The parents of Madeleine McCann have vowed they will never stop searching for their missing daughter.

Kate and Gerry McCann have officially been cleared as suspects after Portuguese police confirmed the case had been shelved.

It means the couple will now be able to look at the files - which have so far been kept secret.

The McCanns have said they want their own private investigators to be given access to detectives' papers so they can continue the search for their daughter.

Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell later said lawyers acting for the couple will be able to examine the police files on Madeleine's disappearance by the end of the week.

Speaking at a press conference in their home village of Rothley, Leicestershire, Mrs McCann said: "It is hard to describe how utterly despairing it was to be named arguidos and subsequently portrayed in the media as suspects in our own daughter's abduction.

"It has been equally devastating to witness the detrimental effect this status has had on the search for Madeleine."

Portugal's attorney-general Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro announced the 15-month investigation into the toddler's disappearance had been shelved in an online statement.

The third suspect in the case, Algarve property consultant Robert Murat, also had his arguido status lifted.

Mr Murat said he was "very relieved" at the news but added: "There's a little girl still missing out there who needs to be found, so it's a time for relief but not for celebration."

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