McCann's convinced Madeleine is still alive
Madeleine McCann’s parents believe their daughter is still “probably alive” almost a year after her disappearance.
Her father Gerry McCann said there was “absolutely zero” evidence to suggest otherwise.
But Mr McCann said he and his wife Kate have had so little contact with Portuguese detectives they can not be sure if police are still looking for their daughter.
Interviewed for a documentary on BBC Radio 4 last night, he said hindsight showed he and his wife “made a mistake” in leaving the children alone, but dismissed suggestions the couple could face charges of child negligence.
“We were given legal advice that what we did was well within the bounds of reasonable parenting and of course at the time we thought what we did was perfectly reasonable,” he said.
“However, hindsight has proven that we made a mistake. Clearly we would never leave the children again. We are paying more for that than anyone could possibly ever imagine.”
The couple have been given until the end of the week to decide whether to go back to Portugal to take part in a police reconstruction, but have indicated they will not return.
Mr McCann said: “They have no more information now than was available on May 4, so why are we talking about such a charge (of child negligence) now.”
He continued: “I think she’s probably alive. One thing is for certain, I’ve seen nothing to suggest that she’s dead and I mean nothing, absolutely zero. And I’m sure if there was any evidence then we would have heard about it a long time ago.”
Kate and Gerry McCann were declared “arguidos” – or formal suspects – in the case in September although they deny any involvement in Madeleine’s disappearance.
Their status makes any contact with the police far less likely but they have received no information on whether it is to be lifted.
Asked whether he is convinced the police are still trying to find his daughter, Mr McCann replied: “I don’t know because we don’t have that information.
“Obviously we’d like to know. We’d like to know why the files are still secret almost a year on with a change in the penal code.
“We would like to know what is being done to find Madeleine.
“We’d like know who has been eliminated from the inquiry and on what grounds and what leads are still being followed.
“We’ve always said we want to leave no stone unturned and to do that we need to know which stones have already been overturned.”
But Mr McCann said they had co-operated with the Portuguese authorities all along, “so of course we can see a scenario where we continue to work with them”.
Rachael Oldfield, a member of the so-called “Tapas Seven” – the friends who were dining with the McCanns in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on the night of May 3 last year when Madeleine disappeared – said the McCanns have had no direct contact with Portuguese detective Paulo Rebelo, the man heading the inquiry.
She launched a furious attack on police, saying: “They leaked information and these rumours that have flown around for the past year – it is outrageous.
“We have all felt very angry about it.
“We were asked to comply with the Portuguese judicial secrecy laws (under) which we were made to understand that we could face two years in prison for speaking out.
“So, as a group, we have not said anything from day one.
“There have been all these rumours flying around and leaks from sources close to the PJ (Policia Judiciaria) which we haven’t been able to refute.
“We would have loved to have spoken out really and just put the record straight, but believed that the investigation would be the best way of finding Madeleine if we co-operated with the police and complied by their rules and regulations.”
She continued: “I was there on the night – it was agonising.
“There was just no way that they were involved in anything to do with Madeleine’s disappearance.
“Anyone with an ounce of common sense really would be able to see that they couldn’t have done it.”
British expat Robert Murat was the first official arguido in the case.
His sister, Samantha, told the programme: “It’s been a year now and our family have gone through hell, not to mention what Robert’s had to go through on his own.
“I think that the media should make an apology for what they’ve put him through.
“I think the police should lift the arguido status and make a statement saying that they’ve never had any evidence to suggest that Robert had anything to do this.”
