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London: The family of Madeleine McCann called yesterday for an end to the rampant speculation surrounding the case and said the focus should return to the search for the missing girl.
Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said any suggestion Kate and Gerry McCann had harmed their daughter was "as ludicrous as it is nonsensical".
"Indeed, it would be laughable if it wasn't so serious," said Mitchell, standing beside the couple in the driveway of their home in Rothley, central England.
Strong denial
He said there were "entirely innocent explanations for anything the police may have found during their inquiries." Portuguese police have named Kate and Gerry McCann, both doctors, as suspects in their daughter's May 3 disappearance from a resort in the southern Algarve region.
The couple strongly deny any involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine, who was 3 when she went missing. They have led a high-profile international campaign to find her.
Mitchell said he was prevented by Portuguese law from going into detail about the case, but stressed the McCanns would continue to cooperate with Portuguese authorities.
Portuguese media have reported that detectives in the country wanted to interview the McCanns again. But Mitchell said officials had made no request to speak to the couple.
"The focus must now move away from the rampant, unfounded and inaccurate speculation of recent days to return to the child at the very centre of this: Madeleine," he said.
"The task is simply to find her. Kate and Gerry are again urging everyone to keep looking as they firmly believe she could still be alive."
ACCUSATION
Family blasted for calling in PM
A senior police officer investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann launched an astonishing attack yesterday on her parents for jeopardising the inquiry.
He accused Kate and Gerry McCann, both official suspects in the case, of interfering with "constant interruptions and distractions".
The tirade from a senior Portuguese inspector, speaking on condition of anonymity, follows the revelation that Gordon Brown has been approached by McCann to intervene on their behalf in the case.
The McCanns have sent a series of emails to Brown in the last few days, insisting they are innocent and pleading for help.
Their new spokesman Clarence Mitchell quit his job yesterday as a senior Whitehall civil servant to help clear their names and is said to be keeping "lines of communication" open with the Government.
- Evening Standard
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