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| Kate McCann's son asked about claims she 'hid Madeleine' | Kate McCann's son asked about claims she 'hid Madeleine' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Kate McCann was asked by her son about claims she was involved in the disappearance of her daughter Madeleine, a court has heard. | Kate McCann was asked by her son about claims she was involved in the disappearance of her daughter Madeleine, a court has heard. |
| Mrs McCann was speaking at a Portuguese libel case relating to the claims - made by ex-police chief Goncalo Amaral. | |
| The court heard her son Sean had asked about whether she "hid Madeleine", but she told him the Portuguese detective had said "a lot of silly things". | The court heard her son Sean had asked about whether she "hid Madeleine", but she told him the Portuguese detective had said "a lot of silly things". |
| Madeleine was three when she went missing in Praia da Luz in May 2007. | Madeleine was three when she went missing in Praia da Luz in May 2007. |
| At the time, her siblings - Sean and his twin sister Amelie - were aged two. | At the time, her siblings - Sean and his twin sister Amelie - were aged two. |
| Mr Amaral - who coordinated the original investigation into Madeleine's disappearance - alleged in a book that she had died in the family's holiday apartment in the Algarve, and that Kate and her husband Gerry had simulated her abduction and hidden her body. | |
| He made the claims in a book about the case that has been a bestseller in Portugal. | He made the claims in a book about the case that has been a bestseller in Portugal. |
| 'Severe damage' | 'Severe damage' |
| On Tuesday, Mr and Mrs McCann both delivered personal statements at Lisbon's Palace of Justice in the libel case brought by them against Mr Amaral. | On Tuesday, Mr and Mrs McCann both delivered personal statements at Lisbon's Palace of Justice in the libel case brought by them against Mr Amaral. |
| Mrs McCann told the court her son Sean had brought up the allegations after he heard them on the radio on a school bus. | Mrs McCann told the court her son Sean had brought up the allegations after he heard them on the radio on a school bus. |
| "Sean asked me in October, 'Mr Amaral said you hid Madeleine'. I just said that he said a lot of silly things," she said. | "Sean asked me in October, 'Mr Amaral said you hid Madeleine'. I just said that he said a lot of silly things," she said. |
| Mrs McCann also told the court Mr Amaral's claims had done "severe damage" to efforts to find her daughter. | Mrs McCann also told the court Mr Amaral's claims had done "severe damage" to efforts to find her daughter. |
| She said that when she read the allegations she was "quite desperate because of the injustice I felt towards my daughter and our family as a whole". | |
| "It was very painful to read and I also felt anxious and fearful because of the damage I felt it was doing here in Portugal," she said. | |
| Mrs McCann also said she was aware that the couple did not have a high level of support in Portugal, telling the court she found that "distressing and upsetting because we need the Portuguese people to help us to find Madeleine". | |
| She said: "It also makes me feel uneasy and uncomfortable when I come to Portugal because I think people are thinking negative or really bad things about us." | |
| 'Very painful' | |
| But Mrs McCann added after the hearing: "It's never too late for someone to come forward with key information. And if this action helps us to reach that step, then it's a positive thing, and that's what we're aiming for." | |
| Speaking outside the court, Mr McCann also spoke about the couple's efforts to protect their children from press reports related to the case, saying: "Obviously they are not immune to the media. They hear things, they go to school, they hear the radio. | |
| "They hear the theories and Sean has obviously asked Kate explicitly, 'Why did Mr Amaral say you hid Maddy?' - so we will have to deal with that and we are doing everything in our power." | "They hear the theories and Sean has obviously asked Kate explicitly, 'Why did Mr Amaral say you hid Maddy?' - so we will have to deal with that and we are doing everything in our power." |
| "We hope that the current investigation being run by the Metropolitan Police does lead to a real breakthrough." | "We hope that the current investigation being run by the Metropolitan Police does lead to a real breakthrough." |
| He added the couple feared their daughter's kidnapper could strike again, and said the perpetrator must have been laughing at Mr Amaral's claims. | He added the couple feared their daughter's kidnapper could strike again, and said the perpetrator must have been laughing at Mr Amaral's claims. |
| The McCanns are suing Mr Amaral, his publisher and a company that produced a documentary based on his book for 1.2 million euros (£1m) in damages. | The McCanns are suing Mr Amaral, his publisher and a company that produced a documentary based on his book for 1.2 million euros (£1m) in damages. |
| No date was set for the next hearing as investigators look into Mr Amaral's financial affairs | |
| Closing speeches are not expected to take place before September. |