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[This edited version of the report has been prepared by Dr Robert N Moles]

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Settlement of defamation action: this is the report of the settlement of the defamation action concerning the McCann family in respect of publications which have cast aspersions upon their inegrity

On 25 September the Daily Mail reported “McCanns could be prosecuted over hiring private investigators say Portuguese police”.

Portuguese police have reacted furiously after learning Gerry and Kate McCann have hired a team of private investigators to help find missing Madeleine. Police trade union chief Carlos Anjos said such a move could be illegal and described it as "another diversion manoeuvre by the McCanns". The McCanns are reported to have contracted Control Risks Group, which employs ex-SAS and MI5 staff.  

The McCanns have been critised by police chief Carlos Anjos described the move as 'another diversion manoeuvre by the McCanns'. Under Portuguese law the couple are not allowed to undertake their own investigations while the police probe is ongoing. CRG is instead said to be focusing on other countries including Spain and Morocco, where the couple believe four-year-old Madeleine may have been taken after being kidnapped on May 3. However, the news sparked an immediate reaction from officers in Portugal, where the McCanns have been named as "arguidos" or formal suspects in their daughter's disappearance.

Mr Anjos, president of the Judicial Police Inspectors Union ASFIC, added: "It's another strategy by the McCanns, who today say one thing and tomorrow something completely different. "Portugal does not have legislation in this area. Private detectives cannot intervene in criminal cases." A senior magistrate said the couple could be prosecuted for obstructing justice over the move. Daily newspaper 24 Horas covered the story under the headline "Maddie's parents risk being accused of obstructing justice". Mr Anjos told the paper: "The law only allows private detectives to collect information, and only on questions of people's private lives, such as extramarital relations."

Antonio Martins, head of Portugal's union of investigating magistrates, told the paper any private investigation in the country would have no legal basis. He said: "As far as I know, it is still the job of the state to carry out criminal investigations. "This type of activity has no legal basis." Mr Martins said the McCanns and the detectives could be accused of "obstructing justice" if they were carrying out a parallel investigation in the country.

Another newspaper, Correio da Manha, also voiced police criticism of the move, under the headline "PJ (Judicial Police) against the McCanns' private detectives". The paper said the Judicial Police are furious at the development and will not allow private detectives to investigate the case. A police source told the paper: "If they come they run a serious risk of being arrested." Diario de Noticias claimed the couple had kept the news secret because they had already been told by the police it would be illegal in Portugal.

Meanwhile investigators have reportedly been concentrating on the friends who were holidaying with Gerry and Kate McCann in Praia da Luz when Madeleine went missing. Two South Yorkshire specialist police dogs have been to the residences of the seven friends, Jornal de Noticias reported. Eddie, who specialises in detecting the scent of dead bodies, and Keela, who is able to trace microscopic samples of blood, are said by the paper to have reacted when sniffing some of the friends' clothes. Last month the two springer spaniels were flown to Portugal to assist the investigation. All the clothes are reportedly being analysed by a forensic laboratory in Birmingham. The paper also said the state prosecutor is writing this week to the seven friends to ask them to return to the Algarve, hoping to break a supposed "pact of silence" between them.

Source: 25 September Daily Mail “McCanns could be prosecuted over hiring private investigators say Portuguese police”.

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