Can someone please tell me how they think that Madeleine's status as a ward of the court, has any relevance whatsoever to Amaral, who is already WINNING the libel trial?
Or is Amaral's belated application just a manufactured excuse to delay?
It depends I suppose, on whether you accept that there is a question of Libel at all.
I do not accept the McCanns have a legal leg to stand on, because the book can only be libel if Amaral lied, and we know he didn't thanks to the McCanns running their censorship attempt through the Portugese courts and failing miserably.
Personally, familiar as I am with the courts, I can assure you that the ONLY way Madeleine's status is directly relevant to a libel case (which is an entirely separate matter) is if the McCanns are trying to misrepresent her legal status somehow within the libel action.
So, essentially, the only sensible reasons Amaral has requested Madeleine's official legal status in Britain be clarified is either because it will help him prove they lied about it, OR, it is an unnecessary and organised attempt to shelve the trial for the time being.
Take your pick.
Either way, the libel trial was lost before it began. Libel cannot be proven until Madeleine is located, end of.