Friends 'appalled' at Kate McCann news

Friends who dined with the McCanns on the night Madeleine vanished said today they were “totally appalled” at any suggestion that Kate McCann was involved in her daughter’s disappearance.

In a joint statement, the group stressed their firm belief that Mrs McCann was innocent, and said they would support the couple until “this nightmare is over”.

“We are totally appalled at any suggestion that Kate had anything to do with Madeleine’s disappearance,” the statement said.

“She is innocent; we know this because we are her friends, we were with her on the night, and we witnessed first hand the unimaginable grief Kate and Gerry suffered and continue to suffer.

“We will support them until this nightmare is over. We also hope that this will not detract from the search for Madeleine who remains missing.”

The McCanns were having dinner with a group of seven friends from the UK in a tapas restaurant opposite the Algarve apartment from where the four-year-old, then three, vanished.

Among them were Dr Russell O’Brien and his wife Jane Tanner, who themselves have two young children.

Dr O’Brien, who lives in Exeter, was forced to make a statement last month, attacking “completely untrue and extremely hurtful” reports about him in the Portuguese newspapers.

Portuguese police also said there was “no basis” for the allegations.

Dr O’Brien and his wife moved to Exeter from Leicester shortly before the holiday in Praia da Luz.

On the night Madeleine disappeared, Dr O’Brien left the table at around the time she is believed to have been snatched.

But it is understood he was looking after his young daughter, who was ill and vomiting in her room.

Another three diners were Dr Fiona Payne and her husband David, a senior research fellow at Leicester University, and Mrs Payne’s mother Dianne Webster.

The Paynes were among those who stayed on in the Algarve to support the McCanns for several weeks after the abduction.

They also have two children and according to one newspaper were the only ones in the group using a baby monitor the night Madeleine disappeared.

A fourth couple at dinner that night, other than the McCanns themselves, were Rachael and Matthew Oldfield, another doctor.

Mrs Oldfield, a recruitment consultant, and her husband, who both live in London, have a daughter aged about 22 months.

They knew the McCanns because Mr Oldfield and Mr McCann worked together at a Leicester hospital.

Last month, the mum-of-one spoke out about “hurtful and all rather ludicrous” reports in the Portuguese press.

“I think there are some leaks coming from the police, but a lot of what I have read recently has been completely untrue,” Mrs Oldfield told the Evening Standard.

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

In early July, Portuguese police brought together some of the friends and their chief suspect at the time to discuss discrepancies over what happened on the night.

Mrs Oldfield, 36, Dr O’Brien, 36, and Dr Payne, 34, compared their versions of events on May 3 with the then only named suspect – Robert Murat.

It is understood they saw Briton Mr Murat on the night Madeleine disappeared, while he has insisted he was at his nearby home all evening with his mother Jenny.

At the time of the interviews Mrs Oldfield said: “We are more than happy to help the police with their ongoing investigation.

“All of us want to do anything we can to help find Madeleine and reunite her with her loving parents.”