09 - SEP 09 - Conf. Pr GMC /GA

A Portuguese judge has banned further sales or publications of a former policeman's book which claims Madeleine McCann is dead.

Clarence Mitchell said Kate and Gerry McCann were "absolutely delighted" that The Truth Of The Lie by Goncalo Amaral will be taken off shop shelves.

He said the book had hampered the search for missing Madeleine and added to her parents' distress.

Mr Amaral worked on the investigation into three-year-old Madeleine's disappearance from an apartment in Praia da Luz in May 2007 during a family holiday.

He was removed from the investigation after criticising British police.

The injunction, granted today after a hearing last week, means he has to ensure that all unsold copies of the book are removed from shops and warehouses across Europe or he faces a 1,000 euro-a-day (£877) fine.

Gerald MC – 09.09.2009

Conférence de presse (Stv.Tv, Sky News et ITN)  transcrite par Nigel Moore

Clarence Mitchell: Errr... Ladies and gentlemen, thanks very much for coming at short notice. Errm.... Gerry would like to read a short statement; he will take a few questions after that; errr... he doesn't wish to do any other one-to-ones. So, thank you for coming. Gerry.

GMC : I'd like to read this statement on behalf of Kate, myself and our three children: We're pleased with the judges decision today preventing further distribution and sale of Mr Amaral's book and DVD, 'The Truth of the Lie'. Mr Amaral's central thesis has no evidence whatsoever to support it. To claim, as he did, that Madeleine is dead and that we, her parents, were somehow involved in her disappearance has caused our family incredible distress and continues to do so. Without doubt Madeleine will have suffered as a result of the negative effect this book and DVD will have had on the search for her. Sean and Amelie need protection too, from such awful claims. Hopefully this injunction today will go a long way towards reducing further uneccessary and unjust distress to us all and allow people to concentrate completely on what is important; finding Madeleine.
Thank you.

CM : If you could just say which news organisation you're from. David, from Sky News

David Crabtree: David Crabtree, from Sky News. How much do you think this has damaged your campaign and is there anything you can tell us which suggests it has actually been damaged?

GMC : I think there's a lot of people in Portugal who believe that there is evidence, errm... and further afield, that Madeleine is dead and if people believe that they won't search for her; and they may have information; and they may not come forward with that information; and we know for a fact that people have been told that... that Madeleine is dead; and there is no evidence to support that; and that is unforgivable.

DC : Has it slowed down the number of leads coming in, do you think?

GMC : I believe so; Dave Edgar believes so; and if people believe that Madeleine's dead then why would they come forward with information?

DC : It's taken a long time to get this book banned. Errm... Has it been a long struggle? A difficult struggle?

GMC : Errm... It's probably worth just expanding on that a little bit. We didn't want to take action; as usual. It was a last resort. It took us a long time to get the files translated so we knew exactly what was in them and by the time we'd... we had done that completely we were in to January

 and we... we did take advice and, to be honest, we were advised to, errr... issue proceedings at that point.

But we didn't want to enter into an adversarial process. We want to work with the Portuguese and we will continue to work with the Portuguese authorities to try and find Madeleine. But when we launched, errm... the documentary with the fresh appeals and we had, errr... repeated statements from Mr Amaral; and his own documentary; and the DVD; and the book, then, you know, we had to take action because, at that point, we felt that it was completely damaging the search.

We had hoped that everyone would have had the opportunity to see what was in the file and to see the Portuguese judiciary's verdict of what is in the file and they are very clear; there is no evidence that Madeleine is dead.

DC : Are you, errm... pursuing, errr... damages... compensation?

GMC : Yes, absolutely. Errm... this has been incredibly damaging; that action has been, errr... submitted earlier this year, errr... and we will pusue that, errr... people have profitted from the book.

CM : Lady at the front.

Helen Astle: Helen Astle, East Midlands Today. Errm... How is the investigation into Madeleine's diappearance going? What new information have you had since the second anniversary?

GMC : It's ongoing and, errr... you know, tonight is not about the investigation. There is information coming in but we will come public with information and Dave Edgar will be the person who will come forward if he thinks that putting information in the public domain will help the search. Thank you.

Rod Chaytor: the Mirror. Errm... If I read the injunction, or the translation of the injunction, correctly, errm... books have to be taken into the care of your solicitors after... after being taken from the shelves. Are you pulping them?

GMC : Pardon

RC : Are you pulping them? Are you destroying them?

GMC :  Errr... We haven't considered that. The first thing is, errr... to have any books for sale removed and they've to be deposited and I know there is a penalty if that's not, errm... if that doesn't happen. So, that's a matt... a matter for, errr.... our solicitor in Portugal.

RC : And have you been told if Mr Amaral has, under the Portuguese judicial system, any recourse, any appeal... (inaudible)

GMC :  Errr... I... I'm not a legal expert, obviously but I've been told that they have 30 days to appeal.

Sally ???: ITN. Todays banning for any future sales, Europewide. Can anything be done for the sales that have already taken place in Portugal? 'Cause it's been on sale for over a year, this book.

