Madeleine McCann's parents dispute restaurant claims

Sep 21 2007

A beach side restaurant was today at the centre of claim and counter-claim over the movements of the McCann family on the day Madeleine went missing.

Staff at the Paraiso restaurant in Praia Da Luz say they saw Gerry and Kate McCann there with Madeleine between 5pm and 6pm on the afternoon of May 3, less than four hours before she disappeared.

Gerry was said to have been dancing happily with Madeleine on the sand directly in front of the restaurant which sits on stilts on the beach.

Staff later recognised the McCanns from television in the middle of the week following Madeleine’s disappearance and called the Policia Judiciaria (PJ) who took the footage away.

The apparent sighting could provide proof of where the McCanns were that day, eliminating claims that there were a “missing six hours” in their account.

But the McCanns insist that they were not at the restaurant.

Gerry is believed to have played tennis all afternoon before changing and going to meet friends for a tapas dinner at around 8.20pm.

Kate has told police she spent time by the pool in the Ocean Club complex where they were staying that afternoon.

The staff’s accounts of the restaurant visit have featured in media reports both in Portugal and the UK.

But the McCanns spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: “We cannot and will not comment on matters that go to the heart of the police investigation, however, my understanding is that these particular reports are inaccurate.”

One of the McCanns friends is reported to have said that others in the group went there to feed the children before putting them to bed, although the McCanns were not there.

But today a source at the restaurant said staff were sure it was the McCanns and had watched the footage with PJ officers to check before handing it over.

He said the footage even showed Gerry McCann dancing with Madeleine in the beach.

“One member of staff remembered later that he saw them and we went to check the CCTV that they were here,” he said.

“On the machine it was saying the same date (May 3) between five and six, the date was on the machine at the time.”

He added that police had checked if the footage showed the McCanns before taking it away.

“I gave the PJ the video, I didn’t know if it was them or not so we watched to check that it was them, otherwise we would have been giving them something that was not interesting,” he said.

He conceded that the timer on the machine could have been showing the wrong date, possibly from a day earlier that week.

But it is understood the McCanns’ position is that they did not go to the restaurant at all that week, although they did visit much later during the time they stayed on in Praia Da Luz.

Nevertheless, the restaurant source insisted: “The machine could have been on the wrong date, I can’t promise it was the right date - but it was them.”

He added: “I have heard the friend said they (the McCanns) weren’t here - if they weren’t, they weren’t but as far as I’m concerned they were.”

However, he conceded that the images were grainy.

Holding up a newspaper he said: “The image isn’t very good quality... you can’t see faces exactly like you see on this, it’s difficult.”