Madeleine McCann: Parents fury at police leaks

Aug 24 2007

The father of Madeleine McCann today attacked a series of police leaks which have fuelled “preposterous” speculation about what happened to his daughter.

Gerry McCann, whose wife Kate was raised in Liverpool, said he was disappointed so much information had made its way into the public domain despite Portugal’s strict “secrecy of justice” laws.

The 39-year-old cardiologist also spoke of his dilemma in wanting to respond to criticism of him and his wife Kate but not wishing to encourage it.

In recent weeks the McCanns have been forced to defend themselves after Portuguese newspapers alleged the couple could be suspects in their daughter’s disappearance.

It is now 113 days since four-year-old Madeleine vanished from her bed in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz in Portugal while her parents ate with friends in a nearby tapas restaurant.

In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Mr McCann said: “I am disappointed that so much information - albeit much of it confused and wrong - has gone into the public domain in a country that supposedly has judicial secrecy.

“I would be perfectly happy if police said ’right, there is going to be nothing coming out anywhere’, but that hasn’t happened.”

He went on: “Some of it, the way it’s reported, is no more than people thinking out loud.

“We would like to come out and defend ourselves, that’s your gut reaction. But some of the claims are so preposterous you just think are you just fuelling it by responding?”

Reacting to “incredibly hurtful and incredibly untrue” allegations in the Portuguese press, Mr McCann said: “It is extraordinary. It’s incredible. But we will come through it.

“We know our facts, we know what we did. It does not bear any resemblance to this wild speculation. My opinion of what has happened has not changed in 16 weeks.”

He added: “Ultimately there is an innocent four-year-old girl missing here. I think some people do forget that is what this is about.”

Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, spokesman for the Portuguese police inquiry, admitted today the leaks attributed to “sources close to the investigation” were “undesirable”.

He told the English language paper The Portugal News: “It is difficult to establish who these ’leaks’ are or where they are coming from. Information is probably not leaked on purpose.

“I believe sometimes things are said at an informal lunch after which a friend tells a friend who knows a journalist. But there’s no doubt, these leaks do complicate my job.”

He said detectives still had doubts about what happened to Madeleine and acknowledged she may never be found.

Mr Sousa said: “It is possible that we never find Madeleine. First we will have to find sufficient evidence to indicate that she is no longer alive.

“This will have to be followed up by finding her body.”

But he stressed: “I am confident that the case will be solved. I am confident that sooner or later we will be able to discover what happened.”

Mr McCann flew to Scotland today and will speak at the Edinburgh International Television Festival tomorrow.

His wife and their two-year-old twins, Sean and Amelie, have remained in Praia da Luz.