McCanns Hope Attention Will Wane

By Sky News SkyNews - Sunday, May 4 09:09 am

Kate and Gerry McCann want to step out of the media spotlight after the first anniversary of their daughter Madeleine's disappearance.

In one of their final interviews for the one-year landmark, the couple said they had only survived the past 12 months by not blaming each other for what happened.

The couple said they hoped the attention on them would fade after Madeleine's fifth birthday on May 12.

Mr McCann said the media coverage of her disappearance was "unsustainable".

He even suggested that it might have led to Portuguese police naming him and his wife as arguidos, or formal suspects, in the case in early September.

"You look at where it's led for us, the problems it's created," he said.

"I'm sure a lot of that media coverage kicked in to what happened in Portugal, that generates a pressure, and when people get put under pressure, bad decisions are made...

"We started a campaign and then a juggernaut was set off and we had no control over it."

Mrs McCann said personal details about her and her husband were "totally irrelevant" and distracted people from the search for Madeleine.

"The media attention will wane after Madeleine's birthday, and that's a relief," she said.

"I'd like to think that's how it will stay. That's why now, we're doing this. Media-wise it could be our last chance, or last opportunity to get all that information in."

The couple also revealed that their appeal for new information from the public produced an "absolutely fantastic" response, with their new telephone phone line "overwhelmed" with calls.

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