The parents of Madeleine McCann have admitted defeat in their libel battle with an ex-detective who baselessly accused them of involvement in their daughter’s disappearance.
Kate and Gerry McCann spent 13 years fighting Goncalo Amaral over false claims in a book that they were the “main culprits” in Madeleine’s 2007 abduction in Portugal.
He falsely alleged that he had “no doubt” the kidnap was part of a cover-up but in 2015 a Lisbon court ordered him to pay the McCanns £440,000 after they won the initial libel case over his book Maddie: The Truth About The Lie.
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But an appeal court overturned the decision the following year and in 2017 the Supreme Court in Portugal also found against the couple.
In a last-ditch bid for victory, the McCanns, from Rothley, Leics, went to the European Court of Human Rights. That ended in defeat for the pair last September when the seven judges unanimously upheld the former detective’s right to free speech.
The McCanns were given the right to lodge an appeal – but the Mirror has revealed they have admitted defeat. The three-month appeal time limit has expired and the case is now listed as “definitif” – final – on the ECHR system. There was no compensation or costs order made, although Kate and Gerry still face a massive legal bill.
Earlier this week the Mirror revealed the couple had used cash that was raised to find their daughter on legal fees. Newly filed paperwork from Madeleine’s Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned disclosed it paid £6,695 in legal costs over the libel action.
The Mirror said there was no suggestion of any wrongdoing and the McCanns only took action against Amaral because his “unfounded claims were having a detrimental impact on the search for Madeleine”.
In 2020, paedophile Christian Brueckner, 45, was named as the prime suspect by authorities in his native Germany. He was living near Praia da Luz where three-year-old Madeleine was staying while on a family holiday. Brueckner denies any involvement and is serving a prison term in Germany for rape and is awaiting trial for other sex offences in Portugal.
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