Madeleine McCann's parents are STILL having to pay legal fees to fight Portuguese detective's sickening claim that they were responsible for their daughter's death

 Madeleine McCann's parents are STILL having to pay legal fees to fight Portuguese detective's sickening claim that they were responsible for their daughter's death

New documents reveal the McCann's face ongoing expenses as part of their long running libel action against the police officer who investigated the disappearance of Maddie, 14 years ago this month.


Kate and Gerry McCann are still facing legal costs to fight sickening claims by a Portuguese detective that they were responsible for their daughter Maddie's death, MailOnline has learned.

New documents reveal they face ongoing expenses as part of their long running libel action against the police officer who investigated the disappearance of Maddie, 14 years ago this month.

In a 2008 book Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral claimed Kate and Gerry accidentally killed Maddie and covered it up by pretending she had been abducted.

The couple won an initial libel claim challenging his outrageous claim, but the policeman overturned the decision and it was also upheld by another court.

Two years ago court files showed the couple had had to fork out £29,500 on legal fees for Amaral. Since then they have had to pay out a further £4,229 in legal costs making a total of nearly £34,000.

The European Court of Human Rights is due to rule on a further legal appeal shortly and if the McCanns lose the right to appeal they will have to pay still further court costs to Amaral.

The latest payout is detailed in accounts for the company, Madeleine's Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned Limited, which is funding the search for the couple's daughter aged three who disappeared on May 3, 2007.

Paperwork says: 'Legal costs of £4,229 were reimbursed to the directors, Gerald and Kate McCann in relation to ongoing libel action in Portugal.'

The family's lawyer in Portugal Isabel Duarte said she did not wish to comment on the costs.

Referring to the legal case earlier this year a close friend of the couple said: 'It drags on and on. They go one step forward then two two back. It's caused them so much anguish over the years and they just want to draw a line under it.

'It's never been about seeking damages but simply trying to stop false and malicious accusations being spouted. They still have no idea if their appeal in their fight for justice will be granted, or not.'

Accounts show Madeleine's Fund had reserves of £773,629 in the year to the end of March 2020 down from £844,573 the year before.

Sales of Kate McCann's book 'Madeleine: Our Daughter's disappearance and the continuing search for her' helped boost the fund by £6,543 during the year, the accounts said.

Three-year-old Maddie went missing from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal in May 2007.

Heart doctor Gerry and medical worker Kate have fought tirelessly to find their daughter.


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9626493/Madeleine-McCanns-parents-having-pay-legal-fees-fight-Portuguese-detective.html

'Fought tirelessly' - what a hoot.

The begging bowl is out again then. Why can't the press just come straight to the point, save the printed nonsense and just us a "DONATE" sign?

Funny how this nonsense is being printed just as their appeal is about to be dismissed. Are we being invited to pay their legal costs now?

At times like this a counter-balance is called for, in fairness to both sides.

So the McCanns have had their say by way of the gutter press through the medium of anonymity, let's address that weighty accusation in support of truth - that is after all why we are here fourteen years down the line.

1. Team McCann pursued a personal vendetta against Dr Amaral, in the process they robbed him of his profession, his marriage, his financial standing - his life!

2. Dr Amaral's book was not a personal vendetta against Gerry and Kate McCann, it was a summary of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, conducted by the Portuguese police.

3. The Truth of the Lie was written and published in defence of Dr Amaral's persecution by the McCanns. The McCanns had their say, who could blame Dr Amaral for having his say. but team McCann.

4. Team McCann had a strong support network, including media connections, to promote their cause. Dr Amaral only had himself to fight his corner.

5. Kate McCann published a book entitled 'madeleine'. All royalties donated to Find Madeleine Fund. The proclamation was a lie for the simple reason there has never been 'a search' by any other than the Portuguese police. Profits resulting from the sale of the book are floating in suspended animation.

6. Team McCann took Dr Amaral through the courts with unfounded accusations. Thus the McCanns unreasonable unevidenced claims against Dr Amaral were dismissed. The ball was back in their court .... literally.

7. Gerry and Kate McCann are the prime suspects in the disappearance of their own little three year old daughter, Madeleine. Dr Amaral is not a suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

8. Dr Amaral has been ruined by the hand of team McCann. The Professor McCann is riding high in the world of science, despite being prime suspect in the disappearance of his own little three year old daughter, Madeleine.

9. Kate McCann is riding high on the crest of a wave of support, ambassador for a missing persons charity and lauded at some point as woman of the year, despite being prime suspect in the disappearance of her own little three year old daughter, Madeleine.

10. Gerry and Kate McCann continue to dominate the headlines. Dr Amaral is resigned to a quiet life with integrity in his homeland, attracting no media attention - unless by the hand of team McCann.

11. Dr Amaral has been ruined for just doing his job Where is the justice?

Touché!

:en garde:

sharonl wrote:The begging bowl is out again then.  Why can't the press just come straight to the point, save the printed nonsense and just us a "DONATE" sign?

