What are Kate and Gerry McCann doing to clear their name?
Until charged with a crime, the couple have no right to know what evidence has been collected against them. Mrs McCann was told in an interview that traces of Madeleine’s blood had been found in a car the family hired 25 days after she disappeared. The couple have now placed the Renault Scenic in a safe place and hope it will undergo independent forensic checks.

When will the independent forensic checks be done?
The couple can only ask an expert approved by a Portuguese court to carry out the checks once they have been charged. Friends of the family have said that Mr and Mrs McCann fear that police have accidentally or deliberately placed incriminating evidence in the car.

Why don’t the McCanns hire private investigators to clear their name?
It is illegal in Portugal for anyone except the police or court-approved expert to carry out an investigation into a crime. A fund was created to collect donations to pay for the search for Madeleine, but police told the parents it would be illegal to pay for private detectives while their investigation was still active.

Will the fund be used to pay for lawyers for Mr and Mrs McCann?
A leading lawyer told the not-for-profit company which runs the fund that it could pay the McCanns’ legal costs, but the trustees decided that it might breach the spirit in which some donations were made. Mr and Mrs McCann had not asked the fund for money to cover their legal costs.

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BACKGROUND

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• Madeleine McCann: the global reaction

• The forgotten victim in the McCann case

Multimedia

• Pictures: searching for Madeleine

• Video: McCann family start holiday

Related Links

• Social workers check on McCann children

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Can people donate money to help to fund lawyers for the McCanns?
There have been discussions about creating a separate fund to raise donations for legal costs. However, at least one of the wealthy supporters of the original campaign said that he would not make a donation.

If the parents killed Madeleine, where is her body?
A sniffer dog trained to find corpses is reported to have traced a scent from the apartment where Madeleine had been sleeping, past the church where Mr and Mrs McCann worshipped and to a beach. It is also reported to have responded to Mrs McCann’s clothing and to the car.

Who is speaking out to defend Mr and Mrs McCann?
Justine McGuiness, who was employed as a spokeswoman, stands down on Saturday. Possible replacements include Phil Hall, a former Editor of the News of the World, who is now a PR consultant.

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