"Maddie McCann parents' 1 Million Pound bid over 'lies'"

Who will pay the legal costs if Amaral wins? - undoubtedly the Fund.

Yes, the objective to 'support the family' was removed relatively recently - this was for PR optics as this had been criticised before, and I wonder why they did not do it before.

But the main purpose of the Fund is to search for madeleine - now the court case is OFFICIALLY about Amaral's 'libellous' book harming the search for madeleine so IMHO it would be in order for the Fund to pay the legal costs.

In any case the Board of directors of the Fund consists of the terrible two, Uncle Brian and 3 pals. Not exactly an independent Board? So what the Mccanns claim, they will get.

The legal expenses could also be paid from the big advance royalties payment that apparently never made its way into the Fund. Where is this money? Maybe already paying Isobel Duarte's retainer.

Carolina wrote:What I like about the article is the fact that there are quotation marks around the word lies, 'lies'.

I noticed that too - straight away, perhaps ANTONELLA LAZERRI has decided to rather hop on the fence as the clock is ticking, she should perhaps watch out though it may give her splinters. When the tide begins to turn AL will certainly be hoping on the "truths" side and try to take credit for forthcoming articles!!

James wrote:Who will pay the legal costs if Amaral wins? - undoubtedly the Fund.

Yes, the objective to 'support the family' was removed relatively recently - this was for PR optics as this had been criticised before, and I wonder why they did not do it before.

But the main purpose of the Fund is to search for madeleine - now the court case is OFFICIALLY about Amaral's 'libellous' book harming the search for madeleine so IMHO it would be in order for the Fund to pay the legal costs.

In any case the Board of directors of the Fund consists of the terrible two, Uncle Brian and 3 pals. Not exactly an independent Board? So what the Mccanns claim, they will get.

The legal expenses could also be paid from the big advance royalties payment that apparently never made its way into the Fund. Where is this money? Maybe already paying Isobel Duarte's retainer.

Its not harming any search, again McCanns have shot themselves in foot, people are still looking "" she is living with a family in Germany" - explain that to the judge Kate!! and once the McCanns lose people will start wondering where the money came from for the BIG payout when he takes his turn in suing them for Libel as he intends to do!

James wrote:Who will pay the legal costs if Amaral wins? - undoubtedly the Fund.

Yes, the objective to 'support the family' was removed relatively recently - this was for PR optics as this had been criticised before, and I wonder why they did not do it before.

But the main purpose of the Fund is to search for madeleine - now the court case is OFFICIALLY about Amaral's 'libellous' book harming the search for madeleine so IMHO it would be in order for the Fund to pay the legal costs.

In any case the Board of directors of the Fund consists of the terrible two, Uncle Brian and 3 pals. Not exactly an independent Board? So what the Mccanns claim, they will get.

The legal expenses could also be paid from the big advance royalties payment that apparently never made its way into the Fund. Where is this money? Maybe already paying Isobel Duarte's retainer.

This of course is a moot point. A libel action is personal to the plaintiffs.

It's rare indeed to see AL playing with such a straight bat - but maybe the pink spoonfeeder is having to be cautious about the words he puts into her mouth this time around.
I'm surprised to see the court case being flagged up by TM - with quotes from Mitchell and Duarte in each paper. After previous 'Streisand Effect' debacles I thought they might try to keep a lid on it in the old media, which is where they garner support from the unenlightened.
Unless they think that they'll somehow build up a groundswell of gushing sympathy beforehand.

Dream on McCanns - your fan club now holds its reunions in a telephone kiosk.
And judgement will not be made in the court of public opinion but in a Lisbon courthouse.

Our Phone Box was removed four years ago, due to lack of patronage. Do I see a trend?

already posted on fb page -- money grabbing shits -- they may not attend says it all really doesnt it ? infact people on the fence will be thinking wt+ you have had your daughter abducted - you have had ga print lies about you -- and your not gonna hop on a plane to attend ? let the joe public really make their minds up now about the scum bags -- all about money

Did the McCanns ever attend any of the earlier hearings?

if they attended presumably they could be questioned in the witness box. Remember the awards to them against various media awards in 2008 - settled out of court - they have never faced court questions from a lawyer representing their opponents.

"He went on to write a book sold worldwide in which he claimed her parents covered up her death from an accident or overdose of sedatives."

