BCC response to Complaints re: lie about Goncalo Amaral is NOT GOOD ENOUGH

Where is the FORMAL APOLOGY FROM BBC?

Fact: Dr. Goncalo Amaral did NOT say "Fuck the McCanns".

Mike O' Sullivan, his producer, "senior colleagues" and any BBC spokespersons involved need to issue a formal apology and ensure corrections are printed in all of the news sources listed below.

This is NOT GOOD ENOUGH, BBC:

"Further action
The Editor of the programme has discussed the outcome with the producer and reporter involved. In future, the team plans to use interpreters if clips from interviews are unclear."

Changing your "future" policy does not address the harm done to Goncalo Amaral's reputation.

Further, the BBC spokesperson quoted below stated categorically that "The reply was clearly 'f*** the McCanns", therefore using interpreters "if clips from interviews are unclear" does NOT adequately address the complaints lodged.  

It must be determined what "senior colleagues" were consulted by Mike O' Sullivan, as well as who the spokespersons were and what qualifications they had for stating on behalf of BBC itself that Amaral's "reply was clearly 'fuck the McCanns".  

There also needs to be an explanation as to why it took over 16 months to address the numerous complaints and admit the truth of the matter.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2011, BBC, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann, Mike O'Sullivan

The F*** the McCanns Scandal

The F*** the McCanns Scandal

Presented here are the articles published by the British press related to this "scandal".   In each of the articles, I have attempted to highlight the negative comments about Dr. Goncalo Amaral in red and the positive comments about the McCanns in green.  I urge you to review the articles carefully and watch for the abundant emotive language and spin.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, Antonella Lazzeri, BBC, Carvi Scandal, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann, Mike O'Sullivan

Portugal still pouring pain on the McCanns; They need our help

17 January 2010
The News of the World
Anna Smith

I DON'T know if we can stand much more of their public pain - and yet we must.

The agony on the faces of Kate and Gerry McCann is hard to watch as they run the gauntlet of hate in Portugal.

Against the bitter winter chill, they arrived for the court case to ban a truly evil book by a fat, useless ex-cop who was sacked for not doing his job.

So it shouldn't be any surprise that disgraced detective Gonçalo Amaral spat, " F    the McCanns ," when asked if his book was hurting the couple.

This is a man who is not just without morals or compassion. He is a greedy parasite who has fed off the the misery of a couple whose suffering never ends.

This, remember, is a man who enjoyed boozy lunches when he should have been out looking for Maddie in those terrifying days after she went missing.

Chancer

And he presided over a bungling police investigation that didn't just trample over crucial forensic evidence, but failed to set up road blocks within hours of Maddie's disappearance.

This chancer turns my stomach, just about as much as the sicko individuals who have so little to do in their twisted world that they set up a pressure group to heap more distress on the McCanns.

Led by retired solicitor Tony Bennett, a man who clearly has nothing better to do, their sick websites spout bile against the McCanns, alongside lurid pictures and cartoons that nobody in their right mind would ever associate themselves with.

And yet, despite appeals to MPs, Cabinet Ministers and the Attorney General, the website is still allowed to operate.

These weirdos will be rubbing their hands with glee at the agony Maddie's parents are suffering as they sit through the libel case in Portugal, hoping to prevent publication of Amaral's diatribe.

Whatever you think of this tragic case, if ever anyone has been punished for an error of judgement, it is Kate and Gerry McCann.

Of course they will never forgive themselves for leaving Madeleine alone in the apartment that night.

But nobody deserves to have reaped the whirlwind of hate on top of unimaginable suffering in the way they have. Finding Maddie is a crusade they will take to their graves and it has brought them to Portugal, once again clutching at straws.

They probably thought they could steel themselves for the court case, as they must have read the details of the police investigation a thousand times, hoping for something that may have been missed.

But from the look on the McCanns' faces, sitting within the grim, cold walls of a courtroom as the details of cops' sniping unfolded, it has been much more painful than they anticipated.

