Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
COPS LET US DOWN
It was terrible, horrible, they gave up the search... Anger at book detective ...we’ll pursue him in courts
KATE and Gerry McCann have told of their despair when the Portuguese police investigation closed and nobody else was looking for their daughter.
The “terrible and horrible” moment came in 2008, a year after Madeleine vanished.
It left the family as the only people working to find her.
Gerry said: “After the initial Portuguese investigation closed, no one else was doing anything pro-actively to try and find Madeleine. And I think every parent could understand that what you want – and what we have aspired to – is to have all the reasonable lines of inquiry followed to a logical conclusion.
Gerry spoke in the couple’s moving interview to mark 10 years since their daughter disappeared on holiday in Praia da Luz. He continued: “It was terrible, it was horrible. As much as we tried and (were) fortunate to have had so many donations into Madeleine’s fund, and to use that money to try and investigate, your hands are tied. You don’t have the powers law enforcement have.
“Since the Metropolitan Police actually started their investigation, it has taken a huge pressure off us, individually and as a family.”
The McCanns, in an interview with the BBC’s Fiona Bruce broadcast today, said the battle with ex-Portuguese cop Goncalo Amaral caused frustration, anger and even risked harming the search.
He wrote The Truth of The Lie, accusing the McCanns of responsibility for Madeleine’s disappearance. Amaral also took part in a TV documentary claiming the child was dead, there had been no abduction and her body had been hidden. He was ordered to pay
the McCanns £209,000 each in damages in 2015 after a court banned further sales of his book.
But he appealed and Portugal’s Supreme Court rejected the libel action, saying he was protected by freedom of expression laws.
Gerry branded the judgment “terrible” and insisted they would pursue Amaral in the European courts. He said it was important to challenge him on behalf of the wider family, including his twins Sean and Amelie, 12.
And Kate said: “It has been very upsetting, and it has caused a lot of frustration and anger.”
Gerry highlighted the Metropolitan Police’s view – echoing the final report by Portuguese police – that there is no evidence Madeleine is dead. Dismissing Amaral’s assertions, he added: “The prosecutor has said there’s no evidence we were involved in any crime.”
Last month the Home Office confirmed £85,000 was being given to the UK-based Met Police inquiry to cover costs from April to September.
In all, more than £11million has been spent.
Gerry said it was right to bring resources to bear to investigate criminal acts against Britons abroad. He said: “I know it’s a single missing child, but millions of British tourists go to the Algarve and you’ve got a British subject who was the subject of a crime.
“Others within law enforcement have made it very clear, this type of stranger abduction is exceptionally rare and we need to put it into perspective.
“It’s partly why Madeleine’s case is attracting so much attention, thrown in with many other ingredients, but this type of abduction is exceptionally rare.”