The parents of missing Madeleine McCann today hit out angrily at the former Portuguese police chief they are suing after the case was halted when he sacked his lawyer just as they were due to appear in court.
Kate and Gerry McCann, who flew from their home in Rothley, Leicestershire, to Lisbon to appear in their libel action against Goncalo Amaral over claims he made in his book about the hunt for their daughter, gave an angry impromptu press conference outside court today.
Mrs McCann told reporters: 'It brings us more pain and distress every time we come here. We just want justice.'
She said Amaral could have got rid of his legal team before they left England for Portugal, and when asked if she believed the 11th hour move was part of his strategy, her husband replied: 'Clearly.'
Amaral's lawyer, Victor Santos de Oliveira left court saying he didn't know why he'd been fired.
Later, the McCanns strode out behind their lawyer, Isabel Duarte, to speak to waiting reporters Mrs McCann added: 'Mr Amaral handed that letter in apparently around nine o'clock this morning - that letter could have been handed in before we left the country.
'And this has happened about four times. This can't be seen an anything but blatant and cynical.'
Clearly angry and upset, she went on: 'We need to make it clear to people: we took on this case because of the pain and distress that Mr Amaral has brought to us and our children.
She said: 'Mr Amaral is not the victim in this', and detailed all the arrangements she and her husband had had to make to get to Lisbon, saying: 'Every time we come here we have to make arrangements for our children to be looked after, we have to take time off work.'
Her husband added: 'We're exasperated that the hearing has been cancelled once again at Mr Amaral's request - this is the fourth time this has happened and we've travelled to Portugal.
'The legal case has been running now for over five years and we want to get justice for Madeleine.
'Today is a blatant and cynical attempt to wear us down and it's Madeleine who is suffering. We're not going to give up - we're going to keep going.'
The libel trial against Amaral over unfounded allegations in his book, The Truth Of The Lie, that the McCanns hid their daughter's body after an accident and faked an abduction, has now been postponed to give the defendant time to find a new lawyer.
The next hearing has been set for 8 July and Mr McCann said he and his wife would attend then.
The McCanns' lawyer, Isabel Duarte, today said: 'No-one imagined that this could happen.'
She said delays meant that the book could continue making 'severe damages' against the McCanns.
Asked if the latest move by the former detective was a strategic attempt to delay the trial, she said it was 'clear' that if someone wanted to remove their lawyer's powers, they would substitute him in the same day.
Mr and Mrs McCann were originally told they could not make statements to the long-running trial, but the decision was overturned after an appeal by their lawyer.
They were expected to deliver emotional statements at Lisbon's Palace of Justice, describing how the claims by Mr Amaral have caused them unnecessary grief.
Their appearance was due to mark the end of the trial, but a final ruling on the case is not expected until later this year.
Last week, the couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell confirmed that they were planning to attend court after the judge decided they could speak at the trial after all.
Their daughter Madeleine, who was then nearly four, disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on 3 May 2007 as her parents dined at a nearby restaurant with friends.
Her parents say that claims in Mr Amaral's 2008 book, including suggestions that they hid Madeleine's body after she died in an accident and faked an abduction, damaged the hunt for their daughter and exacerbated their anguish.
In October Mr McCann's sister, Trish Cameron, told the libel trial that the couple's pain over their daughter's disappearance was 'multiplied 100 times' by the book, and they had been left in 'purgatory' by the disappearance of Madeleine, and claims that they were somehow involved.
If successful the family stands to gain around £1 million in damages.
Goncalo Amaral was head of the regional Polícia Judiciária in Portimão at the time of the disappearance, and was himself an arguido (suspect) in another case.
A month after Madeleine went missing, he and four other officers were charged with offences related to their investigation into the disappearance of Joana Cipriano, an eight-year-old Portuguese girl who vanished in September 2004 from Figueira, seven miles (11 km) from Praia da Luz. Her body was never found and no murder weapon was ever identified.
The girl's mother, Leonor Cipriano, launched a campaign to find her daughter, but was accused of having killed her; the mother and her brother were convicted of murder after confessing to the killing.
The mother retracted her confession, saying she had been beaten by police; the police accounted for bruising on her face and body by saying she had thrown herself down some stairs in the police station. Amaral was not present when the beating is alleged to have taken place, but was accused of having covered up for others.
