A 77-year-old man linked to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is to be extradited to the United Kingdom after being arrested in Gozo yesterday.

Roderick MacDonald is wanted in the UK having absconded after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, as well as failing to notify authorities that he changed his name, address and was travelling abroad.

The accused confirmed to Magistrate Audrey Demicoli that he was previously known as Roderick William Robertson, which was his adopted name but has since reverted to Roderick MacDonald.

In May, The Daily Mail reported that MacDonald was arrested at an Algarve campsite in 2010 and extradited to Australia, where he was wanted for the 1998 rape of an eight-year-old.

The Daily Mail reported that police think MacDonald may have evidence about a suspected paedophile ring operating in the Portuguese seaside resort when the three-year-old McCann went missing in 2007.

Macdonald declared to the court that he consented with his extradition to the UK.

The magistrate warned MacDonald that this consent was irrevocable but he repeated his consent. The court committed him to custody pending his extradition.

Inspector Mario Cuschieri prosecuted. Renzo Porsella Flores appeared as legal aid.