THE parents of missing Madeleine McCann said yesterday they were "delighted" with a court's ruling that a former detective must pay hundreds of thousands of pounds to the family following a libel case in a Portuguese court.
Gerry and Kate McCann stressed that the action had never been about money but rather about the effect of what was said on their other children and the search for their daughter.
Goncalo Amaral had been on trial over claims he made in a book and a documentary that the couple were involved in Madeleine's disappearance in Praia da Luz on the Algarve in 2007.
In a written verdict, a Lisbon court agreed that Mr Amaral should pay Mr and Mrs McCann €250,000 (£179,000) each in damages and it banned further sales of his book The Truth Of The Lie.
Madeleine was three when she went missing from her family's holiday apartment on May 3 2007 as her parents dined at a nearby tapas restaurant with friends.
Mr Amaral, who led the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, released the book three days after the case was closed in 2008.
He later took part in a TV documentary in which he claimed that Madeleine was dead, there had been no abduction and the McCanns had hidden her body.
The McCanns said in a statement issued by their family spokesman, Clarence Mitchell: "We are delighted with the judge's verdict yesterday. We want to emphasise the action was never about money. It was entirely focused on the effect of the libels on our other children and the damage that was done to the search for Madeleine.
"A lot has changed in the six years since we launched the action and we are pleased that there is still an active investigation in both Portugal and the UK. We would like to remind people that there is still an innocent little girl who is missing and that those responsible for her abduction remain at large."
Giving evidence at Lisbon's Palace of Justice last year, the couple spoke of their "devastation, desperation, anxiety and pain" over the claims.
They said the book and documentary had hindered support from the Portuguese people as they looked for their daughter.
Mrs McCann told the court that her young son Sean had asked about Mr Amaral's allegations after hearing about them on the radio while travelling on the school bus.
Answering questions from judge Maria Emilia Castro, Mrs McCann admitted once saying that she would like to be in a coma to stop the pain.
She also told the court that when she read Mr Amaral's claims she was "quite desperate because of the injustice I felt towards my daughter and our family as a whole''.
Speaking to the media outside court, Mr McCann spoke of his fear that Madeleine's kidnapper may "strike again'' and claimed that whoever was responsible will have been "laughing'' at Mr Amaral's claims.
British officers spent eight days searching three areas of land in Praia da Luz last June, close to where Madeleine disappeared, but found no new evidence.
* LIBEL: Left, Kate and Gerry McCann have been awarded damages for claims made in a book by Goncalo Amaral, above right, about their daughter Madeline, above left PICTURES: PA