The case of missing youngster Madeleine McCann was highlighted today by MSPs who called for a European alert system to help trace children who disappear.

The case of missing youngster Madeleine McCann was highlighted today by MSPs who called for a European alert system to help trace children who disappear.

Madeleine is still missing after she disappeared from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, just over two years ago.

Today the Liberal Democrats raised the plight of such youngsters as they called for a European Amber Alert system to be brought in across the continent.

Some countries in Europe already operate a missing child hotline, with the telephone number 116 000, although this system is not currently operating in the UK.

But Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Robert Brown said the "gold standard" which should be adopted was the Amber Alert scheme, which has been running in America for the last seven years.

Mr Brown said that meant that in the most serious child abduction cases an urgent bulletin was sent out.

He explained: "An amber alert means that when a child is reported missing to the police in a matter of minutes all police forces are alerted.

"TV and radio programmes are interrupted, pictures of the missing child flash up on screen."

And he added: "Quite often all this activity is enough to compel the abductor to hand over the child."

Mr Brown said: "We know from the well publicised ordeal of the family of Madeleine McCann and all the publicity that has gone with that of the horrible situations that can arise when a child is not recovered.

"All of us would wish to reduce the chances of this happening in other cases. We want a European Amber Alert system, we want universal take up of the freephone child alert number, we want it to be used in Scotland and across the UK.

"We need to ensure Scotland and Britain are at the forefront of this and it is operational in every country of the European Union and its associates."

The Lib Dem said that approximately 9,000 youngsters go missing every year in Scotland, adding: "Some of these are teenagers with home problems, some are short term family tussles which get resolved, some are misunderstandings.

"But a significant number involve situations of real peril of major harm to the child and an increasing number have a cross border or pan European dimension."

And he stressed: "In these instances of child abductions its well understood that the first 48 hours are critical, that an immediate response to the disappearance is vital."

Labour's Paul Martin also backed a European Amber Alert scheme, saying there was no doubt that it "genuinely would make a difference in protecting children from those who pose a real threat".

And if such a scheme were introduced here he said: "There is no doubt such a scheme would save lives."

Mr Martine added: "It does seem ridiculous that such a scheme is not already in place.

"We live in this computer age of internet, mobile communications, blogs, etc. Surely we can use such information technology to our advantage to ensure that our children are given every possible opportunity."

The Labour politician told MSPs that some 130,000 children a year go missing across Europe, and that an average of six youngsters a year were never found.

"The pain behind those statistics can not be described," Mr Martin said.

"And that should ensure our determination to take this issue forward and look at every avenue possible to ensure the safety of our children."

He said: "As a parent many of us would have experienced that heart stopping moment when for that brief period your child goes missing, you lose sight of them.

"I've got to say the relief that's experienced when they are found again is one that can not be described.

"It must be unbearable for those parents who are not so lucky, and we've seen many well publicised examples such as the case of Kate and Gerry McCann."

Mr Martin said the majority of MEPs already backed the introduction of a European Amber Alert scheme.

"Hopefully we are a step further to ensuring that any child who goes missing in Europe is given the best chance of being recovered," he said.

Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing said Scottish police forces are at an "advanced point" in developing a child rescue alert system.

The Europe-wide 116 000 hotline will shortly be tendered for operation across the UK, he told MSPs.

"While there might be one or two child abductions in the whole of the UK in a year, estimates of incidents of children going missing or running away are as high as 100,000 per year across the UK," he said.

"Children can go missing for several reasons, each of which should be a cause for concern for us all.

"We are working closely with our cabinet office colleagues in the UK Government to simplify the process for the reporting of missing children, with a new Europe-wide 116 000 hotline soon being tendered to become operational across the UK."

The Scottish Government wants to improve services for young people who run away, develop systems for locating children who are missing from education and protect those affected by forced marriage, Mr Ewing said.

Conservative MSP John Lamont said: "The case of Madeleine McCann and the plight of her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, has made the public much more aware of this important issue.

"However, it's important to remember they're not the only parents who have been left inconsolable by the disappearance of a child."

Mr Lamont highlighted the American approach to missing children, where amber alerts are used.

"In the US, 80% of abducted children are recovered in the crucial first 72 hours. The key to this is early intervention," he said.

The Roxburgh and Berwickshire MSP said there is, however, growing concern in the US that the public are becoming desensitised because of false alarms.

"Any similar system adopted in Europe or indeed in Scotland should ensure that alerts are issued in the correct circumstances," he said.