A 76-year-old British national, wanted in the UK to serve time for sexual assault on a 13-year-old girl was this afternoon jailed for 18 months for possession of child pornography.

Roderick Macdonald, who was living in an apartment at Ta` Cenc, admitted to being in possession of pornographic photographs of children found on his laptop.

On Tuesday, the elderly convicted paedophile consented to his extradition when he appeared before Magistrate Audrey Demicoli, a day after he was arrested by the police.

Roderick Macdonald – who also used the surname Robinson – is also wanted by UK police who believe he can shed light on a paedophile ring possibly linked to the abduction of Madeleine McCann, according to UK tabloid newspapers Daily Mail and the Mirror.

Madeleine McCann has been missing since May 2007. She disappeared during a family holiday in Portugal as her parents Kate and Gerry were eating in a near-by restaurant

Before Magistrate Charmaine Galea, Mr Macdonald pleaded guilty to possessing the porn photos.

In submissions on punishment, the defence said the police had only found “three or four” photographs on his laptop and that these were in the deleted folder.

The defence lawyer also took umbrage at the fact that his client had his name splashed all over the media.

The prosecution, on its part, said the accused had cooperated with the police and even though the pictures were found in the deleted folder, anyone with some knowledge could access them, just like the police accessed them without the need of any advanced software.

The magistrate jailed him for 18 months.