He was apprehended in Malta after being on the run since 2012 following his conviction for abusing two girls.
It is understood the Met want to speak to him regarding a possible paedophile ring which could have been operating in the Algarve when Madeleine vanished from her holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, aged three, according to reports.
McDonald, who also uses the surname Robinson, had been living in an apartment in Ta Cenc, Gozo, Malta and agreed to be extradited when he appeared before Magistrates this week.
Scotland Yard detectives chasing new leads in Praia da Luz where Madeleine went missing wanted to quiz him about paedophile rings in the area in 2007 at the time of Madeleine's disappearance.
McDondald, of Aldershot, Hants, was reportedly deported from Portugal to Australia in 2010 accused of raping an eight-year-old girl.
The incident happened in 1989 and while on bail he fled to New Zealand until an international arrest warrant saw him arrested in a campsite in the Algarve in 2010.
He served a six month sentence in Australia for indecent assault and then went to Thailand in 2011 where the authorities deported him back to the UK after learning of his convictions.
The former oil rig worker moved to Brighton, where he was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register, and he then targeted two sisters, aged five and seven, in June 2012.
He is wanted in the UK for absconding after being found guilty of sexual assault, and for failing to notify the authorities he had changed his name, address and was going abroad.
In court in Malta he agreed to be extradited and has been remanded in custody.
Madeleine disappeared during a family holiday in Portugal as her parents Kate and Gerry were eating in a near-by restaurant
A European Arrest Warrant had been issued against him on April 25, 2013, by the Lewes Crown Court in East Sussex
A spokesman for Scotland Yard said they would never discuss who they wanted to speak to as part of any investigation.
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