Maddie parents tell Spanish TV drug claims ‘rubbish’

24 October 2007

MADRID – (AFP) – The parents of British girl Madeleine McCann who disappeared in Portugal rejected Wednesday as “outrageous” allegations they gave their children sedatives, in their first interview since being named as suspects in the case.

“These sort of questions and the publication of them are nonsense and shouldn’t be given the time of day,” Madeleine’s father Gerry McCann told Spanish television station Antena 3 in a joint interview with his wife Kate.

“There is absolutely no suggestion that Madeleine and the children were drugged and it is outrageous,” he added after being asked about the reports.

Madeleine vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in southern Portugal, while her parents dined nearby with friends, on May 3, just before she turned four.

Her parents returned to England in September after being named as official suspects in the case by Portuguese police. They have not been charged.

Since they were named as suspects Portuguese media have published various theories regarding what may have happened to Madeleine, including the possibility that she died from an accidental overdose of sedatives.

According to the McCann family, Portuguese police suspect her mother may have accidentally killed Madeleine, who was sharing a room with her two siblings, and then panicked and disposed of her body.

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Subject: Spanish news