Oh I do so like that bit, now, how would
Sherlock Holmes view such a theory?
"when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?
So, hopefully the judges apply the same
logical criminal analysis as did Sherlock
and GA.

Sold Worldwide?

I think not.

Coming soon?

I very much hope so.

I think they (or at least one of them) will show up just based on they never seem to miss an opportunity to appear before cameras.

I really don't know how this type of action plays out in Portugal, but it seems to me they would be required to be present since they are the instigators (in more ways than one) and should be prepared to present their case and be cross-examined.

For me it boils down to, how can Mr. Amaral, the detective who published his findings (theory) on the "disappearance" of Madeleine based on the totality of the evidence, be held responsible for the assertion that Madeleine was not abducted?

They are probably awaiting a private jet offer from one of their unsuspecting rich supporters. Doubt they will easjet it back to Portugal this time.

Actually I doubt they will return to Portugal even on the private jet. They do not have the gumption to face Amaral, the courts or the Portugese people. Much easier to hide behind a camera, they have made a living out of it after all.

I guess what I can't get through my head is that it should be incumbent on the McCanns to be in Court to prove their assertion that Mr. Amaral is in fact "lying".

Knowing that there is no way the McCanns can prove their case, gives me hope that finally the outcome in Mr. Amaral's favour will bring a small measure of justice for Madeleine, not the full justice which should be accorded, but it will be a start. The beginning of the end so to speak.

Is Portuguese libel law the same as ours? Do the McCanns have to prove GA was lying or does GA have to prove he was not?

The McCanns have to prove that Gonçalo Amaral committed libel. AFAIK, in libel cases here in Portugal the claimant and defendent are not questioned in court and they are not required to attend. I find it interesting that most of the witnesses for the McCanns will be testifying by video conference, I guess that they really couldn't be bothered to make the trip to Portugal or the parents didn't want to pay for their flights and accommodation.

Panda wrote:At least the Daily Star tells it like it is......"A court hearing is due to start on September 13 in Lisbon. The McCanns’ are still considering whether to appear to face Goncalo Amaral, 55, who wrote in his book The Truth Of The Lie that Madeleine was dead".

All they can think of yet again is MONEY!!!

I do hope Amaral will (quote) DCI Redwood when HE SAYS we are looking intO two possibilities here one where we have a dead Madeleine and one where we have an alive one, so if Redwood can say Maddy is dead then why can't Amaral without been sued?????

Carolina wrote:The McCanns have to prove that Gonçalo Amaral committed libel. AFAIK, in libel cases here in Portugal the claimant and defendent are not questioned in court and they are not required to attend. I find it interesting that most of the witnesses for the McCanns will be testifying by video conference, I guess that they really couldn't be bothered to make the trip to Portugal or the parents didn't want to pay for their flights and accommodation.

Thanks Carolina. It seems if you have enough money and enough dodgey contacts, you don`t have to lift a finger to bully and rob decent people. Lovely world `aint it?

Lillyofthevalley wrote:

Panda wrote:At least the Daily Star tells it like it is......"A court hearing is due to start on September 13 in Lisbon. The McCanns’ are still considering whether to appear to face Goncalo Amaral, 55, who wrote in his book The Truth Of The Lie that Madeleine was dead".

All they can think of yet again is MONEY!!!

I do hope Amaral will (quote) DCI Redwood when HE SAYS we are looking intO two possibilities here one where we have a dead Madeleine and one where we have an alive one, so if Redwood can say Maddy is dead then why can't Amaral without been sued?????

I have said this before, why aren't the McCanns, suing Chief Inspector Tavares de Almeida, who came to the same conclusion as Dr Amaral?


The McCanns know full well that there is nothing in Dr Amaral's book that would prevent people searching for Madeleine, the reason people aren't looking for Madeleine, is because they are too busy looking after their own families, including their children. I hope the Judge asks the McCanns, what their reason is for not looking for Madeleine and why didn't they look for her, the minute she was discovered missing?

Lillyofthevalley wrote:

Panda wrote:At least the Daily Star tells it like it is......"A court hearing is due to start on September 13 in Lisbon. The McCanns’ are still considering whether to appear to face Goncalo Amaral, 55, who wrote in his book The Truth Of The Lie that Madeleine was dead".