In May 2009 he was convicted of perjury and received an 18-month suspended sentence. (From Wikipedia.)
There are some pretty amazing similarities between the two cases: young girls disappear, no body, no murder weapon, the mother accused of murder, physical abuse of one mother, emotional abuse of the other, Amaral's disregard of the truth, both happened in the Algarve, and Goncalo Amaral.
I think he should be considered a suspect (arguido) and be thoroughly investigated. It's possible that the dreadful handling of the case in the first several hours was not utter incompetence but deliberate.
In a statement, the McCanns said: 'We are very pleased that significant activity has taken place in Praia da Luz over the last 10 days with police officers and support teams from the UK working closely with the Policia Judiciaria and the Guarda Nacional Republicana.
'We are further encouraged that despite the intensive searches, no trace of Madeleine has been found and this reinforces our belief that she could still be alive.
'As parents of a missing child, we have always wanted all reasonable lines of inquiry to be followed and it is gratifying to know that a substantial amount of work will take place over the coming months with the close co-operation of the British and Portuguese authorities.
'We would like to thank all those involved for their efforts and the members of the public who have come forward with information.'
Searches in the Portuguese resort saw officers from Scotland Yard's Operation Grange working alongside specialists from around the UK, including Sussex Police and South Wales Police, with the Portuguese police.
The next stage of the operation will see police question three suspected burglars who were in the Praia da Luz area at the time of the disappearance in 2007 as well as five other men who worked at the Ocean Club where the McCanns.
Portuguese police will conduct the interviews, however Metropolitan Police detectives, under Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood will be allowed to sit in the room during questioning.
A source in Portugal told The Mirror: 'the questioning will be done by the Portuguese, either at Faro or Portimao police stations. The men will be detained as "arguidos" - or formal suspects.
'The British are ready to go at a moment's notice, but the decision on when the questioning begins is for the Portuguese police. It could start as soon as late June.
'The permission has been granted and there is not more legal paperwork to apply for.
Please continue to pray for the McCanns, and pray that if Madeleine is still alive - either sold to a family, or, God-forbid, to a pimp, that she will somehow be rescued. God is able.
Kate and Gerry McCann, who flew from their home in Rothley, Leicestershire, to Lisbon to appear in their libel action against Goncalo Amaral over claims he made in his book about the hunt for their daughter, gave an angry impromptu press conference outside court today.
Mrs McCann told reporters: 'It brings us more pain and distress every time we come here. We just want justice.'
She said Amaral could have got rid of his legal team before they left England for Portugal, and when asked if she believed the 11th hour move was part of his strategy, her husband replied: 'Clearly.'
 |
| Arriving earlier: Kate and Gerry McCann were to give evidence in the case against ex police chief, Goncalo Amaral |
Later, the McCanns strode out behind their lawyer, Isabel Duarte, to speak to waiting reporters Mrs McCann added: 'Mr Amaral handed that letter in apparently around nine o'clock this morning - that letter could have been handed in before we left the country.
'And this has happened about four times. This can't be seen an anything but blatant and cynical.'
Clearly angry and upset, she went on: 'We need to make it clear to people: we took on this case because of the pain and distress that Mr Amaral has brought to us and our children.
She said: 'Mr Amaral is not the victim in this', and detailed all the arrangements she and her husband had had to make to get to Lisbon, saying: 'Every time we come here we have to make arrangements for our children to be looked after, we have to take time off work.'
Her husband added: 'We're exasperated that the hearing has been cancelled once again at Mr Amaral's request - this is the fourth time this has happened and we've travelled to Portugal.
 |
| McCann's Lawyer leaving court after another delay |
 |
| Amaral's lawyer doesn't know why he was fired |
'The legal case has been running now for over five years and we want to get justice for Madeleine.
'Today is a blatant and cynical attempt to wear us down and it's Madeleine who is suffering. We're not going to give up - we're going to keep going.'
The libel trial against Amaral over unfounded allegations in his book, The Truth Of The Lie, that the McCanns hid their daughter's body after an accident and faked an abduction, has now been postponed to give the defendant time to find a new lawyer.
The next hearing has been set for 8 July and Mr McCann said he and his wife would attend then.
The McCanns' lawyer, Isabel Duarte, today said: 'No-one imagined that this could happen.'
