'Hurtful' Madeleine book banned

Portuguese police are no longer actively investigating the case

A controversial book claiming Madeleine McCann is dead has been banned by a Portuguese judge, a spokesman for the missing girl's parents has said.

The Truth Of The Lie by ex-Portuguese policeman Goncalo Amaral had hampered the search and added to Kate and Gerry McCann's distress, the judge said.

Mr McCann told a press conference that the claims were "unforgivable".

Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, was three when she vanished from an Algarve holiday flat on 3 May 2007.

The judge at Lisbon's main civil court outlawed any further sales or publications of the book.

'Beckham lookalike'

At a news conference in Leicestershire, Mr McCann said: "There's a lot of people in Portugal, who might have evidence, that believe Madeleine is dead.

"If people believe that they won't search for her and they won't come forward with information.

"I know for a fact people have been told Madeleine is dead. There is no evidence to support that and that is unforgivable."

Clarence Mitchell, the spokesman for Mr and Mrs McCann, said the couple were "absolutely delighted that the judge in Portugal has done the right thing by granting this injunction".

Mr Amaral has said he does not believe the McCanns' account that Madeleine was taken while they ate with friends in a nearby restaurant.

The injunction means Mr Amaral has to ensure all unsold copies of his book are removed from shops and warehouses or face a 1,000 euro-a-day (£877) fine.

It bans him from repeating any of his claims about the McCann family and applies to a TV programme he produced earlier this year.

In May the McCanns said they were suing Mr Amaral for defamation over the "hurtful" book's "unfounded and grossly defamatory claims".

But Mr Amaral, who led the inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance but was removed from the case in October 2007, told Portuguese TV he would counter sue.

Mr Amaral had led the regional Policia Judiciaria (PJ) in Portimao until he was taken off the case after criticising British police.

Last month detectives hired by Madeleine's parents said they wanted to trace a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian accent.

She is being sought because of comments she reportedly made to a British man who met her in Barcelona 72 hours after Madeleine went missing from Praia da Luz.