BBC One explores the mystery of Madeleine McCann

A member of the ‘Tapas 9’ will talk publicly for the first time about the night Madeleine McCann disappeared, on a BBC One Panorama Special tonight. Jane Tanner defends the party's decision not to talk to the media during the past six months – and insists that they have done everything asked of them by the Portuguese police.

She is adamant that she saw an abductor carrying Madeleine away from the McCann's apartment. And she hits back at reports that she wants to change her story. "I've not spoken because the Portuguese police told us not to talk about the case at all and from day one we've done everything we can to help them with the investigation," she said.

"... I'm talking now because I'm being called a liar and fantasist and all this and I know what I saw, and I think it's important that people know what I saw, because I believe Madeleine was abducted."

And Ms Tanner, of Exeter in Devon, also told of the moment she learend of Madeleine's disappearance, as Kate McCann, Rachael Oldfield and Fiona Payne searched for her. She said: "I went out to the front door of our apartment. I saw Rachael who came and said 'Oh, Madeleine's gone' and so that was the first I heard about it. And then I saw Kate and Fiona running around shouting 'Madeleine', and Kate said to me, 'Jane, Madeleine's gone, Madeleine's gone'. And that's the first I heard."

The programme will also show exclusive interviews with Kate and Gerry McCann filmed by a family friend back in August. The footage shows them in their hire car driving to Spain on the day they say they were accused of dumping Madeleine's body.

It is the same hire car – collected 25 days after Madeleine's disappearance – in which British Forensic Science Service tests are reported to have identified traces of body fluids. The programme also interviews for the first time suspect Robert Murat's mother, who discusses her son's whereabouts on the night Madeleine disappeared.

The full interview with Jane Tanner will be shown on BBC One Panorama on night at 9pm.