Madeleine McCann’s parents 'seething' as police chief wins libel appeal against them
20:55, 19 Apr 2016
Updated 20:56, 19 Apr 2016
By Martin Fricker
Goncalo Amaral has won his appeal against an earlier ruling where he had to pay the McCann family £360,000 and £76,000 in interest
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Getty Kate and Gerry McCann
Kate and Gerry McCann are said to be 'seething' at the court ruling
Madeleine McCann’s parents are “seething” after an ex-cop who led the bungled hunt for their daughter won a libel appeal against them.
Goncalo Amaral was ordered to pay Kate and Gerry McCann £360,000 and £76,000 in interest last year after claiming in a book that they were responsible for her death and faked her abduction.
The decision means Amaral’s book, ‘The Truth of the Lie’, which is banned in the UK, could potentially go on sale in Portugal again.
Kate and Gerry originally sued over two defamatory allegations.
The first was that they were responsible for Maddie's death and the second that they faked her abduction, which they sued for libel and won the case.
The appeal judges found the earlier judge had overstepped the limits of Amaral’s freedom of expression.
PA Madeleine McCann
Madeleine McCann vanished while on a family holiday in 2007
The judges said the decision did not mean what he claimed was true, merely that it was his his “opinion”.
The couple, who fought a long-running court battle with the former police chief, vowed to spend “every penny” on the hunt for Madeleine.
Read more: Police chief wins appeal over libel loss against Madeleine McCann's parents
Amaral, the officer tasked with finding the three-year-old in 2007, put those plans on hold by lodging an appeal last May.
And it emerged three appeal judges had ruled in his favour - meaning the McCanns may never receive a penny.
Amaral’s lawyer Miguel Cruz Rodrigues said: “This decision not only means my client hasn’t got to pay the 500,000 Euros to Madeleine McCann’s parents but equally importantly also allows him to express his freedom of speech and the chance to republish his book.”
PA Madeleine McCann
Goncalo Amaral's book about Madeleine McCann's disappearance may potentially be able to go on sale again
Editor Guerra e Paz are expected to rush out new copies so they can hit the shelves next week, netting Amaral a potential fortune.
The devastating blow came just 24 hours after one of Britain’s most senior police officers said Madeleine can still be found alive.
Amaral posted a 16-page judgement overturning the original Lisbon court judgement on an internet blog.
The final page - signed by three Tribunal da Relacao judges and dated April 19 - confirmed the ruling was being revoked.
Read more: Madeleine McCann can still be found alive, says top cop
They said that Amaral had a right to express his opinions in the 2008 book ‘The Truth of the Lie’.
The judges also said the McCanns paved the way for people to express their opinions” by giving newspaper and TV interviews themselves.
The allegations are merely Amaral's opinion and not fact and he won his appeal on a legal point surrounding his right to freedom of expression.
Reuters Goncalo Amaral
Former police inspector Goncalo Amaral may never have to pay the McCann's a penny
Kate and Gerry have now instructed lawyers to take their legal fight to Portugal’s Supreme Court.
If that final ruling goes against them, they will receive no damages from the man they blame for botching the police investigation.
A source close to the couple from Rothley, Leics, said: “They are seething over the ruling.
“It just drags on and on. As yet they’ve still not received a penny from him in libel damages.
“The timing couldn’t be any worse, just a few weeks away from the anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance.”
PA Kate and Gerry McCann
Kate and Gerry McCann will now take their fight to Portugal's Supreme Court
They began their legal battle with Amaral in 2009 after he penned the book accusing them of being responsible for Madeleine’s death.
The former Portuguese police chief claimed his his opinion they faked her abduction after she died in their Praia da Luz holiday apartment.
‘The Truth of the Lie’ is currently banned from sale in the UK but was a best-seller in Portugal.
More than 120,000 copies were sold before it was removed from the shelves after the McCanns won an injunction.
A documentary based on the book was broadcast by Portuguese station TVI in April 2009 and was watched by 2.2million viewers.
Amaral was thrown off the Madeleine investigation after publicly criticising British police involved in the long-running case.
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Kate and Gerry’s lawyer Isabel Duarte said she was “disappointed” but not surprised by the appeal decision.
She said: “The three appeal court judges 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.
“I am not surprised because one of the judges ruled in favour of a previous appeal overturning a ban on the book.
“We can appeal to the Supreme Court which we will do as we have instructions from our clients.”
Reuters Portuguese former police chief Goncalo Amaral
Portuguese former police chief Goncalo Amaral
It is understood the Supreme Court could take until next year to issue the final ruling.
A spokesman for the McCanns said: “The process is not over yet and they will lodge an appeal in the country’s Supreme Court.
“It is a matter for Kate and Gerry’s lawyers to deal with.”
Madeleine’s parents both gave evidence in the libel trial in Lisbon - which ended in victory for them last April.
After Amaral was given permission to appeal, he said: “We are in the face of a mere battle in a war that is far from over.”
Reacting to those comments, the McCanns said the ongoing legal battle caused them “anguish”.
PA Gerry and Kate McCann speak with journalists at the court in Lisbon
Gerry and Kate McCann speak with journalists at the court in Lisbon back in 2014
A source close to the couple, from Rothley, Leics, said: “Kate and Gerry are exasperated by this.
“Civil proceedings against Mr Amaral have already been going on for six years. It just drags on and on, and causes them even more anguish.”
Madeleine, who would turn 13 next month, vanished from her parents’ holiday apartment on the Algarve in 2007.
Kate and Gerry were dining with friends at a poolside tapas restaurant in the Ocean Club complex at the time.
The youngster’s twin siblings Amelie and Sean, who are now 11, were sleeping in the same room.
Kate, a GP, said earlier this year that she thinks her eldest daughter, who would turn 13 next month, is still in the Algarve.
PA Madeleine McCann in an Everton Football shirt.
Madeleine McCann in an Everton Football shirt.
But despite a massive police investigation in Portugal and a four-year probe by British cops, she has never been found.
Her parents were dismayed last year when the Scotland Yard investigation into her disappearance was scaled back.
But they were given a boost on Monday when Det Chief Supt Duthie insisted the £12m probe is “ongoing”.
He said: “There is ongoing work. There is always a possibility that we will find Madeleine and we hope that we will find her alive.
“That’s what we want and that’s what the family and the public want and that is why the Home Office continue to fund it.
“There is work that needs to be done still,” added the head of Scotland Yard’s Homicide and Major Crime Command.
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