Yahoo News Madeleine McCann's parents claimed Portuguese police treated them 'inhumanely' from start, says leaked report
The parents of missing Madeleine McCann claimed Portuguese police treated them "inhumanely" from the start of their investigation, a leaked report has revealed.
The couple had a "turbulent relationship" with officers in both Portugal and the UK, according to a Home Office inquiry ordered by the then Home Secretary Alan Johnson.
Mr Johnson asked for the report to establish if Scotland Yard should become involved in the hunt for the three-year-old who vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal in May 2007.
After Portuguese officers closed their first investigation, Kate and Gerry McCann also fell out with UK authorities and did not share information gathered by its private investigators with Leicestershire constabulary, it was reported.
According to Sky News, the previously unpublished report - written by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre - said: "It is clear that from the beginning the McCanns felt there was a lack of clarity and communication on the part of the Portuguese police.
"Despite the involvement of British consular staff, they were, by their own accounts, left for long periods without any updates or communication with the investigators.
"They state they were taken to the police station on more than one occasion and then left for hours waiting to speak to someone who never materialised.
"They describe this situation as inhumane, with no real consideration for their emotional and physical wellbeing."
It said that "clearly, the McCanns have had a turbulent relationship with both Portuguese and UK law enforcement", adding: "They now openly acknowledge that there is a distinct lack of trust between all parties."
Money raised by the Madeleine Fund was later used to hire private investigators, which the McCanns used for three years before Scotland Yard opened its own investigation.
The Home Office paper is reported to have said: "It is clear that the McCanns and the private investigators working on their behalf have gathered a large amount of information during the course of their enquiries.
"This information does not appear to have been shared fully with the Leicestershire constabulary or the Portuguese authorities. It is imperative that they are encouraged and persuaded to share this information."
Scotland Yard later opened its own investigation in 2011.
Speaking to the BBC, the MCanns, from Rothley, Leicestershire, said they took heart from the "real progress" that had been made by the Metropolitan Police during the past five years.
They vowed to do "whatever it takes for as long as it takes" to find her as they prepare to mark the tenth anniversary of her disappearance on Wednesday.
In a wide-ranging interview ahead of the anniversary, Kate and Gerry McCann also said they intended to challenge a court ruling clearing a Portuguese former police officer of breaching libel laws.
Mrs McCann, who has described the impending anniversary of her daughter's disappearance as a "horrible marker of time, stolen time", said she was no less hopeful of finding Madeleine than she had been in 2007.
Scotland Yard said last week that officers are still pursuing "critical" leads to trace Madeleine, who was aged three when she vanished from the holiday apartment.
Mrs McCann said of the active inquiry: "It might not be as quick as we want, but there's real progress being made and I think we need to take heart from that.
"We just have to go with the process and follow it through - whatever it takes for as long as it takes. There is still hope that we can find Madeleine."
Mrs McCann told the BBC: "I think you know we've had so many supporters who are still with us, people that we don't know who are still there, and I guess I just want them to be reassured that there is progress being made."
During the interview, Mr McCann, 48, acknowledged it was "devastating" not to have found Madeleine but said the most important thing was holding on to hope of tracing her.
"We are still looking forward, I think that's the most important thing - we still hope," he said.
As well as dismissing criticism of the cost of the Met's inquiry as unfair, the McCanns said they intended to continue a legal battle against former detective Goncalo Amaral, who wrote a book about their daughter's disappearance.
Confirming that the couple still plan to contest a Portuguese court ruling handed down in January, Mr McCann said: "We haven't launched that yet, but it will be going to the European courts.
"What people really need to realise though is, as (Met Police) Assistant Commissioner (Mark) Rowley has said again this week, and the Portuguese have said in the final report - there's no evidence that Madeleine is dead and the prosecutor has said there's no evidence that we were involved in any crime."
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