No wonder heart specialist Gerry lost his cool under the aggressive questioning of the Portuguese Press.

Because the fact is, from day one, the Portuguese have never forgiven the McCanns.

Not for leaving their children alone in the holiday apartment while they ate dinner with friends nearby. No.

They have never forgiven them for one reason alone - because, when you think of Portugal now, you think of Madeleine McCann.

You think of a child being snatched from her bed.

You think of that day when Kate McCann walked into the police station to a barrage of cruel jibes and shouts from an ugly mob of locals.

Sponger

That is the image Portugal brings to so many of our minds.

Let's be honest - the Portuguese were more interested in the effect on the tourist trade than finding Maddie.

And when they turned on the couple, sponger Amaral saw a way of making some money after being sacked as a cop. (Blogger note: Along with all the other lies and xenophobia displayed in this piece, it should be noted that Amaral quit, he was not sacked.)

If any of the allegations in his book were founded on real evidence, you would be able to see the force of it.

But this is just a slapdash effort - designed to do nothing more than cash in.

We've even had wild allegations - denied by Gerry - that Kate dreamt Maddie's body was on a hillside, which convinced police she'd killed her. (Blogger note: Police files confirm Kate contacted PJ re: this.)

If anything confirms for me that this bunch couldn't find their a   s in the dark, it is this.

We have watched the McCanns almost disintegrate in the last few years, and it has been very painful.

But we have to stick with them - because maybe, just maybe, Maddie is still alive out there somewhere.

After all, it wouldn't be the first time that a missing kid turned up years later.

So I, for one, pray that one day we can share their joy if Maddie returns.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, BBC, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann, Mike O'Sullivan

Maddy cop adds insults to injury

16 January 2010
Mirror
Tony Parsons

IF, as has been suggested in Portugal, there was a "media circus" around the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, then it is the Portuguese police who are the clowns.

Cruel, stupid, spiteful clowns.

You would never guess it but Kate and Gerry McCann are not actually on trial in Lisbon.

Madeleine's parents have brought legal action against detective Goncalo Amaral, who they accuse of libelling them in his book, Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie.

But the Portuguese plods have used the libel case to declare open season on the McCanns. One former policeman, Francisco Moita Flores, told the court that only the "distraction" of the "media circus" prevented the McCanns from being charged with negligence.

"No one believed it was an abduction," he told the court. "It was a fairytale, a fable."

But if Madeleine was not abducted, then what happened?

The Portuguese police were shown up as a bunch of clueless amateurs by the Madeleine case, and - shamed, embarrassed, infuriated - they turned their rage on the McCanns.

Even now, the Portuguese cops treat Kate and Gerry McCann with a grotesque lack of respect.

Asked if he cared that he had hurt the McCanns, Goncalo Amaral told a BBC reporter: "No,  f    the McCanns ."

A class act, that fat copper, who has sought to make money out of a stolen child - and the endless grief of her parents.

And what a shock to see the faces of Kate and Gerry McCann back in our newspapers.

The indelible pain is stamped on their faces for ever.

The greatest tragedy is, of course, that a little girl was stolen from her family.

But it is also genuinely tragic that the Portuguese police did not seriously look for the bastard who stole her.

And that's because they have always been far too busy slandering that little girl's parents.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, BBC, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann, Mike O'Sullivan

Madeleine claims difficult to hear says mother

15 January 2010
The Irish Examiner

KATE McCann admitted yesterday that listening to claims that she faked her daughter Madeleine’s abduction was difficult – but said nothing could be as bad as losing her child.

She and her husband Gerry have sat through two days of court hearings in which former Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral has called witnesses to support his allegation that the little girl died in her family’s holiday flat.

Ms McCann insisted that the couple were right to take legal action against Amaral and said she was confident they would win.

Speaking as she arrived for a third day of hearings at the main civil court in Lisbon, she acknowledged that this week had taken its toll.

"If I’m honest, our daughter’s been taken and nothing’s ever going to be as bad as that," she said.