GMC : That's right, well, the... the action that we.. we have launched, errm... and the damages, is really to redress that, errr... so that the injunction is about further publication, errr... and damage to the ongoing search, errr... the other action is about the damage that's caused to ourselves, our children and Madeleine, obviously.

Sally ???: And what do you plan to do with the damages and compensation outside of the fund to help find Madeliene?

GMC :  I mean, first of all, we... we have not been awarded damages, as yet. Errr... I guarantee that if we are awarded damages they'll certainly be used, errm... to continue the search for Madeleine and we'll certainly look at other worthy causes, errr... within that.

Sally ???: Have you any idea why Mr Amaral wrote this book in the first place?

GMC : You'd have to ask Mr Amaral. But the question I'd be asking is: 'Why would someone continue to purport a thesis that a missing child is dead when there is no evidence' and I hope that's a question people are asking, and what motivates someone? Thank you.

CM : Anymore?

RC : Can I just ask. 200,000 people across Europe are said to have bought the book. What would you tell them to do with it? (pause) People who've got the book.

GMC :  I think, errm... if they really want to know what the evidence is then there's a lot of information in the public domain rather than a skewed, errr... version of events, errm... the file has been made public, errm... I think the judiciary's summary of what has been done is very clear and, as parents, the search goes on and what I would ask is if anybody has information which may be relevant to come forward, please.

CM : At the back.

???: Hi Gerry. I'm (inaudible) from (inaudible). Do you think that Mr Amaral's, errr... book is, in a way, to kind of try and... it's a kind of build up of tension between the Portuguese authorities and the British authorities and trying to deflect... deflect attention from the real search and the real nitty-gritty of getting to trying to find Madeleine? I mean...

GMC : You know, you'll have to ask Mr Amaral. The key thing is the... the injunction... the verdict of the judge today and, for us, the important thing is that the search goes on.

CM : Well. ladies and gentlemen, that's it, if there's no more questions. Thank you very much for coming, as I say. Thank you.

Gerry McCann: Thank you. Thanks, Clarence.

ITN

GMC : We didn't want to take action - as usual. It was a last resort.

It took us a long time to get the files translated so we knew exactly what was in them and by the time we'd... we had done that completely we were into January and we... we did take advice and, to be honest, we were advised to, errr... issue proceedings at that point.

But we didn't want to enter into an adversarial process. We want to work with the Portuguese and we will continue to work with the Portuguese authorities to try and find Madeleine.

But when we launched, errm... the documentary with the fresh appeals and we had, errr... repeated statements from Mr Amaral; and his own documentary; and the DVD; and the book, then, you know, we had to take action because, at that point, we felt that it was completely damaging the search.

We had hoped that everyone would have had the opportunity to see what was in the file and to see the Portuguese judiciary's verdict of what is in the file and they are very clear; there is no evidence that Madeleine is dead.

Gonçalo Amaral - They won't shut us up, that's for sure

Telejornal – 09.09.2009

Traduit par Joana Morais

Sandra Felgueiras (voice over): The judge's decision on a request for an injunction of secret character that had been filed by the McCanns arrived this morning. Starting at the moment when Gonçalo Amaral's editor is notified, the sale of any books and videos that are still in stores will be forbidden. The editor has not been informed about this decision yet, but from what can be read, it is impeded from performing any new editions, and Gonçalo Amaral is strictly forbidden from making any comments that correspond with the parts of the book that defend the thesis that Madeleine died.
Gonçalo Amaral: What makes this worse is that they are trying to shut us up, but they won't shut us up, that is for sure, and the book will be published in English, even more so because the conclusions that are in the book are in the process.

SF (voice over): What is certain is that if Gonçalo Amaral and the editor do not obey the order, the court can condemn them to pay a fine of 1000 euro per day.

GA: It's a very dangerous decision. It's a decision that places the freedom of expression at stake. Let's see what the political parties will say. They will certainly have to say something.

SF (voice over): In Rothley, Kate and Gerry McCann rejoiced over the decision, even more so because it paves the way for a satisfactory outcome in the other civil action that they have filed in June against the former inspector, who was removed from the case and later abandoned the Polícia Judiciária. Over alleged moral damages, they demand compensation in the amount of one million and two thousand euro.

GA: What they want is to make money in order to pay for their house in Rothley, which is what they have been doing.

SF (voice over): Gerry and Kate have not heard Gonçalo Amaral yet, but from England they assert that the most serious part is that the former inspector's book damaged the search for Madeleine.

Influenced by this piece of news or not, the truth is that 'The Truth about the Lie' sold out in many Lisbon bookshops, this afternoon. This is almost a unique copy of a non-fiction book that became the most sold book during the entire year of 2008. 175,000 copies have been sold, and that is not counting with the editions that were translated for Spain, France, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany. The adaptation of this book into a television documentary was watched by 2,209,000 people and became the single most watched television programme in Portugal, apart from football matches.

But is it the truth or a lie? This thesis from Gonçalo Amaral about the Madeleine McCann case has never been proved, and now, until an order to the contrary, it will have to be silenced.