McCanns may renew legal battle with Portuguese police chief

Madeleine McCann’s parents will pursue “with renewed vigour” a former Portuguese police chief who claimed they accidentally killed their daughter if any new suspect is convicted of her abduction or murder.

For more than a decade, Kate and Gerry McCann have been locked in a legal battle with Goncalo Amaral, the officer who led the original investigation into the girl’s disappearance, after he wrote a book claiming they had faked her abduction.

The couple, from Leicestershire, issued a writ against Mr Amaral, 59, after he published his book The Truth of the Lie containing his controversial claims.

Now, a source connected to the legal battle has said if the latest developments resulted in a successful prosecution for either the abduction or murder of Madeleine it would “demolish” the former detective’s arguments published back in 2008. Any criminal conviction would prove his claims “utterly defamatory”, the source said.

In 2009, the McCanns issued a writ against Mr Amaral, who was removed from the case after launching a public attack on British detectives, claiming they were pursuing investigative lines set by the McCanns.

In 2015, he was ordered by a Lisbon court to pay the couple £360,000 in damages and £76,000 interest after the mother and father described his allegations as “false, malicious, defamatory and hurtful”.

They also said they feared his assertion Madeleine was dead could hamper their efforts to find her, particularly if people believed Mr Amaral.

However, the former police chief successfully appealed the decision in 2017 when Portugal’s Supreme Court said in their 76-page ruling that the parents had not “successfully proven their innocence”.

Under Portuguese law, compensation is only paid once all legal avenues have been exhausted, although a successful party can claim costs before then.

Six months later, the McCanns took the case to the European Court of Human Rights, but it has still not been listed for trial.

“The McCann family has been vigorous in their pursuit of fairness in this matter,” the legal source said. “The case is still outstanding. But, if a man is convicted of Madeleine McCann’s murder, whether a body is found or not, it completely demolishes the case that Amarol outlined in his conclusions to his book, which essentially is that she died accidentally in their apartment. He has been calling them a liar ever since.

“If it is demonstrably proven that a man with no connection whatsoever to the McCanns has committed a crime and the McCanns are innocent victims, as they have maintained all along, then Amaral’s defence falls in the most commonsensical way. It would raise fundamental questions about the book he wrote and what we have insisted were defamatory claims.

“It wouldn’t surprise me that they would resume and pursue their legal action to their satisfaction in due course. But, that isn’t a priority at the moment.”

Mr Amaral was in charge of the investigation when the parents were named as “arguidos” - or suspects, dramatically shifting the emphasis of the inquiry. Two days later, the couple flew back to the UK with their twins.

Some have claimed naming them as suspects meant the focus of the investigation shifted from being a missing person inquiry, damaging the prospects of finding Madeleine alive.

Mr Amaral was accused of shamelessly plugging his book, as well as signing copies at special events like a celebrity.

In 2018, the retired detective was also criticised after suggesting to an Australian documentary that MI5 had helped cover up Madeleine’s death and disappearance.

Shortly after his book was published, Mrs McCann described it as “very painful to read”, adding that it had “intensified the fear that there was no point and we might as well give up.”

Mr Amaral could not be contacted for comment.