And High Court
Judge Mrs Justice Hogg urged whoever might be
holding the “innocent little girl” to give her back.
Her GP mum Kate and heart consultant dad Gerry, both
40, had threatened to take Leicestershire Police to
court to gain access to the files.
But the force –
heading the investigation in the UK – caved in
before the hearing.
Detectives
agreed to show the McCanns 81 of 11,000 documents
gathered in the days after Madeleine, then aged
three, vanished from an apartment in Praia da Luz,
Portugal, on May 3 last year.
They include
details of witnesses who saw “suspicious’’ people.
The McCanns,
who are still suspects, will not be allowed to see
evidence relating to themselves or seven Brit
friends they dined with in a tapas bar when
Madeleine disappeared.
At the court in
London, the judge said: “There is, of course, one
person who knows what has happened to Madeleine and
where she may be found.
“I ponder about
that person – whether that person has a heart and
might understand what it must be like for Madeleine
to have been taken and secreted from her parents and
siblings and those she loved and felt secure with.
“I entreat that
person, whoever they may be, to show mercy and
compassion and come forward now and tell us where
Madeleine is to be found.”
Last night the
McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the couple
– who are on holiday and were not at the hearing –
were “very pleased” with the Brit police’s decision.
He added Kate
and Gerry would “draw great strength” from Mrs
Justice Hogg’s supportive comments.’
jerry.lawton@dailystar.co.uk
