McCann defends legal action over book

GERRY McCANN yesterday defended his legal action against a Portuguese detective who led the investigation into his daughter’s disappearance, saying his book had damaged the search for Madeleine.

McCann spoke to reporters as he left a court in Lisbon on the second day of a hearing at which former police chief Goncalo Amaral is attempting to overturn a ban on his book, which questions the McCanns’ account of what happened to Madeleine.

It was the second time McCann addressed journalists outside court. As he arrived yesterday morning, he angrily dismissed Portuguese detectives’ claims that his daughter is dead.