"It’s still been difficult, it’s been emotive, because I know what’s in the case files, I know what the conclusions are. So it’s difficult to hear something that’s incorrect and inaccurate.

"At the bottom of all this is a little girl, and I think it’s important that we don’t forget that."

Mr McCann flew back to Britain on Wednesday night to return to work and his wife was accompanied to court today by Fiona Payne, one of the friends on holiday with the couple when Madeleine disappeared.

Amaral was the first head of the Portuguese police investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance from Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3, 2007.

He has called a series of top Portuguese law enforcement officials as witnesses in his attempt to overturn the McCanns’ injunction on his book about the case, Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie.

Chief Inspector Tavares de Almeida told the court on Tuesday he believed that Madeleine died in her family’s holiday apartment and her parents covered up the death by inventing a kidnapping.

Former detective Francisco Moita Flores also dismissed the theory that the child was abducted and said the McCanns’ legal challenge was "pathetic" when he gave evidence yesterday.

Mrs McCann said about the case: "This is definitely the right course of action.

"I truly believe we are doing this to help the search for Madeleine."

Amaral’s lawyer, Antonio Cabrita, has denied that the former policeman said: " F    the McCanns " in response to a question from a BBC reporter about whether his book was hurting the couple.

Regional news programme East Midlands Today broadcast the exchange with the allegedly offending word bleeped out.

But Mr Cabrita said his client had not said anything in English and Portuguese journalists suggested that he said "I’m not talking about the McCanns" in Portuguese.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, BBC, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann, Mike O'Sullivan

I'll face these slurs if it helps my little Maddy

15 January 2010
Mirror
Martin Fricker

Kate's court ordeal for her daughter

KATE McCann last night broke her silence after three days of hearing sickening slurs that she faked her child's abduction.

The mum-of-three insisted the court ordeal was worth it because "getting justice here will help our search for Madeleine".

Kate and husband Gerry, both 41, have been in Portugal while former detective Goncalo Amaral tries to overturn their ban on his book about the case. He says Madeleine, six, is dead and alleges her guilty parents staged her disappearance, in Praia da Luz in May 2007.

Yesterday Kate said: "Hearing it has not been easy but this action will benefit Madeleine, which is our aim. It's been positive because it's shown again there is no evidence that Madeleine came to any harm or that we are involved."

Amaral's appeal against the injunction banning him from repeating his claims was adjourned.

Outside the Lisbon court he vowed that if he lost he would take it to a European human rights court to defend "freedom of speech".

Last night the BBC stood by a claim Amaral had told their crew " f   the McCanns ". His lawyer had claimed he was mistranslated.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, BBC, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann, Mike O'Sullivan

Ex-detective will take Madeleine McCann book fight to Europe

15 January 2010
Leicester Mercury

Goncalo Amaral has vowed to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights if he loses a legal battle over his book which claims Madeleine McCann is dead.

The former detective said his case was about "fundamental rights" for all Portuguese citizens and pledged to keep fighting all the way.

Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were left facing the prospect of years of court hearings at which Mr Amaral's allegations against them will be repeated.

The couple, both 41, from Rothley, flew to Lisbon this week to hear Mr Amaral attempt to overturn their ban on his book, Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie.

The ex-policeman called a series of witnesses to support his claims that Madeleine died in her family's holiday flat and that her parents faked her abduction - something they strongly deny.

Mrs McCann admitted yesterday that sitting through the evidence was difficult but added that nothing could be as bad as losing Madeleine.

She also insisted that she and Mr McCann were right to take legal action against Mr Amaral and said she was confident they would win.

Yesterday, Mrs McCann said: "Our daughter's been taken and nothing's ever going to be as bad as that. It's still been difficult, it's been emotive, because I know what's in the case files, I know what the conclusions are.

"So it's difficult to hear something that's incorrect and inaccurate."

