first went missing (PA)

He confirmed that he was spending most of his time in voluntary isolation, reading, writing and watching TV, after an attack from a fellow inmate left at least one of his ribs broken.

He also admitted that he usually speaks fewer than 10 words a day and has also lost his facial expressions.

Brueckner made no attempt to hide his plans should he be released from prison next year, suggesting that because his name is well known, he will have to go into hiding.

This will likely be to a country which doesn't extradite criminals to Germany or the UK, such as Suriname in South America, but once he is there, he's 'looking forward to a nice steak and a beer'.

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.