Vanessa Allen
12 December 2009
Daily Mail
Madeleine McCann's parents were accused of 'showing off' yesterday by the policeman who dragged them in for questioning as suspects. (See: Wikileaks Cable dated 28 September 2007)
Goncalo Amaral added to Kate and Gerry McCann's anguish as they returned to Portugal for the latest stage in their legal battle over his book about the investigation into their daughter's disappearance.
The disgraced policeman, who led the botched inquiry, claimed they had launched legal action against him to protect their public image in Britain.
Mr and Mrs McCann, both 41, came face-to-face with Mr Amaral for the first time since he ordered their interrogation as official suspects in their daughter's disappearance. He claims Madeleine is dead.
The couple have accused him of making 'obscene' amounts of money from the high-profile case and have previously won a court injunction to ban the book from being sold worldwide.
Yesterday, Mr Amaral's lawyer had been due to argue that the injunction should be lifted, but said he could not attend court because of illness. The hearing was adjourned until next month. As they left the courthouse in Lisbon, the McCanns were heckled by protesters shouting: 'Viva Goncalo Amaral, Viva Portugal! [Long live Goncalo Amaral, Long live Portugal!]'
Looking distraught, Mrs McCann said the detective's book had upset her family and could have damaged their search for Madeleine.
'Freedom of speech should not outweigh the rights of our family, our children, the right for a proper, reasonable and fair search,' she said. 'Freedom of speech should not include distortion of the truth, lies, fabrication and slander.'The McCanns took legal action against Mr Amaral after his book, Maddie: The Truth of the Lie, claimed that Madeleine died in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in May 2007 and that they faked her abduction. They deny the accusations and have been cleared by the Portuguese. (Note: Untrue - the case is shelved pending further evidence. They have not been "cleared".)
Yesterday, Mr Amaral, 49, who was sacked from the investigation, threatened to counter-sue the couple for the suffering they had caused to his family.
He told a Portuguese newspaper:
'I owe nothing to them [the McCanns]. They're only here to show off, to keep the image they have in England. I will sue them for what they did to my family.
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