Mr Amaral was the first head of the Portuguese police investigation into Madeleine's disappearance from Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3, 2007, shortly before her fourth birthday. A judge granted the McCanns a temporary injunction in September last year banning further sale or publication of Mr Amaral's book and a TV documentary he made about the case. Mr Amaral's lawyers argue that the material in his book is contained in the official Portuguese police files for the investigation, many of which were made public in August 2008.

Mr Amaral emerged from the hearing yesterday and said he would take his case to Portugal's higher courts and even the European Court of Human Rights if he lost.

Police made the McCanns "arguidos", or formal suspects, in the case four months after Madeleine disappeared.

But this status was lifted when the investigation was shelved in July 2008 with prosecutors concluding they had no evidence that they committed any crimes. The case is to be adjourned until February 10.

Meanwhile, Mr Amaral's lawyer, Antonio Cabrita, has denied that the former policeman said " f    the McCanns " in response to a question from a BBC reporter about whether his book was hurting the couple.

Regional news programme East Midlands Today broadcast the exchange with the allegedly offending word bleeped out.

A BBC spokesman said: "The reply was clearly ' f    the McCanns '."

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, BBC, Find Madeleine Fund, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann, Mike O'Sullivan

BBC in four-letter 'foul-up'

15 January 2010
Daily Star

BUNGLING BBC bosses sparked a row after accusing Goncalo Amaral of a four-letter tirade against Kate and Gerry McCann.

They insisted the ex-detective said " f    the McCanns " when asked by a BBC reporter if he felt his allegations were hurting the couple.

But last night it was claimed he had actually uttered the Portuguese phrase "fala com McCanns" - which means simply "speak to the McCanns".

Asked if he had sworn, Mr Amaral replied: "Never. I don't know what you are talking about."

And his lawyer, Antonio Cabrita, said: "He never said it. He does not use that kind of language."

Rival TV companies refused to broadcast the footage after their translators studied it.

But it was broadcast, with the key word bleeped out by the BBC in the East Midlands.

A BBC spokesman said last night: "The entire exchange was recorded on camera.

"The swear word was bleeped out for transmission as it was clearly unacceptable to broadcast such language at 6.30pm."

Sources last night said Mr Amaral is now considering legal action against the BBC.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, BBC, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann, Mike O'Sullivan

Kate McCann 'confident' of winning Madeleine libel case

15 January 2010
Guardian Unlimited
John Stevens

'It's difficult to hear something incorrect and inaccurate,' she says of ex-detective's claim that McCanns faked daughter's abduction

Kate McCann said today she was confident of winning the libel action over claims that her daughter Madeleine is dead.

As she arrived at court in Lisbon she admitted that listening to claims that she faked Madeleine's abduction was difficult, but said nothing could be as bad as losing her child.

It is the third day of the trial in Portugal, where the McCanns are seeking permanently to ban a book written by former policeman Goncalo Amaral and £1.1m in compensation for defamation.

Entering the court, Mrs McCann said: "If I'm honest, our daughter's been taken and nothing's ever going to be as bad as that. It's still been difficult, it's been emotive, because I know what's in the case files, I know what the conclusions are. So it's difficult to hear something that's incorrect and inaccurate. At the bottom of all this is a little girl and I think it's important that we don't forget that."

Asked if she believed the McCanns would win their case against Amaral, she said: "I am confident, yes."

McCann and her husband, Gerry, have sat through two days of hearings in which Amaral, who initially led the investigation into their daughter's death, has called a series of senior Portuguese officials to support his allegation that Madeleine, who was three when she disappeared, died in her family's holiday flat in May 2007.

Chief Inspector Tavares de Almeida told the court on Tuesday he believed the McCanns invented a kidnapping to cover up the death of their daughter. Yesterday former detective Francisco Moita Flores also dismissed the couple's claim that Madeleine was abducted, saying the McCanns' challenge to claims Madeleine was dead was "pathetic".

Mr McCann flew back to Britain last night to return to work. His wife was accompanied to court today by Fiona Payne, one of the "Tapas Seven" group of friends who were on holiday with the McCanns in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz when their daughter disappeared.

