Gone south
Ruth Langsford defends Kate McCann in Loose Women discussion about missing Maddie
RUTH Langsford has defended Kate McCann against claims she 'shows no emotion' about the disappearance of her daughter Madeline.
On today's Loose Women, the panel discussed the McCann's legal battle to silence Portuguese cop Goncalo Amaral's book in which he claims that the couple covered up their daughter's death.
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Ruth said: "You could never give up hope could you?
"Unless you're presented with evidence that was conclusive to say sorry but your your daughter had died, you have to believe she is alive."
Janet Street-Porter then compared the case to Azaria Chamberlain, the baby snatched by a dingo in 1980.
She explained that the tot's mum Lindy had been to jail for killing her, although she was completely innocent.
Janet said: "Michael and Lindy Chamberlain were camping by Ayres Rock and a dingo took their baby and has never been found.
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"Because Lindy had a rather forbidding presence and she didn't smile alot and she looked quite stern, the public judged her as being a murderer and she went to jail until she was released."
Ruth then compared her to Kate, citing people who often comment on the doctor's lack of emotion.
She said: "People say, 'she seems quite cold and she doesn't cry'... people expect you to be weeping."
Speaking about Maddie's disappearance - which happened ten years ago in May - the panel agreed that they, like the rest of the UK had been totally fascinated by the case.
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Lisa Riley revealed that she was so obsessed with the case that she travelled to the resort in Portugal where she was last seen and worked out how far the family's holiday apartment was from the restaurant they dined in the fateful night that she went missing.
She admitted: "I didn't want to judge her, so I got the book and I read it and I have to admit, chapter by chapter I kept changing my opinion of her.
"When I was in the Algarve I did actually go and I went to the holiday complex where they were.
"I kind of wanted to judge where the restaurant was myself and the actual distance to the apartment.
"I haven't got kids... would I have done it? No I wouldn't.
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"It's a long way, it is a long way. I personally couldn't have done that.
"My problem is the amount of children that are going missing day by day in England - one every three minutes.
"Millions has been ploughed in to this one case - can we spread the money? Can we see some other cases?"
Ruth agreed: "It is staggering."
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Supreme Court judges met in Lisbon on Tuesday to resolve the couple’s fight against a lower court’s decision in April last year to reverse their 2015 libel win against the former detective – with the ruling handed down on the eve of their younger twin children’s 12th birthdays.
Although the hearing took place in private – and an official public decision is not set to be sent to lawyers acting for the litigants until later in the week – it emerged late in the afternoon that the case had gone against Gerry and Kate McCann.
It’s a blow to the couple who have committed thousands of pounds in the search for Maddie, and who hoped to force the former detective to pay more than £1million in compensation.
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