General Chat

It wasn't that many years ago when it was quite common for parents to leave unattended babies asleep in the chalet at Butlins, with a towel tied round the door handle, so that staff could walk past every now and again and listen for crying. How many older ones among us can remember "baby crying in chalet 23" over the tannoy.

GERRY and Kate McCann are "disappointed" after a Portuguese detective who wrote a book claiming they "faked Maddie's disappearance after she died in their holiday apartment" has won a libel appeal against them.

Goncalo Amaral was ordered to pay the McCanns half a million euros in libel damages in April last year after accusing them of faking their daughter's abduction in an explosive book.

But the couple were left "disappointed after three appeal judges ruled in the former Portuguese police chief's favour today, meaning he will not have to pay out the cash.

Gerry and Kate sued Amaral for libel after he claimed they covered up Maddie's accidental death

Amaral posted a copy of the 16-page judgement overturning the original decision on an Internet blog.

The last page of the document, signed by three appeal judges and dated April 19, confirmed the original ruling was being revoked.

Isabel Duarte, the McCanns' Portuguese lawyer, said she was "disappointed" but not surprised by the appeal decision.

She said Madeleine's parents instructed her to launch an appeal of their own, to be decided by Portugal's Supreme Court.

She confirmed: “I have just learnt that the three appeal court judges have decided to overturn the original decision in favour of my clients. It was a unanimous decision. The original decision has been revoked.

“I and the McCanns are obviously disappointed but I am not surprised because one of the judges ruled in favour of a previous appeal overturning a ban on the book.

“This decision was an appreciation of the law and not the facts.

“We can appeal to the Supreme Court which we will do as we have instructions from our clients.

“My understanding from reading the appeal ruling is that the judges have decided Amaral was entitled to write a book the court calls a literary book.

“The court is basically saying he had the right to express his opinions.

“We obviously hope the appeal will succeed.

“The McCanns never received any compensation money after the original decision although the money was deposited at the court so there is no money to return to Gonzalo Amaral."

The former cop launched an appeal a month after losing his long-running libel battle over the controversial 2008 book.

A number of Brits were among hundreds of people who donated money towards Goncalo Amaral's legal bills after the McCanns sued him.

Amaral made nearly £400,000 from copies of his book - which blames the McCanns for hiding information about Maddie's disappearance.

Kate, 46, has mostly kept silent on the subject of Amaral, but in one interview she revealed how son Sean, now nine, had told her: “Mr Amaral said you hid Madeleine.”

The McCanns held the former Portuguese police chief responsible for virtually destroying every hope there was of finding Maddie in the first crucial hours and days after she went missing on May 3, 2007.

Kate and Gerry McCann had said every penny of the 500,000 euros he was set to pay would go to the Find Maddie fund

In 'The Truth of the Lie', he said the McCanns faked Madeleine's abduction after she died in their holiday apartment.

He was ordered to pay the McCanns libel damages after a Lisbon judge ruled he overstepped freedom of speech limits.

The couple announced after the verdict they would plough “every penny” of the payout into the hunt for their daughter, three when she vanished on May 3 2007.

But Amaral’s appeal has thwarted their hopes of spending the money finding their missing daughter.

Amaral, who was axed from the investigation shortly after Maddie disappeared, previously accused Kate and Gerry of causing him "enormous damage".

He said the effect was "moral, professional and financial".

Clarence Mitchell, spokesman for the McCanns, was unavailable this afternoon.

Isabel Duarte, the Portuguese lawyer who represented the couple over the libel case, was said by her office to be in court and unavailable.

Amaral could also not be immediately contacted.

LISBON, Portugal — An appeals court in Portugal has overturned the libel conviction of a former Portuguese detective who published a book alleging the parents of missing British girl Madeleine McCann were involved in their daughter's disappearance, the parents' lawyer said Tuesday.

Lisbon lawyer Isabel Duarte told The Associated Press she was notified of the court's decision to uphold Goncalo Amaral's appeal against the order to pay Kate and Gerry McCann 500,000 euros ($568,000) in compensation. That ruling was handed down by a lower court in Lisbon a year ago, prompting Amaral to appeal.

