Madeleine McCann's parents win book battle
Updated on 18 February 2010
Kate and Gerry McCann's lawyer, Clarence Mitchell, says the decision to ban former Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral's book means the search for Madeline can continue unimpended.
Kate and Gerry McCann's lawyer has told Channel 4 News they are delighted the focus will once again be on the search for their daughter and not on a court case. For over a year the couple have been fighting to get a book by Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral banned.
Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie alleged that Madeleine died in her family's holiday flat and that her parents subsequently faked her abduction. Mr Amaral was the first head of the police investigation into the little girl's disappearance from Praia da Luz in Portugal in May 2007, shortly before her fourth birthday.
"Kate and Gerry are very pleased that the judge has done very much the right thing in their view," Clarence Mitchell said.
"It was causing serious ongoing disruption and damage to the search for their daughter, because if people believed what he'd written, they would think that she was dead and wouldn't even bother to search for her."
There will be a full trial at a later date on whether the injunction banning the book should be made permanent. Before the ruling, the former detective said he would fight all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if he lost the case.
"They didn't start this legal action, they don't want to appear litigious for the sake of it - they're not," said Mr Mitchell. "They didn't write this book, they didn't write this DVD. Mr Amaral did, and what he said was fundamentally wrong and damaging to the search, that's why they took this action."
Mr and Mrs McCann are due to respond to the court's ruling at a press conference in London tomorrow. But Mr Mitchell says they remain positive one day Madeline will be found.
"There is no evidence to suggest whatsoever that she has been harmed in any way... In the absence of that evidence to tell us what has happened to her they will continue to believe as best they can that there is hope."
The Portuguese former detective, Goncalo Amaral, had applied for the lifting of the ban on his book, which claims that the McCanns covered up the accidental death of Madeleine, when she went missing while on holiday with them in Praia da Luz in May 2007.
Maddie: The Truth of the Lie was published in July 2008. In September last year the couple were granted a temporary injunction, preventing further sale or publication of the book and a TV documentary Mr Amaral has made about the case.
Mr Amaral appealed that ruling, but today at Lisbon's main civil court Judge Maria Gabriela Cunha Rodrigues rejected his appeal and allowed the injunction to remain in place. There will be a full trial at a later date to decide whether the ban should be made permanent.
Kate and Gerry McCann welcomed today's ruling, saying that they were "very pleased and relieved".
They added: "By upholding the injunction against Goncalo Amaral's book and DVD, the judge has rightly agreed that there has been significant, ongoing damage to the search for our beloved daughter Madeleine and to the rights of our family.
"The court case has demonstrated, once again, that there is no evidence that Madeleine has come to any harm. It has also clearly shown that no police force is actively looking for Madeleine, even, shockingly, when they are presented with new information and leads."
Mr Amaral was the first head of the police investigation when Madeleine disappeared, shortly before her fourth birthday. But he was removed from the investigation a few months later, after giving his views in an off-the-record briefing to a journalist.
The former policeman's lawyers claim that the material in his book was contained in the official police files, much of which was made public when the case was shelved in August 2008. Mr Amaral has vowed to take his case all the way to the European Court of Human Rights if necessary.
The McCanns are seeking more than £1m in compensation from Mr Amaral in a separate defamation claim. They have said that Mr Amaral's allegations had brought them "indescribable devastation", compounding the "immense pain and anxiety" that they had endured since Madeleine's disappearance.
Today's statement on behalf of the couple added: "It is still incumbent upon the British and Portuguese authorities to ensure that every credible lead has been investigated and that a meaningful search for our innocent and vulnerable little girl is properly carried out.
"We must and will keep looking for Madeleine and those responsible for her abduction."
