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Kate McCann told by her son: ‘Mr Amaral said you hid Madeleine’ | |
(about 7 hours later) | |
Kate McCann’s son asked her about her role in the disappearance of her daughter Madeleine in 2007, telling her: “Mr Amaral said you hid Madeleine”. | |
Kate McCann told a Portuguese court today of how her son Sean questioned her after hearing the allegations made by the former Portuguese police chief Goncalo Amaral on the radio, while he was travelling on the school bus. | |
“Sean asked me in October ‘Mr Amaral said you hid Madeleine’. I just said that he said a lot of silly things”, Ms McCann told Lisbon's Palace of Justice. | |
Ms McCann’s comments were part of her personal statement during a libel case brought by her and her husband Gerry against Mr Amaral over the claims published in a book about the McCann’s part in the disappearance of Madeleine in 2007, called The Truth of the Lie. | |
The McCanns are suing Mr Amaral for his allegations that Madeleine died in an accident, and that the McCanns fabricated an abduction story, and hid their child’s body. | |
The parents claim Mr Amaral’s allegations damaged the hunt for their daughter and exacerbated their anguish. | |
Today is the latest hearing in the McCann's ongoing libel trial against the police chief. The returned to Portugal this morning after their journey was rendered pointless last month when the case was adjourned. | |
They previously criticised former Portuguese police chief Goncalo Amaral for what they claimed was a “blatant and cynical” attempt to hold up the trial after he removed powers from his lawyer on the morning they were due to make statements about the effect the allegations in his book had had on them. | |
The couple had travelled to Lisbon on what was due to be the last day of the long-running trial over Mr Amaral's book, but the case was adjourned in the wake of the former detective's application. | |
Madeleine, who was then nearly four, disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on 3 May 2007 as her parents dined at a nearby restaurant with friends. | Madeleine, who was then nearly four, disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on 3 May 2007 as her parents dined at a nearby restaurant with friends. |
If successful, the family stand to gain around £1 million in damages. A judgement is not expected in the trial until later this year. | |
Additional reporting by Press Association. | |
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