The group of friends who were having dinner together on the night Madeleine McCann disappeared are to be re-interviewed.

The interviews will be conducted by officers from Leicestershire Constabulary. Portugese police officers plan to sit in on the interviews and are expected to arrive in Britain on April 7.

A spokeswoman for the British force said: "We will be coordinating the execution of the request for mutual legal assistance made by the Portuguese authorities."

The McCanns, whose four-year-old daughter Madeleine disappeared from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on May 3 last year, will not be interviewed.

Mr and Mrs McCann, both 39, from Rothley, Leics, have already been questioned by police but were not charged and deny any wrongdoing. They remain formal suspects in the case.

Meanwhile, the couple may soon be allowed to see the Portuguese authorities' case against them. The official period of secrecy covering the inquiry is due to end on April 14.