When this story broke it sounded like Chris and Les drove all the way to Portugal through their own efforts to help the McCanns. It really did sound like they went to extraordinary lengths to help. We can reveal on MadeleineMcCann.org that Chris and Les were simply doing their job. The inflatable billboard was not the brainchild of Mr Lennox or Mr Harley and the pair of them didn’t pay for it either. The whole thing was engineered by Dr Gerald McCann’s brother John.

‘CM’ [Correio da Manhã] today starts the exclusive publication of excerpts from the book by Gonçalo Amaral, who believes that Madeleine McCann died inside the apartment at Praia da Luz. The episode of the holidays in 2005, in Mallorca – which raises suspicions about a friend of the couple – and the DNA results are the first parts.

‘We welcome the announcement from the Portuguese Attorney General today, although it is no cause for celebration. It is hard to describe how utterly despairing it was to be named ‘arguidos’ and subsequently portrayed in the media as suspects in our own daughter’s abduction- and worse. It has been equally devastating to witness the detrimental effect this status has had on the search for Madeleine.
We look forward to scrutinising the police files to see what has ACTUALLY been done and, more importantly, what can still be done, as we leave …

British police officers were yesterday accused of trying to stop DNA information allegedly linked to Kate and Gerry McCann’s hire car from being made public.

David Payne, one of the McCanns’ friends that were on holidays in the Algarve on the 3rd of May last year, when Madeleine disappeared, was suspected of paedophile behaviours.

We have recently managed to have a break visiting family. Sean and Amelie have had a brilliant time and it has been great for me to spend so much time with them. Although this has been a relaxing break, it has been incredibly difficult for Kate and me to have been on holiday without Madeleine- it is all too apparent what is missing.
We were very pleased to learn today that the written declaration calling for the introduction of an EU wide Amber alert system has been successful. More than half …

On 2 April 2008 Madeleine became a Ward of this Court, and since that date has remained a Ward.