All they can think of yet again is MONEY!!!

I do hope Amaral will (quote) DCI Redwood when HE SAYS we are looking intO two possibilities here one where we have a dead Madeleine and one where we have an alive one, so if Redwood can say Maddy is dead then why can't Amaral without been sued?????

Yes, AR definitely said the review was split into two parts, so one part obviously reviewed from the perspective of dead or murder. GA isn`t the only official person to suspect she is dead and verbalise it. There have been other books written as well, but I think they could be gunning for Goncalo because he mentioned the Gaspar statements and obviously touched on a real truth.

I understood this was a Civil case so no jury, just 3 Judges and therefore quite different to a Trial by Jury. The McCanns do not want to face the Portugese again after the Courthouse scenes last time.

just thinking out loud:-

1. Amaral claims Madeleine died in 5a which is one of the theories in the PJ Final Report Can the McCanns prove Madeleine is alive ? All these sightings have proved worthless and the Judges will note it.

2. The Health of the McCanns has been affected, can the McCanns prove this medically? One of them returned to work as soon as they left Portugal, the other busying herself helping the Detectives and writing a couple of books.

3. The Children's health has suffered......Ludicrous.!!

We can see how ridiculous these claims are so let us hope the Judges will as well and throw the case out.

Amaral has said in the past there are things that have not been made public. He knows, or has a very good idea, of what exactly happened. The McCanns know this and they want to silence him. I think the vendetta against him started out as a threat, whilst the money is nice and a bonus, I think the two really wanted to scare him into going away and staying quiet. I do not think they banked on him staying put and fighting his corner. All imo of course.

Of course their health suffered, I would expect it to, they have a child missing for god's sake. How can they say which tablet was because of the trauma they had been through and which tablet was taken because Amaral reported on the police investigation in his book ?

They went to great lenghts in the sofa interviews back in May to tell us how happy, normal and well adjusted the twins are. They were little when their parents lost their sister so I would imagine at that time, like all 2 year olds, adapted quite easily to the change in circumstance. In fact, did McCann not say that previously - how the twins had settled into their routine well in Portugal. So when their health suffered is hard to fathom.

If nothing else, Amaral's book and indeed he himself has gone a long way to keeping the debate and discussion of this case very much in the public domain. That to me is a positive, it keeps people talking about this little lost girl. Makes people aware she is still missing.

Amarals book recounts on a day to day basis what happened during the investigation. It explains why the conclusion that the parents were complicit in what happened was reached. The fact that they were made arguidos was well known, not a secret, so the public already knew there was suspicion. What exactly is wrong with the investigator of the case publishing a book that tells us how this conclusion was reached ?

People who read the book will make up their own minds on the evidence presented in the book. Perhaps that is what is wrong with Healy and McCann. They know how people will react.

Interesting they have never retaliated and actually disproved anything that is written in it.

Morning mossman,

It is not just Amaral's book which is hurting the McCanns, it is the reconstruction video. His video is intelligent , true to

the final Report and proves to my mind more conclusive that there was no abduction.

The Video produced by Mentorn had to be resigned to the cutting room floor. The part of Kate played by an American Actress who looked remarkably like Kate contradicted other versions of what happened.

kathybelle wrote:

Lillyofthevalley wrote:

Panda wrote:At least the Daily Star tells it like it is......"A court hearing is due to start on September 13 in Lisbon. The McCanns’ are still considering whether to appear to face Goncalo Amaral, 55, who wrote in his book The Truth Of The Lie that Madeleine was dead".

All they can think of yet again is MONEY!!!

I do hope Amaral will (quote) DCI Redwood when HE SAYS we are looking intO two possibilities here one where we have a dead Madeleine and one where we have an alive one, so if Redwood can say Maddy is dead then why can't Amaral without been sued?????

I have said this before, why aren't the McCanns, suing Chief Inspector Tavares de Almeida, who came to the same conclusion as Dr Amaral?


The McCanns know full well that there is nothing in Dr Amaral's book that would prevent people searching for Madeleine, the reason people aren't looking for Madeleine, is because they are too busy looking after their own families, including their children. I hope the Judge asks the McCanns, what their reason is for not looking for Madeleine and why didn't they look for her, the minute she was discovered missing?

Tavares de Almeida didn't write a book speculating on what may have happened to Madeleine whereas GA did.

