Madeleine McCann's parents give up fight against ex-cop's damning claims
The parents of Madeleine McCann have given up their fight against the Portuguese ex-cop who claim Kate and Gerry McCann faked their daughter’s kidnapping to cover up her death.
According to The Sun, friends of Kate and Gerry McCann said ex-detective Goncalo Amaral “has won once and for all” because they don’t have the “time, energy or funding” to challenge him further.
“Realistically a European Court appeal was never going to succeed plus it would be too expensive to launch. It seems Mr Amaral, regrettably, has won once and for all. The fight is finally over,” the family friend told The Sun.
“It means he can continue to spout his malicious lies about Kate and Gerry being involved in a cover up of their daughter’s death, which is almost laughable if it wasn’t so hurtful and damaging in the hunt for Madeleine.
“Kate and Gerry have always said they’ll keep no stone unturned in the global search and that’s what they want to concentrate on. I don’t think they have the time, energy or funding to lodge yet another appeal.”
In March this year, Kate and Gerry lost their third and final appeal in Portugal’s top court to silence the former detective after an eight-year battle over his bestselling 2008 book, Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie where Amaral claims the couple are to blame for their daughter’s disappearance.
The British couple pledged to take Amaral to the European Court of Human Rights but have not done so.
Kate said in an interview to mark the milestone 10th anniversary of Maddie’s disappearance in May that Amaral’s poisonous words have been “very upsetting and incomprehensible.”
Ten years on, Kate revealed she still buys birthday and Christmas presents for Madeleine.
"I obviously have to think about what age she is and something that, whenever we find her, will still be appropriate. So there's a lot of thought goes into it.
"But I couldn't not, you know? She's still our daughter, she'll always be our daughter."