Duarte said she intended to fight the decision at the Supreme Court, though she hadn't yet assembled her legal arguments.

Amaral was part of the police investigation into Madeleine's disappearance from a vacation home in Portugal's Algarve region in May 2007, days before her 4th birthday. In 2008 he published his book about the case called "The Truth of the Lie."

The McCanns sought 1.2 million euros in damages from Amaral, saying they were "totally destroyed" and "depressed" by Amaral's allegations and felt "ashamed" that they might appear to have been to blame for their daughter's disappearance. Amaral had argued in his defense that his claims stemmed from the police investigation and that Portuguese media had already reported the possibility that the parents might have played a role in Madeleine's disappearance.

The appeals court "decided that (Amaral) had the right to do what he did. It said he can write what he wants," Duarte, the lawyer, told the AP by telephone. "It absolved him, said he didn't have to pay anything."

She said the McCanns took the reversal in their stride after a long time battling in Portuguese courts.

"They're used to it," Duarte said.

Portuguese police closed the case in 2008 because authorities had detected no crime, but British police are still looking into it. Madeleine would turn 13 next month

Cross posting with everyone again :-D

Off to work now.

I wouldn't have left my children in those circumstances but then my child wouldn't have drowned in a garden pond or been taken from a shopping mall. I was a paranoid and over protective mother.

Not all parents are as cautious as others. I find it hard to hate and condemn those who make stupid mistakes and lose what is dearest to them. I certainly wouldn't want to add to their unhappiness.

http://madeleinemccann.org/blog/2014/04/20/madeleines-fund-review-investigation-of-accounts/

I thought it was a charity - my mistake. I suppose we have to trust the trustees then.

I'm sorry I have to leave this thread.

Denise Bulger was certainly distracted and not paying full attention but she didn't desert James every night in an unlocked apartment in the foreign country.

Guinevere They are not a charity :-( :-(

Very informative Sue

Thank you :-D :-D

Then the charity commission will deal with it, if it's unlawful, surely.

The mission statement allows for any and all expenditure that the McCanns incurred. However, the argument was prompted by the company being registered as a charity ??? and those who donated in good faith believed their money would be used to look for Madeleine.

Various amendments were made to make it clear that 2 mortgage payments could be paid for out of the fund and further that once Madeleine was found the remaining monies could be used for the sole benefit of the McCanns. This is contrary to the initial statement that any remaining money would be used to help look for other missing children.

If it doesn't look right, it isn't IMO.

Oops, cross-posted with Joy.

I can't understand why some sick people are so over-invested in this case. The stuff that I've seen on Twitter and read about is awful. The abuse hurled at these parents is psychotic.

They were negligent (in my opinion) but no more so than Denise Bulger or other parents whose children have gone missing or suffered accidental deaths but they seem to be singled out by trolls and mad people.

I don't get it. Maybe it's because they are middle class, that's one theory I've read.

The findings in full, translated

http://pjga.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/translation-of-conclusions-of-appellate.html

Thanks for that, Sue.

Presumably the trustees and auditors had no problem with how the funds were spent.

Sorry Guinevere i should of added it was a Pro McCann site
I read the files on

and yes there's some sick people on there :-D

Don't worry i am sure there may be room for one or two more ;-) ;-)

http://www.mccannfiles.com/id425.html

The original accounts for every trading year are available to download, all photocopied from the originals.

The McCann Files site is vile. Full of half truths and poison. Difficult to find the wheat amongst all the chaff.

Some people are sick in the head. Same type who believe in alien abduction and that Elvis is alive and well.

Why they want to add to the McCanns' misery is beyond me. Cruel and spiteful.

Thanks for that Sue. Are the accounts online? I can't find them.

From the audited accounts ending 31st March 2014

Legal fees and expenses £8,402 have been paid under the 'Unrestricted' heading; presumably relating to the libel case in Portugal. These legal fees appear low. Hotel travel and subsistence were £13,256 again presumably referring to the libel case.

This figure does not represent the total costs.

Ive just found it in the McCann files on another site


Followed by the comment

Clarence Mitchell unavailable for comment! :-D :-D