She said delays meant that the book could continue making 'severe damages' against the McCanns.
Asked if the latest move by the former detective was a strategic attempt to delay the trial, she said it was 'clear' that if someone wanted to remove their lawyer's powers, they would substitute him in the same day.
Mr and Mrs McCann were originally told they could not make statements to the long-running trial, but the decision was overturned after an appeal by their lawyer.
 |
| Goncalo Amaral getting rich through bullying the McCanns |
They were expected to deliver emotional statements at Lisbon's Palace of Justice, describing how the claims by Mr Amaral have caused them unnecessary grief.
Their appearance was due to mark the end of the trial, but a final ruling on the case is not expected until later this year.
Last week, the couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell confirmed that they were planning to attend court after the judge decided they could speak at the trial after all.
Their daughter Madeleine, who was then nearly four, disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on 3 May 2007 as her parents dined at a nearby restaurant with friends.
Her parents say that claims in Mr Amaral's 2008 book, including suggestions that they hid Madeleine's body after she died in an accident and faked an abduction, damaged the hunt for their daughter and exacerbated their anguish.
In October Mr McCann's sister, Trish Cameron, told the libel trial that the couple's pain over their daughter's disappearance was 'multiplied 100 times' by the book, and they had been left in 'purgatory' by the disappearance of Madeleine, and claims that they were somehow involved.
If successful the family stands to gain around £1 million in damages.
Goncalo Amaral was head of the regional Polícia Judiciária in Portimão at the time of the disappearance, and was himself an arguido (suspect) in another case.
A month after Madeleine went missing, he and four other officers were charged with offences related to their investigation into the disappearance of Joana Cipriano, an eight-year-old Portuguese girl who vanished in September 2004 from Figueira, seven miles (11 km) from Praia da Luz. Her body was never found and no murder weapon was ever identified.
The girl's mother, Leonor Cipriano, launched a campaign to find her daughter, but was accused of having killed her; the mother and her brother were convicted of murder after confessing to the killing.
The mother retracted her confession, saying she had been beaten by police; the police accounted for bruising on her face and body by saying she had thrown herself down some stairs in the police station. Amaral was not present when the beating is alleged to have taken place, but was accused of having covered up for others.
In May 2009 he was convicted of perjury and received an 18-month suspended sentence. (From Wikipedia.)
There are some pretty amazing similarities between the two cases: young girls disappear, no body, no murder weapon, the mother accused of murder, physical abuse of one mother, emotional abuse of the other, Amaral's disregard of the truth, both happened in the Algarve, and Goncalo Amaral.
I think he should be considered a suspect (arguido) and be thoroughly investigated. It's possible that the dreadful handling of the case in the first several hours was not utter incompetence but deliberate.
In a statement, the McCanns said: 'We are very pleased that significant activity has taken place in Praia da Luz over the last 10 days with police officers and support teams from the UK working closely with the Policia Judiciaria and the Guarda Nacional Republicana.
'We are further encouraged that despite the intensive searches, no trace of Madeleine has been found and this reinforces our belief that she could still be alive.
'As parents of a missing child, we have always wanted all reasonable lines of inquiry to be followed and it is gratifying to know that a substantial amount of work will take place over the coming months with the close co-operation of the British and Portuguese authorities.
'We would like to thank all those involved for their efforts and the members of the public who have come forward with information.'
Searches in the Portuguese resort saw officers from Scotland Yard's Operation Grange working alongside specialists from around the UK, including Sussex Police and South Wales Police, with the Portuguese police.
The next stage of the operation will see police question three suspected burglars who were in the Praia da Luz area at the time of the disappearance in 2007 as well as five other men who worked at the Ocean Club where the McCanns.
Portuguese police will conduct the interviews, however Metropolitan Police detectives, under Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood will be allowed to sit in the room during questioning.
A source in Portugal told The Mirror: 'the questioning will be done by the Portuguese, either at Faro or Portimao police stations. The men will be detained as "arguidos" - or formal suspects.
'The British are ready to go at a moment's notice, but the decision on when the questioning begins is for the Portuguese police. It could start as soon as late June.
'The permission has been granted and there is not more legal paperwork to apply for.
Please continue to pray for the McCanns, and pray that if Madeleine is still alive - either sold to a family, or, God-forbid, to a pimp, that she will somehow be rescued. God is able.
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