The McCanns launched a defamation action against a newspaper · 2007-09-03 18:45
It is now 120 days since four-year-old Madeleine McCann from Rothley, Leicestershire, disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve while her parents dined at a nearby restaurant.
Portuguese Police have repeatedly said Madeleine's parents are not suspects in the case. But in recent weeks the couple have been forced to defend themselves against a series of newspaper smears suggesting they could be involved in their daughter’s disappearance.
Gerry McCann said he and his wife, Kate, were “deeply hurt” by a front-page story in Tal & Qual. The August 24 article alleged the Policia Judiciaria (PJ) – Portugal’s CID – were certain the couple accidentally caused Madeleine’s death. It implied that the young girl died a "victim of an excess of drugs", possibly sedatives.
The McCanns, who are both doctors, “strongly refuted” the report. They said they would never use sedatives on any of their three children.
"The press has engaged in a horrific exercise in scandal-mongering, replete with rumours and lurid commentaries which are all aimed at one thing – to sell more TV time and newspaper space to advertisers," the McCanns’ lawyer, Carlos Pinto de Abreu said.
Mr McCann also hit out at newspaper smears, saying many reports were "at best speculation and in some cases downright lies".
Madeleine McCann’s parents launched a defamation action against a Portuguese newspaper, The Guardian reported.
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