Retired detective to `sue` Madeleine McCann`s parents for compensation award after winning appeal over libel case
A retired police officer who accused Madeleine McCann`s parents of faking her abduction is reportedly planning to take further legal action against the couple after winning a libel appeal.
Apr 21, 2016
By Nick Hudson
A retired police officer who accused Madeleine McCann`s parents of faking her abduction is reportedly planning to take further legal action against the couple after winning a libel appeal.
Goncalo Amaral will proceed with a compensation claim against the McCanns for the huge legal costs and harm to his reputation, his lawyer said.
The former Portuguese detective was ordered to pay Kate and Gerry McCann £436,000 in libel damages and costs in April last year after making the accusation in his 2008 book The Truth of the Lie.
But three appeal judges ruled in his favour on Tuesday (April 19), saying that Mr Amaral had a right to express his opinions, according to a 16-page judgment posted online this week.
They argued that Mr Amaral`s own views “overruled any duty of confidentiality” he had as a former chief officer heading the Madeleine McCann investigation once the case files, made available on the internet by Portuguese authorities, were put into the public domain.
It also means the McCanns may never receive a penny of the original libel damages.
Mr Amarals lawyer, Miguel Cruz Rodrigues, said: This decision not only means my client hasnt got to pay the 500,000 Euros to Madeleine McCanns parents but equally importantly also allows him to express his freedom of speech and the chance to republish his book.
Publisher Guerra e Paz is expected to rush out new copies to hit the shelves next week, netting the former officer a potential fortune.
After the libel U-turn, Mr Rodrigues, announced that the officer would sue the McCanns for damages.
The latest twist in the almost decade-long agony for the McCanns comes just 24 hours after Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Duthie, who supervises the force`s Operation Grange, said Madeleine could still be found.
He confirmed on Monday (April 18) that the MPS inquiry is still “ongoing work”, where there is “always a possibility that we will find Madeleine and we hope that we find her alive”.
He added: “That`s what we want and that`s what the family and the public want and that is why the Home Office continues to fund it.”
Mr Rodrigues told the Portuguese daily newspaper Expresso: “We are going to advance with a compensation claim against the McCanns.
“My client has suffered years of prejudice and losses.”
He added on Wednesday(April 20): “The Lisbon appeal court decision reinforces our aim to go for a claim against the McCanns for damages over what have been years of financial losses in which my client`s good name has been called into question.”
The retired senior officer, removed as head of the investigation into Madeleine`s disappearance from the Praia da Luz apartment on May 3, 2007 after criticising British detectives, had always denied defamation.
The judge who ruled in the McCanns` favour last April said Mr Amaral`s constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression were conditioned by the fact he had been in charge of the investigation into Madeleine`s disappearance until shortly before the publication of his book.
She concluded he played on his status as a long-serving police officer to present personal opinions and claims about the high-profile case as fact.
The McCanns` Portuguese lawyer Isabel Duarte has already said she will fight the libel U-turn by appealing to the country`s Supreme Court. She has 30 days to submit the appeal.
A friend of the couple told The Mirror they were “seething” over the appeal ruling.