The couple used the meeting on Wednesday to appeal for extra help from the coalition Government to look for the little girl.

It is more than three years since Madeleine disappeared from a holiday resort in southern Portugal.

Mr and Mrs McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, want a full independent review of the police investigation into what happened to her.

They complained in February that they encountered "reluctance" when they asked the British authorities to re-examine all the information held by law enforcement agencies around the world.

Mr McCann said: "I think people are reluctant to undertake a review because there's been difficult, sensitive issues.

"But Madeleine's rights should be put first. She's missing, she's innocent, and whoever's taken her is still out there, and that has to be of paramount importance."

A Home Office spokesman said: "The Home Secretary held a private meeting with Kate and Gerry McCann on Wednesday to discuss the case of their missing daughter Madeleine.

"The Government's primary concern in this matter is the wellbeing of Madeleine McCann, and to ensure that everything feasible is being done to progress the search for her."

Madeleine was three when she went missing from her family's holiday flat in
Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3 2007 as her parents dined with friends nearby.

Portuguese police launched a massive investigation with the support of British officers, but the inquiry was formally shelved in July 2008 without reaching any firm conclusions about the child's fate.

Private detectives employed by the McCanns are continuing to investigate the case.