Missing British toddler Madeleine McCann's parents are planning to sue the Portuguese police for £ one million for failure to find their daughter.
LONDON: Missing British toddler Madeleine McCann's parents are planning to sue the Portuguese police for one million pounds for failure to find their daughter.
Madeleine disappeared from her parents' holiday apartment in Portugal over six months back.
"It's something the couple's legal team might consider in the future," the 'Daily Mail' reported here today, quoting McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell as saying.
One of the Portuguese lawyers acting for the McCanns, Rogerio Alves, said, "What has to be done will be done in due time."
A second member of their legal team, Carlos Pinto de Abreu said such a move was 'technically possible' but would be difficult in practice.
It would rely on the McCanns being able to prove that Portuguese police had failed to act on information which could have led them to Madeleine.
One of the witnesses who claims to have seen the four-year-old in Morocco has told how police refused to investigate her sighting, saying, "It can't have been Madeleine because we believe she's dead."
Other witnesses have complained that Portuguese police never returned their calls or investigated their sightings.
Pinto de Abreu said, "You would have to prove that it was intentional. It is very, very difficult, almost impossible to do. Only if you had information that someone had said they knew where the child was and the police had taken no action. It wouldn't be easy but it would be possible."
Asked if it was something he would consider on behalf of the McCanns, he said, "I cannot think about it."
However, the lawyer said it would not be possible for the couple to sue the Portuguese state for defamation over the decision to make them suspects in their daughter's disappearance.
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