Maddie suspect wins libel case
2008-07-15 16:01
London - A Briton living in Portugal who was made a formal suspect over the disappearance of toddler Madeleine McCann is to be awarded six-figure libel damages from British media, it was reported on Tuesday.
Robert Murat will receive around £550 000 in a settlement to be heard at London's High Court on Thursday which will also include an apology, the BBC reported.
In April, lawyers said Murat had launched libel actions against 11 newspapers and one television network which had made allegations against him.
Murat lives close to the holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, southern Portugal from where Madeleine, then aged three, vanished last year while on holiday with parents Kate and Gerry McCann and her twin siblings.
He was named a formal suspect or arguido by Portuguese police probing the disappearance but insisted he was innocent.
Kate and Gerry McCann were also named formal suspects in the case and also protest their innocence.
In March two British newspapers published front page apologies to the couple, and paid "very substantial" damages after they complained about coverage which implied they could be responsible for her disappearance.
- SAPA