20 July 2008
People
Nick Dorman
CLEARED McCANNS VOW TV ONSLAUGHT
Madeleine McCann's parents will savage bungling Portuguese cops in a tell-all interview with chat queen Oprah Winfrey when they are cleared as suspects tomorrow.
For 317 days fuming Kate and Gerry have been gagged by their status as arguidos.
But at noon tomorrow a judge will formally lift the cloud of suspicion - as exclusively revealed in The People in April.
And the McCanns will finally be free to speak about the investigation into three-year-old Maddie's disappearance.
They are set to launch a stinging attack on US star Oprah's TV show - although her rival Barbara Walters is also vying to secure the first interview with the couple. The doctors, both 40, will either go to the States or speak from their home in Rothley, Leics.
Pals expect them to highlight more than a dozen basic errors by police in the four weeks after their daughter's disappearance on May 3 last year.
These include: FAILING to immediately seal off the crime scene in Praia da Luz, allowing vital forensic evidence to be lost in and around the McCann holiday apartment.
FAILING to inform Spanish border cops until the next morning.
WAITING more than 48 hours before house-to-house inquiries began.
DELAYING the decision to bring in child abduction specialists and ISSUING a baffling series of different descriptions of suspects - including one primitive e-fit picture which resembled a "boiled egg with hair".
The McCanns will also round on cops for leaking details of the case to the Portuguese press in a bid to incriminate them.
Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said last night: "Kate and Gerry will talk about the police inquiry once their arguido status has been lifted.
"They want to get their side of the story across. They want the weight of guilt by association lifted from their shoulders. And they will make it clear that they will continue to search for Madeleine, come what may."
The couple are likely to focus their fury on top cop Goncalo Amaral, who was kicked off the Madeleine case last October following allegations of incompetence and attacks on his British police counterparts.
Moustachioed Amaral, 48, sometimes worked little more than four hours a day and enjoyed long, boozy lunches.
He was also overheard telling of his suspicions that the McCanns killed their daughter.
Police still have NO idea what happened to Madeleine, who disappeared from her bed while her parents were eating out.
A friend said yesterday: "Kate and Gerry are furious. They've kept their thoughts private - because the Portuguese legal system left them no choice. It's been incredibly frustrating.
"They know the police have given up looking for Maddie, so they've nothing to lose. A string of mistakes were made. And police leaked things that were totally untrue. When it was reported that Maddie's DNA was found in their car, Kate and Gerry could only conclude someone was trying to frame them.
"Being suspects has put an appalling strain on them. Kate hasn't been able to go out without thinking people may be pointing a finger of blame.
"As soon as they're free to talk about the appalling way they have been treated, they will."
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