Amaral's lawyer, Antonio Cabrita, has denied that the former detective said "fuck the McCanns" in response to a question from a BBC reporter about whether his book was hurting the couple. A BBC spokesman said the reply was clear in the exchange, which was entirely recorded on camera.

Today the court is hearing evidence from producers of a TV documentary based on Amaral's book. The case will then be adjourned until 10 February, when the judge will hear from two witnesses not available this week.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, BBC, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann, Mike O'Sullivan

There's no evidence Maddie is dead.. We will keep looking

14 January 2010
Scottish Daily Record
Janice Burns

DAD'S OUTBURST AT COURT HEARING

GERRY McCann yesterday angrily accused a Portuguese ex-cop of endangering the hunt for his missing daughter Madeleine.

The Scots doctor twice addressed reporters directly outside Lisbon's main civil court - after sitting through two days of accusations that he and wife Kate faked Madeleine's abduction in 2007.

Meanwhile, the former detective whose book and TV documentary led to the trial provoked outrage by telling a British TV crew at the court: " F   the McCanns ."

Goncalo Amaral, who was thrown off the McCann case only months into the hunt, made the foul-mouthed outburst when asked:"Is your book hurting the McCanns?"

He then appeared to laugh as he walked away.

A McCann family friend said:"It's disgraceful and gives a true measure of the man."

In the trial, Amaral is attempting to overturn an injunction banning further publication of his book and stopping him repeating his claims about the McCanns.

Glasgow-born heart consultant Gerry and his GP wife Kate are suing him for more than £1million for defamation but no date has yet been set for that case.

Yesterday, a visibly frustrated Gerry, 41, said the main motive for challenging Amaral is their fear that people will stop looking for Madeleine if they think she is dead.

He insisted there was no evidence to support Amaral's claims that Madeleine died in her family's Algarve holiday flat on the night she vanished, just before her fourth birthday.

"Over the last two days, we've heard a lot about Mr Amaral's thesis that Madeleine is dead," he said.

"And I also hope you've heard that there is absolutely no evidence to support that thesis.

"A thesis without evidence is meaningless. It's evidence we're interested in. There is no evidence that Madeleine is dead, that's what you heard yesterday."

Gerry was asked by a reporter whether it was worth the emotional cost for the couple to attend the court.

He replied: "Do you have children? Anyone who has children would go through the same process."

He added: "We're looking for new information to help the search."

A former senior detective called as a witness by Amaral yesterday dismissed the theory that Madeleine was abducted.

Francisco Moita Flores, a criminologist and a writer, told the court it would be impossible to pass a child through the window of the McCanns' holiday flat.

Prejudice

He also defended the way that the Portuguese police investigated the case, praised Amaral as a "good professional" and said his book did not prejudice the inquiry.

Isabel Duarte, the McCanns' lawyer, argued that the police files reached no conclusion about the window and said there were other ways Madeleine could have been taken from the apartment.

The case will continue today and the judge, Maria Gabriela Cunha Rodrigues, could order further hearings.

The McCanns say any damages awarded to them would go towards funding the hunt for Madeleine.

Gerry was last night returning to his home in Rothley,Leicestershire, because of work commitments.

Fiona Payne, one of the friends who was on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine disappeared on May 3 2007, is flying out to support Kate.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, BBC, Find Madeleine Fund, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann, Mike O'Sullivan

Madeleine claims 'difficult to listen to' says Kate McCann

14 January 2010
The Irish Examiner

Kate McCann admitted today that listening to claims that she faked her daughter Madeleine's abduction was difficult - but said nothing could be as bad as losing her child.

She and her husband Gerry have sat through two days of court hearings in which former Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral has called witnesses to support his allegation that the little girl died in her family's holiday flat.

Mrs McCann insisted that the couple were right to take legal action against Mr Amaral and said she was confident they would win.

