|PIC1|The parents of missing Madeleine McCann will return to Portugal today, following a journey around Europe and Morocco to highlight their daughter's abduction.

Kate and Gerry McCann's 4-year-old daughter was kidnapped 40 days ago in Portugal.

They have said they will step back from the media spotlight but the search for Madeleine will carry on.

Speaking in Rabat, Morocco last night, Mr McCann said: "Kate and I's role in the campaign will probably not be as public as it has been during the last three weeks.

"We certainly want to take time to reflect on what has been achieved and how best we can help the investigation.

"There will be a period of reflection."

Yesterday, Mrs McCann looked happy for the first time since her daughter was abducted, as she was welcomed to Morocco by a crowd of smiling children.

More than 100 children gathered around the couple, holding posters of Madeleine high above their heads. They danced and chanted the little girl's name for almost an hour as the couple met up with a child welfare organisation.

The McCanns met British ambassador Charles Gray, Morocco's most senior police officer Charqi Draiss as well as representatives from Touche Pas Mes Enfants (Do Not Touch my Children), an organisation set up two years ago to tackle paedophilia.

Madeleine vanished 3 May after her parents left her and her siblings sleeping in their holiday apartment while they went to a nearby tapas bar inside their hotel complex.