By: CECÍLIA PIRES
THE HIGH Court in London was due to confirm on Thursday, July 17, a settlement agreement between Robert Murat and the lawyers of 11 British newspapers and a TV station. The claim includes public apologies from the media and pecuniary compensations that may exceed 700,000 euros.
According to reports from the British media, the claim includes the Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star, Daily Mail, London Evening Standard, Metro, Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, News of the World, Sun and Scotsman and Sky News.
Robert Murat was represented by the London based lawyers firm Simons Muirhead & Burton, who started the proceedings for the claim at the beginning of the year. Francisco Pagarete, the Portuguese lawyer for Robert Murat told The Resident that the result of this media case was what had been expected by the legal team, but could not add details as he was not involved.
Mr Pagarete also confirmed that his client is still waiting for a final decision from the Portuguese Public Prosecutor about the Madeleine McCann investigation. “We have not been contacted by the authorities since late April,” he said.
Robert Murat, who became the first arguido, or person of interest, in the investigation of the Madeleine McCann case, has always claimed to have had no involvement whatsoever in the British toddler’s disappearance on the night of May 3 2007 from Praia da Luz. Also arguidos in the case are Kate and Gerry McCann, the parents of Madeleine.
In the meantime, at the European Parliament, Vice-President Gerard Onesta announced in Thursday’s session, July 10, that the written declaration for the introduction of an EU wide Amber alert system has received the required number of signatures and was adopted.
Parents of missing Madeleine McCann have been strongly lobbying on this written declaration in the last year and reacted positively to the news through their blog at www.findmadeleine.com, saying: “this is a small step in the right direction and a lot of work will be needed to get National Amber alert systems implemented”.
The declaration received the support from 417 MEP’s out of a total of 786 and will formally appear in the record of texts adopted by the EU Parliament at the next session, scheduled for September.
If you have any information on the whereabouts of Madeleine McCann, please contact the McCann helpline on 0034 902 300 213 or the Portuguese Police on 00351 282 405 400.
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