Former Madeleine McCann police chief ‘earned hundreds of thousands from writing distortions and conspiracy theories’ in book about case
Ex officer 'earned £344k' from book and TV show about the Madeleine case
Goncalo Amaral, 56, wrote 'lies' about the case, a Lisbon court heard
McCanns are suing Mr Amaral for £1m over his book The Truth Of The Lie
By TOM WORDEN FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 17:25, 10 December 2014 | UPDATED: 18:23, 10 December 2014
The ex-police officer who bungled the Madeleine McCann investigation made a fortune by spinning a web of lies about the case, a court heard today.
Goncalo Amaral, 56, earned at least £344,000 from his book and TV documentary about Madeleine's disappearance, it was said.
Amaral wrote 'distortions', 'fallacies', 'supposition' and 'a web of conspiracy theories' about the investigation, a libel trial in Lisbon was told.
Ricardo Correia Afonso, representing Kate and Gerry McCann, told the court: 'What he published distorted the facts, and as a result the parents were judged and sentenced by public opinion.
'His book is written like a novel and that's exactly what it is. The book and the DVD were produced to convince whoever saw or read them that the parents are guilty.'
Mr Correia Afonso said the ex-detective made £270,000 from sales of his book in Portugal and £18,000 from sales abroad.
He earned £26,000 from the broadcasting of the documentary, watched by 2.2m viewers in April 2009, and another £28,000 from sales of a DVD.
The book is still on sale in some Portuguese bookshops despite being out of print, he said.
And Mr Amaral has continued to publicly repeat the central claims in the book - that Madeleine died in the family's rented holiday apartment in the Algarve in May 2007 and that her parents covered up her death.
The former head of the Madeleine investigation gave an interview in June this year in which he 'had no problem stating that the parents of the child are the only guilty parties', the lawyer said.
Mr Amaral even told a Portuguese newspaper a theory that Madeleine had been buried in a coffin alongside a dead women in a church in the resort of Praia da Luz, the court was told.
Mr Amaral's discredited theories on Madeleine's disappearance have been widely repeated in newspapers in Portugal and around the world including Brazil and Spain, he said.
The McCanns are suing Mr Amaral for £1m over his book The Truth Of The Lie and the accompanying documentary.
He was thrown off the investigation in 2007 after criticising British police officers involved in the search for Madeleine.
In July the McCanns, both 46-year-old doctors from Rothley, Leicsestershire, told the court at the Palace of Justice in Lisbon that they had been 'devastated and crushed' by the book about their daughter, who was days short of her fourth birthday when she disappeared.
But Miguel Cruz Rodrigues, for Mr Amaral, said the McCanns were suing 'to rid themselves of guilt for their negligent conduct and their conduct in relation to the investigation.
He added: 'There was a lack of cooperation with the police authorities.
'That lack of cooperation led to the archiving of the investigation.'
Responding to claims the book had caused the McCanns insomnia, lack of appetite and depression, he said: 'The crux of this case is these were not caused by Goncalo Amaral's book, but rather they were caused by the fact the McCanns will feel guilty all their lives for not looking after their children.'
Fatima de Oliveira Esteves, representing publisher Guerra e Paz, admitted that Mr Amaral 'appeared to have invented' much of the book.
But she added: 'The fact is those children were left alone and because of that fact one of them disappeared.
'Anxiety and depression were caused by the disappearance of the child, not because of the book.'
And Miguel Coroadinha, representing TVI, which broadcast the documentary, said the McCanns 'want us to hear only a single version of the facts, which is their version'.
He added: 'Freedom of expression and thought is one of our fundamental rights.'
Judge Maria de Melo e Castro said the court will convene on January 21 to discuss which facts have been proved. She is expected to defer judgment until February.