Speaking as she arrived for a third day of hearings at the main civil court in Lisbon, she acknowledged that this week had taken its toll.

"If I'm honest, our daughter's been taken and nothing's ever going to be as bad as that," she said.

"It's still been difficult, it's been emotive, because I know what's in the case files, I know what the conclusions are.

"So it's difficult to hear something that's incorrect and inaccurate.

"At the bottom of all this is a little girl, and I think it's important that we don't forget that."

Mr McCann flew back to Britain last night to return to work and his wife was accompanied to court today by Fiona Payne, one of the friends on holiday with the couple when Madeleine disappeared.

Mr Amaral was the first head of the Portuguese police investigation into Madeleine's disappearance from Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3, 2007.

He has called a series of top Portuguese law enforcement officials as witnesses in his attempt to overturn the McCanns' injunction on his book about the case, Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie.

Chief Inspector Tavares de Almeida told the court on Tuesday he believed that Madeleine died in her family's holiday apartment and her parents covered up the death by inventing a kidnapping.

Former detective Francisco Moita Flores also dismissed the theory that the child was abducted and said the McCanns' legal challenge was "pathetic" when he gave evidence yesterday.

Mrs McCann was asked today whether she now felt it was a misjudgment to bring legal action against Mr Amaral.

She replied: "This is definitely the right course of action. I truly believe we are doing this to help the search for Madeleine.

"I believe in the Portuguese judicial system and that we will get justice, and that we can take the search for Madeleine forward."

Asked if she believed the McCanns would win their case against Mr Amaral, she said: "I am confident, yes."

Mr Amaral's lawyer, Antonio Cabrita, has denied that the former policeman said " f    the McCanns " in response to a question from a BBC reporter about whether his book was hurting the couple.

Regional news programme East Midlands Today broadcast the exchange with the allegedly offending word bleeped out.

A BBC spokesman said: "The reply was clearly ' f    the McCanns '.

"The entire exchange was recorded on camera, and the swear word was bleeped out for transmission as it was clearly unacceptable to broadcast such language at 6.30pm."


But Mr Cabrita said his client had not said anything in English and Portuguese journalists suggested that he said "I'm not talking about the McCanns" in Portuguese.

A judge granted the McCanns an injunction last September banning further sale or publication of Mr Amaral's book and a TV documentary he made about the case.

The ex-policeman's lawyers argue that the material in his book is contained in the official Portuguese police files for the investigation, many of which were made public in August 2008.

The McCanns, both 41, from Rothley, Leicestershire, say their main motive for challenging the former policeman is the fear that people will stop looking for their daughter if they think she is dead.

The court is hearing evidence about Mr Amaral's documentary from TV producers today.

The case will then be adjourned until a further session on February 10, when the judge, Maria Gabriela Cunha Rodrigues, will hear from two witnesses who were not available this week.

The McCanns are also seeking €1.2m in compensation for defamation in separate proceedings against Mr Amaral in Portugal.

They have said any damages awarded by the courts would go towards paying for private investigators to look for Madeleine.

No date has been set for a trial in the compensation case.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, BBC, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann, Mike O'Sullivan

Maddie cop rant

BLOGGER NOTE:

THE ARTICLE "TEASER" APPEARED ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE SUN - THE FULL TEXT ARTICLE (SEE BELOW) WAS ON PAGE 11

News; Front Page
Maddie cop rant
14 January 2010
The Sun
Tom Wells

THE cop who led the Maddie McCann probe yesterday launched a tirade against her parents.

Goncalo Amaral spat "*F*** the McCanns*" when asked if he felt his wild claims were hurting them.

Full Story — Page 11

***

FULL ARTICLE:

Vile cop: f *** the McCanns ; New attack on parents
The Sun
Tom Wells and Antonella Lazzeri

The ex-cop who led the Madeleine McCann probe sparked new outrage last night after launching a four-letter tirade against the missing child's parents. Brazen Goncalo Amaral spat, " F    the McCanns " when asked by a BBC TV reporter if he felt his wild claims about their daughter were hurting them. Producers bleeped out the slur when a report was broadcast in the East Midlands region where Kate and Gerry McCann live.