Your second point is rather confusing with reggrds to people not looking for Madeleine.

In my opinion, the McCanns are suggesting that because of GAs opinion ie that Madeleine is dead, people won't bother looking out for Madeleine rather than people not bother to acutally search for her.

I would have thought that GA has every right to express his opinion, just as the rest of us have. As for looking for Madeleine, well it appears that all the money wasted on the Mccanns private detectives has achieved absolutely nothing, a whole army of Scotland Yard people also seem to have achieved absolutely nothing, and that at the tax payers expense. Why should the Mccanns expect the public at large to be looking for Madeleine whilst they sit on their now wealthy, thanks to Madeleine, bums, suing all and sundry, writing books and being paid for being ambassadors. The Mccanns have flown around the world enjoying their "celebrity" status but only to be feted, wined and dined, they certainly haven't gone looking for Madeleine.

Fern wrote:

kathybelle wrote:

Lillyofthevalley wrote:

Panda wrote:At least the Daily Star tells it like it is......"A court hearing is due to start on September 13 in Lisbon. The McCanns’ are still considering whether to appear to face Goncalo Amaral, 55, who wrote in his book The Truth Of The Lie that Madeleine was dead".

All they can think of yet again is MONEY!!!

I do hope Amaral will (quote) DCI Redwood when HE SAYS we are looking intO two possibilities here one where we have a dead Madeleine and one where we have an alive one, so if Redwood can say Maddy is dead then why can't Amaral without been sued?????

I have said this before, why aren't the McCanns, suing Chief Inspector Tavares de Almeida, who came to the same conclusion as Dr Amaral?


The McCanns know full well that there is nothing in Dr Amaral's book that would prevent people searching for Madeleine, the reason people aren't looking for Madeleine, is because they are too busy looking after their own families, including their children. I hope the Judge asks the McCanns, what their reason is for not looking for Madeleine and why didn't they look for her, the minute she was discovered missing?

Tavares de Almeida didn't write a book speculating on what may have happened to Madeleine whereas GA did.

Your second point is rather confusing with reggrds to people not looking for Madeleine.

In my opinion, the McCanns are suggesting that because of GAs opinion ie that Madeleine is dead, people won't bother looking out for Madeleine rather than people not bother to acutally search for her.

You are once again, making excuses for the McCanns. The McCanns have actually said that anyone reading Goncalo Amaral's book, will not search for Madeleine. Gerry McCann in one media interview, in which the topic was Goncalo Amaral's book, said " If people read it and believe she is dead, they will not keep looking for her and will not come forward with information they may have."

FGS, why can't you see that the onus of looking for Madeleine was the responsibility of her parents and wider family. None of them have ever lifted a finger to find this little girl. The McCanns left the initial searching of Madeleine, to the locals, the holidaymakers and the staff of Warner, who all assisted the GNR, while the McCanns were doing other things.

It is as plain as the noses on all of our faces, that if Madeleine had been abducted, the McCanns would have looked for her, in case the abductor had dumped her within the area. The fact they didn't is a sure sign that they know where she is and if she is dead or alive.

I don't know if Chief Inspector Tavares de Almeida has written a book on this subject, but I know someone else did and the McCanns aren't suing the author of that book. What you need to remember is, Chief Inspector Almeida's report is in the PJ files, which is read in many more countries in many many languages, than Goncalo Amaral's book is published.

If anyone was thinking of looking for Madeleine, they would more than likely, change their mind after reading Chief Inspector Almeida's report, which is damning against the McCanns and their Tapas friends.

The McCanns had no problem with Goncalo Amaral's book, until they believe he had amassed a small fortune from the sales. They don't seem to have a problem with C.I. Almeida's report, which is in the copies of the P.J. files, they are in possession of. One would have thought that they would have taken action against C.I. Almeida 4yrs ago, as well as the P.J., when they were given the files.

In my opinion, the McCanns lawsuit against Goncalo Amaral, is partly malicious and partly to make money, they are using Madeleine, Sean and Amelie, as weapons and this is dispicable. I hope the Judge who presides over this lawsuit, sees right through the McCanns. I also hope that the McCanns are forced to attend court, then Goncalo Amaral put them in the witness box and ask them everything he was denied to ask them, when he was cruelly removed from the investigation.