Funny how this nonsense is being printed just as their appeal is about to be dismissed.  Are we being invited to pay their legal costs now?

According to a reply a forum member recently received from the ECHR, the case "will probably be examined in the first semester of 2022"!

Saw this article online, and I must say I'm disappointed (but perhaps not surprised) that the majority of the commenters still believe the abduction scenario. Plenty of comments regarding how they "shouldn't have left their children alone". And of course a couple of negative comments about Mr Amaral.

As for this court case - McCanns, you brought the case, you lost, now you have to pay. So get on with it. I'm sure you have the funds somewhere.

They have £750 k - perhaps they've forgotten.

AnneBarnard wrote:I must say I'm disappointed (but perhaps not surprised) that the majority of the commenters still believe the abduction scenario

Pay no heed to comments, they are worthless.

Comments published, having passed through the censor filter, follow a pattern depending on the report content. Whether the comments are negative or positive, they come from the same people who follow the case around cyberspace - some named some anonymous in the form of pseudonym.

I'll wager it's part of the 'the wider agenda', the scheme initiated by the McCanns shortly after Madeleine's disappearance - they have contacts in the media and then .... Clarence Mitchell!, who still appears to be on a retainer when not struggling to make a name in the world of politics. The press reports are biased, why then not the comments allowed through? It's like an extension to twitter, idle hands with idle minds.

The media only ever tell the reader what they want you to hear, be it the report or comments but there is this thing called 'freedom of the press', roughly translated, they can say what they bloody well like.

Sometimes the comments can be quite spiteful which of course plays right into the hands of team McCann. I've always believed the plan of action from the beginning was designed to get those tongues wagging with the primary objective of avoiding a court appearance - even today. The case has been so widely reported and created so much dissension, the chances of a fair hearing before a criminal court of law would be zero. There is no such thing as the perfect crime, so belt and braces it must be - to be sure to be sure to be sure!

Jill Havern wrote:

sharonl wrote:The begging bowl is out again then.  Why can't the press just come straight to the point, save the printed nonsense and just us a "DONATE" sign?

Funny how this nonsense is being printed just as their appeal is about to be dismissed.  Are we being invited to pay their legal costs now?

According to a reply a forum member recently received from the ECHR, the case "will probably be examined in the first semester of 2022"!

I know this might sound like a stupid question but what does it actually cost to file an ECHR complaint?

Kate McCann wrote:Under my breath, I found myself whispering, ‘Fucking tosser, fucking tosser.’ This quiet chant somehow kept me strong, kept me in control. This man did not deserve my respect. ‘Fucking tosser . . .’

The McCanns have left a trail of shattered lives in the woke wake of their crime.

Dr Amaral being top of the list, he was doing his job, he had no reason to vilify the name McCann.  Conversely the McCanns have some huge secret to hide so they have every reason to vilify the name Amaral!

But it didn't stop there.  Over the years, from the beginning to this very day, media reportage and documentaries and commentary have all pointed fingers at the Portuguese police and the knock-on effect, the Portuguese authorities and people - Britain's oldest alibi rocked by two nobodies suspected of involvement with the disappearance of their own three year old little daughter, who has become nothing but the pawn in their web of deceit.

Then there is esteemed forum member Tony Bennett who is still paying the McCanns for claimed damages in preference to a prison sentence.

The list is endless.

Which leads us back to the perpetrators of this circus .... Gerry and Kate McCann.  Both sitting pretty, lives intact, the professors career continues to flourish, as no doubt does his bank balance.

Poacher turned gamekeeper!

Note how every action taken through the law, they have strived to settle out of court because they know the likely repercussions if cross-examined, even in a civil court of law. Here I must revert to Gerry McCann's abysmal appearance at the court in Lisbon, when trying to decimate Dr Amaral.

I can't remember how much the Met. police donated to the fund for Dr. Amaral, but it must have peed off the Mccanns. I hope he is as well as he can be, after having to deal with these two horrible people.

CaKeLoveR wrote:I can't remember how much the Met. police donated to the fund for Dr. Amaral, but it must have peed off the Mccanns. I hope he is as well as he can be, after having to deal with these two horrible people.

It was £1,000   

It was reported in the Telegragh
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/14/uk-internet-trolls-raise-over-50000-in-donations-to-help-portugu/

Thanks Jill.

The latest payout is detailed in accounts for the company, Madeleine's Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned Limited, which is funding the search for the couple's daughter aged three who disappeared on May 3, 2007.

Paperwork says: 'Legal costs of £4,229 were reimbursed to the directors, Gerald and Kate McCann in relation to ongoing libel action in Portugal.'

Lest they forget..

McCanns: 'We won't use Madeleine fund to pay for legal costs'

By DAN NEWLING and NEIL SEARS

12 September 2007

The McCanns will not use the Find Madeleine fund to pay their potentially crippling legal fees.

The couple announced their decision before yesterday's meeting of the fund's trustees, which agreed not to dip into the donations topping £1million to foot lawyers' bills.