Amaral, axed after leading the abortive early investigation into Maddie's disappearance in 2007, flipped before entering a court in Portugal's capital, Lisbon.

Concern

Yesterday he denied making the outburst, claiming he had not even spoken to a British TV crew.

But the BBC insisted he had used "inappropriate language".

And a source said: "It would not have been bleeped out had there not been sufficient cause for concern."

Amaral, 50, is trying to have a ban overturned on his book The Truth of the Lie. In it, he makes lurid claims that Kate and Gerry faked an abduction and hid Maddie's body after the three-year-old died in an accident at their holiday flat in Praia da Luz.

Yesterday he appeared to deliberately provoke the McCanns before the second day of the hearing began.

He sauntered into court brandishing a copy of his SECOND book on the case, The English Gag, in which he claims the parents tried to "silence" him. He sat yards from Kate, 41, and began leafing through its pages. Upset Kate shook her head in disbelief.

But then she steeled herself and told a friend: "He's just promoting it."

She and Gerry, also 41, were forced to endure more insulting evidence as former Portuguese police chief Francisco Moita Flores backed Amaral's view and branded the abduction a "fairytale".

Outside court heart specialist Gerry, who is heading back to Britain to fulfil work commitments, cracked when asked by a female Portuguese reporter if the ordeal of the hearing was "worth it".

He barked: "Do you have children? Anyone who has children would go through this."

He added: "I'd like to remind everyone it's the book that's on trial and not Kate and I." Gerry claimed the Portuguese cops' blinkered view that Maddie was dead — for which there was NO evidence, making it "meaningless" — was damaging the search for her.

And he said they were STILL ignoring leads passed on to them by the family's private investigators.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, BBC, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann, Mike O'Sullivan

McCanns shouldn't have left the children alone, say police

14 January 2010
Daily Mail
Vanessa Allen

THE 'fairytale' of Madeleine McCann's abduction saved her parents from being charged with neglecting their children, it was claimed yesterday.

Kate and Gerry McCann did not face negligence charges because police were too 'distracted' by claims their daughter had been snatched, a former policeman said.

Francisco Moita Flores told the second day of the McCann libel case how police hadn't believed three-year-old Madeleine was abducted from her parents' holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.

They were forced to investigate the theory because of the 'media circus' surrounding the case and the political pressure it created, the Portuguese court heard.

He suggested the couple should face neglect charges because they left their children sleeping while they went out for dinner at a nearby restaurant.

After yesterday's hearing a clearly angry Mr McCann conceded that he and his wife had been wrong to leave their children, but said mistakes had been made by all involved.

He said: 'We're not harking over mistakes which were made, and particularly mistakes that were made early on and cannot be redeemed.

'What is done cannot be righted;  in hindsight we made a mistake by leaving Madeleine and we have to live with the consequences of that. We can't change it.'

Earlier, Mr Moita Flores had told the court: 'No one believed it was an abduction. It was a fairytale, a fable. If the police only worked on that theory then they would be a bunch of idiots.'

He said he believed it would have been impossible for an abductor to break into the McCanns' apartment and carry away Madeleine.

'The McCanns should be judged for the neglect of their children. In Portugal this is huge negligence,' he said.

'The accusation was not made. Justice was distracted. How could they not be accused?'

Mr Moita Flores did not work on the investigation and had already left the Portuguese police when Madeleine, right, disappeared in May 2007.

But he was giving evidence on behalf of Goncalo Amaral, the detective accused of libelling the McCanns in his bestselling book, Maddie: The Truth of the Lie.

Madeleine's parents took legal action against Mr Amaral over accusations they faked their daughter's abduction to cover up her death while on a family holiday.

They won a court injunction banning the sale of the book worldwide and preventing him from repeating the allegations.

But the injunction did not stop him from publishing a second book in December, called The English Gag.

