Madeleine McCann's prime suspect, Christian Brueckner, has taunted Scotland Yard by laughing off suggestions he could be extradited to Britain and face trial for her abduction.

Convicted rapist and paedophile Christian Brueckner, 48, was sensationally named by German authorities as the person responsible for Madeleine's 2007 disappearance from Portugal six years ago.

But since then, no charges have been brought, and he continues to be the subject of intense scrutiny despite relentless attempts to put him on trial.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, a source close to his legal team said: 'We have been here many times before, and nothing has ever happened; we are sure this attempt will go the same way.

'If the UK authorities have any evidence and if they are so sure of it, why don't they share with the Germans so that they can look at it and press their own charges.

'German law forbids German citizens from being extradited to another country; they can only be put on trial in Germany, so the chances of this happening are non-existent.'

Meanwhile, another source close to Brueckner said: 'He has seen the news and is aware of it. He's completely unfazed by it. As far as he is concerned, they have had years to bring a case against him and have failed.

'He's very confident this won't be going anywhere soon, but then again, he has always been an arrogant and self-assured man.'

Brueckner was released last September from a seven-year jail sentence for rape, a crime committed in the Algarve close to Praia da Luz, where Madeleine disappeared from.

Since then, he has been in hiding and living rough, with locals hounding him put from various locations he has moved to to try and start a new life.

He was ordered to wear an ankle tag so police could monitor his movements, but in November, a court ruled that it should not forbid him from travelling abroad as this was 'unconstitutional'.

Scotland Yard officers from Operation Grange - the unit set up to investigate Madeleine's disappearance - have contacted him to ask for his cooperation, but he has always refused to speak.

In letters sent to the Daily Mail, Brueckner always denied any involvement in the disappearance, insisting he was being made a scapegoat by German authorities.

There is a large amount of circumstantial evidence linking Brueckner to the case - his mobile phone pinged close to the apartment where the three-year-old Madeleine disappeared from.

He has previous convictions for child abuse, and crucially, his name was given to both the German and British police by an informer in 2008.

They told detectives that Brueckner had told them a year after Madeleine vanished that she 'didn't scream' when she was taken.