Suspect's lawyer criticises Madeleine's parents

Kate and Gerry McCann have come under increasing pressure from the Portuguese media in recent days.

This week Portuguese newspapers repeatedly reported that detectives now believe Madeleine was not abducted but died in their holiday apartment on the night she disappeared.

The couple today ended their daily routine of taking their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie to the creche at the Ocean Club resort in Praia da Luz.

The move followed concerns about photographers taking pictures of their children and disturbing holidaymakers using the child-minding facility.

Mr and Mrs McCann left their three children asleep in their holiday flat on May 3 while they ate with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

The couple have strongly defended their judgment, saying it was safe to leave their children alone. Mrs McCann said they were “at worst” naive.

Mr Pagarete said: “I think it’s not normal for someone to leave their kids alone.

“When I was small and always running around, my parents had me on a leash so I could not run away.”

He added: “It’s not attacking the McCanns in any way, but it’s not the normal thing to do.”

The lawyer stressed that this was his “private opinion” and had nothing to do with his involvement in the case.

He also told London’s Evening Standard: “People in Praia da Luz say ’These bloody McCanns should just go away and leave this town. They are giving it a bad name’.”

Explaining his comments, Mr Pagarete said he was simply reporting the words of local residents who were suffering financially because of the dip in tourism following Madeleine’s disappearance.

He said: “There were a lot of people who lost a lot of money since all this happened.

“It has nothing to do with the way I feel or Robert Murat feels.”

Mr Pagarete, 32, added: “The main issue should be trying to find the little girl – not trying to make stories around this unfortunate situation.”

Mr and Mrs McCann are said to have found recent suggestions in the Portuguese press that Madeleine was murdered on the night she vanished “very hurtful”.

Family friends said they were disgusted at what they said was a smear campaign against them.

Rachael Oldfield, who ate with the McCanns on the night Madeleine disappeared, told the Evening Standard that some newspaper reports were completely inaccurate.

She said: “I think there are some leaks coming from the police because a lot of what I have read recently has been completely untrue.

“Whether a journalist has had a bit of information and made the rest up, or the police are feeding some truths or untruths, I just don’t know.”

Portugal’s strict “segredo de justica” – or secrecy of justice – laws severely restrict what can be said publicly about an ongoing investigation.

Portuguese police have repeatedly refused to confirm or deny reports and say they do not brief journalists on the progress of the hunt for Madeleine.

But a stream of stories quoting anonymous “police sources”, sometimes proving to be uncannily accurate, have appeared in Portuguese papers.

Police are waiting for the results of tests carried out on traces of blood recovered from the wall of Madeleine’s holiday apartment.

Samples arrived yesterday at a UK forensic laboratory to establish if the evidence matched the DNA of the missing girl.

Mr Murat – who has always insisted he is entirely innocent – hopes to receive a letter formally clearing him of his status as a suspect in the coming days or weeks, Mr Pagarete said.

Saturday will mark the 100th day since Madeleine’s disappearance.

Madeleine’s family are expected to mark the grim milestone with a series of events including a special Catholic prayer service in Praia da Luz.

In the UK, Premier League football clubs will play a video reminding fans that Madeleine is still missing.