London - British police files containing information on the early
stages of the hunt for missing girl Madeleine McCann were released to
her parents Monday who said they hoped for "potential new leads" to
find their daughter 14 months after she disappeared.

The High Court in London ordered the release of 81 documents to the
McCann's by police in Leicestershire, northern England, which were
passed on to investigators in Portugal but not to Kate and Gerry
McCann.

Madeleine disappeared on May 3, 2007, just before her fourth birthday, in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on the Algarve.

Her parents had threatened to start legal proceedings to obtain access
to the telephone calls and information given to British police in the
early stages of Madeleine's disappearance which they now want to pass
on to private detectives.

The McCanns' lawyer, Tim Scott QC, confirmed that the information
released after a compromise settlement related to telephone calls made
to their solicitors and passed on to Leicestershire police.

Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell described the information police had
agreed to hand over as "potential new leads" that could help in the
search for the missing girl.

"That information now goes to our private investigators, who will work
on it, all as a priority. Anyone of those could unlock the information
that could lead to Madeleine being found," he said.

Portuguese police last week said it had completed its investigations
and handed them over to the public prosecutor in charge of the case.

But the prosecutor denied reports that the investigations had been closed.

Madeleine's parents, who have been named official suspects in the case,
hope to be cleared when the Portuguese prosecutor announces his
decision on whether or not to bring charges. (dpa)