11 January 2010
Scottish Daily Record
McCanns' fury at invite
The cop who led the hunt for Madeleine McCann plans to visit the UK to talk about his claims that her parents are to blame for her disappearance.
Portuguese former police chief Goncalo Amaral also criticised British police involvement in the case.
And he was pictured enjoying boozy lunches when he should have been working. He was eventually sacked.
Next week, he will appear in a Lisbon court to fight a £1million libel action brought against him by Kate and Gerry McCann after he published a book accusing the couple of killing their daughter.
Now Amaral, 49, has been being invited to the annual conference of the Madeleine Foundation pressure group.
Their members believe she is dead and her parents bear some of the responsibility.
The McCanns have asked their lawyers to consider what action can be taken to prevent him speaking at the gathering, near Nottingham, at the end of next month.
The couple already have a High Court injunction banning the foundation's secretary Tony Bennett from making any allegations about Madeleine's disappearance.
Sources close to the McCanns said the couple were "deeply concerned" about the conference - due to be held on February 27 and 28 at The Liberal Club in Melbourne, Derbyshire - and the invite to Amaral.
He was put in charge of the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance in May 2007 , a few days before her fourth birthday, during a family holiday in Praia Da Luz, Portugal.
He was the one who authorised their status as arguidos, or official suspects.
But he was removed from his post after five months and then retired.
His 224-page book, Maddie - The Truth Of The Lie, was published in July last year.
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