This could leave the couple in financial difficulties, but it avoids accusations that the fund, set up to help find Madeleine, is being misspent.

Following the announcement that the McCanns are official suspects in the case,some fund contributors are understood to have asked for their money back.

Yesterday the family's spokesman David Hughes said: "Gerry and Kate are not seeking any money from the fund for any legal costs.

"Their view is that if they take money from the fund it might be that 90 per cent of people who made donations aren't bothered about it.

"But if 10 per cent of people are bothered about it, they don't want to upset them."

Since their arrival back in Britain the couple have employed Michael Caplan QC to work on their case.

He is one of the most expensive solicitors in the country and although he has refused to say how much, if anything, he is charging the McCanns, he can charge upwards of £700 an hour.

The McCanns' Portuguese lawyer Carlos Pinto de Abreu is estimated to cost around £200 an hour.

A legal battle spanning two countries could result in bills running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

These potential costs raise the possibility that the McCanns, although well-paid doctors, could be left bankrupt by a fight to clear their names.

As a part-time locum GP working three days a week, Kate McCann earns around £45,000 a year.

Gerry McCann's salary as a consultant cardiologist is estimated to be around £75,000.

However, since they both took unpaid leave from their jobs after Madeleine's disappearance in May, they have no money coming in.

They are also thought to have a significant mortgage on their detached four-bedroom home, which they bought for £460,000 in January last year.

A source close to the McCanns suggested that the couple may now set up a separate fighting fund to pay their legal costs.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-481329/McCanns-We-wont-use-Madeleine-fund-pay-legal-costs.html



The question that needs to be answered, why did the McCanns deem it necessary to surround themselves by a bastion of expensive lawyers when they claim innocence?

In this particular instance, it was their choice to hound Dr Amaral through the law courts - what do they want, generous sympathy?

Always the victims

Family spokesman David Hughes escorts Kate McCann to Policia Judiciaria  - September 2007.

And here he is again, unescorting Gerry McCann from the same establishment..

" Unpaid leave " !!??!! 

Pull the other one !

Verdi wrote:

The latest payout is detailed in accounts for the company, Madeleine's Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned Limited, which is funding the search for the couple's daughter aged three who disappeared on May 3, 2007.

Paperwork says: 'Legal costs of £4,229 were reimbursed to the directors, Gerald and Kate McCann in relation to ongoing libel action in Portugal.'

Lest they forget..

McCanns: 'We won't use Madeleine fund to pay for legal costs'

By DAN NEWLING and NEIL SEARS

12 September 2007

The McCanns will not use the Find Madeleine fund to pay their potentially crippling legal fees.

The couple announced their decision before yesterday's meeting of the fund's trustees, which agreed not to dip into the donations topping £1million to foot lawyers' bills.

This could leave the couple in financial difficulties, but it avoids accusations that the fund, set up to help find Madeleine, is being misspent.

Following the announcement that the McCanns are official suspects in the case,some fund contributors are understood to have asked for their money back.

Yesterday the family's spokesman David Hughes said: "Gerry and Kate are not seeking any money from the fund for any legal costs.

"Their view is that if they take money from the fund it might be that 90 per cent of people who made donations aren't bothered about it.

"But if 10 per cent of people are bothered about it, they don't want to upset them."

Since their arrival back in Britain the couple have employed Michael Caplan QC to work on their case.

He is one of the most expensive solicitors in the country and although he has refused to say how much, if anything, he is charging the McCanns, he can charge upwards of £700 an hour.

The McCanns' Portuguese lawyer Carlos Pinto de Abreu is estimated to cost around £200 an hour.

A legal battle spanning two countries could result in bills running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

These potential costs raise the possibility that the McCanns, although well-paid doctors, could be left bankrupt by a fight to clear their names.

As a part-time locum GP working three days a week, Kate McCann earns around £45,000 a year.

Gerry McCann's salary as a consultant cardiologist is estimated to be around £75,000.

However, since they both took unpaid leave from their jobs after Madeleine's disappearance in May, they have no money coming in.

They are also thought to have a significant mortgage on their detached four-bedroom home, which they bought for £460,000 in January last year.

A source close to the McCanns suggested that the couple may now set up a separate fighting fund to pay their legal costs.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-481329/McCanns-We-wont-use-Madeleine-fund-pay-legal-costs.html



The question that needs to be answered, why did the McCanns deem it necessary to surround themselves by a bastion of expensive lawyers when they claim innocence?

In this particular instance, it was their choice to hound Dr Amaral through the law courts - what do they want, generous sympathy?

Always the victims  

Why don't they just call on their millionaire friends for a whip round?

Tony Blair
Gordon Brown
Richard Branson
Phillip Green
Dave Cameron
Theresa May
Stephen Wynard
And all the other dodgy politicians and celebs who are desperate to protect the McCanns, or themselves, depending on what they have all been up to. They could pay these fees out of their petty cash.