The libel case has provided the police officers who investigatedthe McCanns with a public platform on which to air their suspicions.

Unlike a criminal trial, the detectives have not had to provide evidence to support their allegations.

Mr McCann, 41, left Portugal last night to return to his job as a hospital heart consultant.

His wife, also 41, a former GP who has not returned to work since Madeleine's disappearance, is expected to stay in Lisbon until the end of the court hearing.

The latest courtroom accusations came as Mr Amaral was forced to deny claims he had launched a foul-mouthed attack on the McCanns.

The 50-year-old was caught on camera as he was asked if his book had hurt the couple, and appeared to snarl: 'No, **** the McCanns.'

His outburst was shown by the BBC's regional news programme in the East Midlands, which bleeped out the offending word.

A source said producers were convinced he had sworn, but lawyers for the detective denied he had spoken in English.

His lawyer Antonio Cabrita said: 'I have never heard him use that kind of language.' Asked if he had made the comment, Mr Amaral, 50, replied: 'Never.'

The detective is believed to face financial ruin if the McCanns succeed in their £1million libel action.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, BBC, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann, Mike O'Sullivan

Ranting Rat

14 January 2010
Mirror
Martin Fricker

 As Kate suffers unimaginable agony, the police chief who should've been finding missing Maddy spits out vile four-letter abuse at the McCanns..

DISGRACED detective Goncalo Amaral yesterday let rip at Kate and Gerry McCann with a foul-mouthed outburst.

The former policeman - asked if his book about their daughter Madeleine was hurting the couple - barked: "No, f*** the McCanns."

Amaral then laughed as he walked off, despite being caught on camera insulting the couple who have suffered so much anguish in recent years.

The disgusting slur came as Kate and Gerry had to listen to yet more accusations by Portuguese officers that they were involved in the youngster's 2007 disappearance.

It was made to BBC East Midlands Today reporter Mike O'Sullivan who confronted smirking Amaral outside the Lisbon court where the McCanns are suing him for libel over his book.

Mike said:

"I was astonished, and so was my cameraman, that a former senior police officer could use a term like that against the McCanns. It really was crude."

A friend of Kate and Gerry, of Rothley, Leics, added:

"It's disgraceful and gives a true measure of the man."

After Amaral's tirade, Gerry, 41, laid into Portuguese detectives over their claims he and his wife killed three-year-old Madeleine and dumped her body to cover their tracks.

He said:

"The prosecutor had all the evidence and he said there was no evidence Madeleine was dead. If there was evidence of our involvement in Madeleine's disappearance then the prosecutor would have charged us.

"Officers who considered us as involved in Madeleine's disappearance have not been able to change their mind, despite a lack of evidence."

And the heart specialist insisted the blinkered theory by former police liaison officer Ricardo Paiva that their daughter has been killed was hindering the ongoing search for her.

Gerry added:

"How could he investigate thoroughly if he believes that? We've also heard Mr Amaral's thesis that Madeleine is dead.

There is absolutely no evidence to support that. We are not harking on over mistakes that were made and cannot be redeemed.


"What is done cannot be righted. We made a mistake, in hindsight, by leaving Madeleine and we have to live with the consequences of that."

Gerry vowed to keep up the search for their little girl, who vanished from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz as they ate nearby with friends.

He said:

"There is a little girl missing who still needs to be found.

"We will keep going until Madeleine is found and until whoever has taken her is brought to justice. It's not good enough that the search stops."

Gerry revealed three new pieces of information had been sent to investigators in Portugal from their team. But the McCanns faced more accusations yesterday. The court was told Madeleine's abduction was a "fairytale" concocted by the couple.

Criminologist Francisco Moita Flores, a friend of Amaral, said:

"No one believed Madeleine was kidnapped. I saw that window. It was impossible.

"The McCanns should be on trial for not guarding their children."

Continue Reading... Labels: 2010, BBC, Gonçalo Amaral, Madeleine McCann, Mike O'Sullivan