The father of Madeleine McCann has hotly denied that he and his wife plan to approve a movie about his daughter's disappearance, contradicting remarks made yesterday by the couple's spokesman.

Gerry McCann used his online blog to play down speculation that he and Kate may approve a film about their story, in order to help fund their ongoing search.

Instead, he insisted that any project which resulted from recent talks with a major entertainment firm, would take the form of a documentary about what the couple have faced since the alleged abduction in May last year.

In his latest entry on the official Find Madeleine website, he wrote: “We can categorically deny that we are considering a movie about Madeleine’s disappearance.

“This is simply untrue. We are approached by a huge number of media outlets regarding a myriad of projects, only a tiny proportion of which we agree to.

“Each proposal is considered on whether it is likely to have a positive effect, either directly or indirectly, on the search for Madeleine."

He said that speculation about a lucrative movie deal was the worst since the pair were declared 'arguidos' in the case.

But his denial contradicts remarks made yesterday by the couple’s spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, who confirmed that he and another McCann representative held a meeting with the IMG agency in London last month, and said that a film would be considered - although only if the McCanns believed it would help raise awareness of the case or if it could help fund the search for the missing four-year-old.

The spokesman would not speculate on whether Gerry and Kate would play themselves in any movie or whether their roles would be played by celebrity actors. Mr Mitchell said: “While it may be hugely entertaining and a bit of fun to think of cast lists, we are a million miles away from that sort of thing."

The possibility of a film or television project was expected to be discussed further when directors of the Madeleine Fund meet later this week, he said.

Mr McCann now says that a film is not an option. “As stated by Clarence, there was a preliminary discussion between a production agency and a representative of Kate and I to discuss the possibility of a documentary about the issues we have faced since Madeleine was abducted.

“Clearly Europe is a long way behind the USA in terms of its response when a child goes missing.”

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