Madeleine suspect Murat to settle libel claims

Robert Murat, a suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, is due to formally settle his libel claims against several British news outlets for a reported £500,000 (€631,000) at the High Court in London today.

Mr Murat, 34, an Algarve-based property consultant, is expected to attend the reading of an agreed statement by lawyers before Mr Justice Eady in London.

The media outlets originally named in the action, which was launched in April, were Sky, the Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star, Daily Mail, Evening Standard, Metro, Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, News of the World, The Sun and The Scotsman.

In May, Mr Murat secured an apology from The Scotsman for a piece it ran about the disappearance of four-year-old Madeleine from Praia da Luz in Portugal last year.

Sky said on Tuesday the TV station was not involved in the current legal action and had not been served any papers by Mr Murat’s lawyers.

Today’s development follows legal action by Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry, which led to front-page apologies from the Daily Express and Daily Star in March.

The newspapers also agreed to make payments to the couple’s Find Madeleine fund.

Mr Murat, who owns a villa 150 yards from the flat where Madeleine went missing, was first questioned about the case 11 days after she disappeared.

He strenuously denied any involvement, saying he was at home with his mother at the time.