McCanns angry as former police officer delays libel case again

Mrs McCann said every delay caused by Goncalo Amaral, who sacked his legal team at the last minute, “causes us more pain and distress”.

They are suing for libel over claims he made in his book The Truth Of The Lie and had travelled to Portugal to deliver personal statements on how accusations in the book were affecting them.

Mr and Mrs McCann were originally told they could not make statements to the long-running trial at Lisbon’s Palace of Justice, but the decision was overturned after an appeal by their lawyer.

Speaking outside the court in Lisbon, Mr McCann said: “We’re exasperated that the hearing has been cancelled once again at Mr Amaral’s request. This is the fourth time this has happened and we’ve travelled to Portugal.

“The legal case has been running now for over five years and we want to get justice for Madeleine.

“Today is a blatant and cynical attempt to wear us down and it’s Madeleine who is suffering.

“We’re not going to give up –we’re going to keep going.”

Clearly angry and upset, Mrs McCann said: “We need to make it clear to people: we took on this case because of the pain and distress that Mr Amaral has brought to us and our children.”

Mr McCann said the couple would return, with the next hearing set for July 8.

Madeleine, who was then nearly four, disappeared from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3 2007 as her parents dined at a nearby restaurant.

Her parents say that claims in Mr Amaral’s 2008 book, including suggestions that they hid Madeleine’s body after she died in an accident and faked an abduction, damaged the hunt for their daughter and exacerbated their anguish.

If successful the family stand to gain around £1m in damages.