EXCLUSIVE
By Tracey Kandohla
30th March 2017, 6:38 pm Updated: 30th March 2017, 7:30 pm
MADELEINE McCann’s parents are facing further torment as the ex-cop behind shocking claims they covered up their daughter’s death prepares to publish a SECOND book days before the 10th anniversary of her disappearance.
But Kate and Gerry McCann said retired detective Goncalo Amaral’s “poisonous lies” will never be published in the UK because “no publisher will dare to touch it”.
Ex-cop Goncalo Amaral is planning to publish a second book about Maddie’s disappearance after his
first one sparked a massive legal battle with her parents
The retired cop is penning the final pages of his second book on Maddie and wants it to be released by the end of April for “maximum impact” just days ahead of the painful 10th anniversary of her disappearance.
And the McCanns expect Amaral – who they say has hampered the global hunt for Maddie with false and malicious accusations while insisting she is dead – will continue being hurtful and controversial in book two.
A family source told The Sun Online: “Madeleine’s parents know that no publisher will dare to touch it in this country under our defamation laws or they would face legal action. Publishers have legal responsibilities.
A pal of Kate and Gerry McCann warned Amaral their lawyers would get involved if he makes any further slurs against them,
after previously alleging they covered up Maddie’s death
“Let’s see what he says this time! He has written another book to coincide with the anniversary.
“If he repeats any allegations that he has made before Kate and Gerry’s lawyers will be looking at it.
“They have said before that their lawyers are watching.
“If Mr Amaral’s attempts to get his current book or his new one about Madeleine is published in the UK lawyers will take immediate action.”
Amaral, who claims to have developed a passion for “writing books and relaxing”, said previously: “I have written another book, examining the timeline and what people have said.”
The book, based on public extracts from Portuguese police files, is expected to give new information about the world’s biggest ever missing child mystery.
The retired detective previously said he didn’t want to be in the “spotlight” and just wanted to defend his reputation
after he was kicked off the Maddie case back in 2007
His first offering The Truth of the Lie – written a year after Maddie vanished from a holiday apartment in the Algarve’s Praia da Luz in May 2007 and a best-seller in Portugal – became the subject of a bitter libel feud.
The book, which netted Amaral a reported £350,000 with a combined TV documentary, was never published in Britain and for a time was banned in Portugal during the long running civil legal battle.
He claimed the three-year-old girl died accidentally in the flat and her parents covered up the death and hid her body.
Kate and Gerry from Rothey, Leics, vehemently denied his claims, insisting Maddie was kidnapped while left alone with her younger twin siblings as they dined nearby with pals.
A source close to Amaral said: “His second book is being published and is going to come out at the end of April for maximum impact. He thinks it will be a big hit.
“Mr Amaral knows that the world is fascinated with the Maddie story and her parents.”
Yesterday we revealed a shocking petition had been launched calling for the McCanns to take a lie detector test, sparking widespread fury and disgust.
The former police boss, who was thrown off the initial bungled Maddie inquiry, won his libel action against the McCanns on appeal.
Portuguese Supreme Court judges ruled he had the right to “freedom of expression” and that Maddie’s parents were not “formally in the clear” over their missing daughter.
Amaral, 57, said: “Winning the appeal case gives me no joy or happiness. It is just part of the legal process.
“I wanted to defend my reputation, and the integrity of the officers who worked with me, in the courts but now I just want a quiet peaceful life.”
He said he was driven to write his books to answer criticism against him in the British press, insisting he didnt' want to be "in the spotlight".
Scotland Yard are investigating one “last throw of the dice” lead in a bid to find out what happened to Maddie, and believe she was kidnapped by a European trafficking gang or snatched in burglary gone wrong.
The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: “They will not be discussing Mr Amaral’s book or books in any way, shape or form.”
The Sun
