Death claims meaningless, say McCanns

Gerry McCann came out fighting yesterday after sitting through two days of court hearings where he and his wife were accused of faking the abduction of Madeleine.

He insisted there was no evidence to support claims by former Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral that Madeleine died in her family's Algarve holiday flat on the night she vanished in 2007.

Mr McCann spoke to reporters outside the court in Lisbon, where Mr Amaral is trying to overturn a ban on publishing his book.

"Over the last two days, we've heard a lot about Mr Amaral's thesis that Madeleine is dead," he said.

"And I also hope you've heard that there is absolutely no evidence to support that thesis. A thesis without evidence is meaningless and that is what we are challenging."

Mr McCann added: "I think it is particularly disappointing that certain police officers within Portimao who considered us as possibly involved in Madeleine's disappearance have not been able to change their minds despite a lack of evidence."

A Portuguese judge granted the McCanns an injunction in September last year banning further sale or publication of Mr Amaral's book.

The ex-policeman was also prohibited from repeating his claims about Madeleine or her parents.

Mr Amaral – who was taken off the case in October 2007 after criticising the British police – is attempting to overturn the injunction at this week's trial.

The case continues