Detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann hope their prime suspect will "crack" after being moved to a prison dubbed "Germany's Alcatraz", it has been claimed.
Convicted paedophile Christian Brueckner is said to have already been complaining about life in solitary confinement at Oldenburg prison, near Bremen.
It is claimed the police working to solve the case want the 44-year-old kept in isolation "as long as possible".
According to the New Zealand Herald: "Brueckner, who German investigators believe murdered Maddie in 2007, is in solitary confinement in Oldenburg prison, where he is begging to be moved to a different cell."
Madeleine disappeared aged three from her family's rented apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007.
A source, according to the Mirror, told The Sun : "Detectives think this move to a new, tougher prison will turn the screw on [Brueckner] and really put him under pressure.
"Cops remain convinced that [he] is linked to the Maddie case and are confident he will eventually trip himself up and say something which will be important to the investigation."
In June last year the suspect denied killing Madeleine to his lawyer Friedrich Fulscher.
It comes as relations between German and Portuguese investigators are said to be at their lowest since the case started.
The detective who led the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance made fresh slurs against her parents last week. Goncalo Amaral falsely accused Kate and Gerry McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, of being the “main culprits” for their daughter’s 2007 disappearance.
A source told The Sun: "The Portuguese team discounted Christian B years ago and think the Germans are miles off." They added, in turn, the German teams repeatedly point to "mistakes" made by the original investigation.
They added, in turn, the German teams repeatedly point to "mistakes" made by the original investigation.
It comes after reports Brueckner was not even questioned at the time of the child's disappearance because he wasn't home when police called. He was living in the Algarve, not far from the resort the McCanns were staying at.
Brueckner returned to Germany soon after but was later found to have used a mobile phone close to the family's holiday apartment the night Madeleine vanished.
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