KATE
and Gerry McCann are willing to take a lie detector test to clear their names,
it was revealed last night.
Thousands of Sun readers wanted to know why they had not taken a polygraph test
over missing daughter Madeleine, four.
The McCanns, of Rothley, Leics, have now broken their silence on the question —
two weeks after being named as suspects by Portuguese cops.
A source close to the family, whose daughter went missing in Praia da Luz on May
3, said yesterday: “If they were asked to take a lie detector test by police,
they would.
“They have said all along that they want to co-operate fully with the Portuguese
police but, as of today, they have received no such request from the Portuguese
authorities. Kate and Gerry are happy to do anything that will help clear their
names.”
However, Portuguese police have never used lie detectors in a criminal case —
and neither do British cops. The polygraphs are also inadmissible as evidence in
most European courts.
Lie-detector machines are a combination of medical devices that are used to
monitor changes in the body.
As a person is questioned, the examiner checks how the person’s blood pressure,
heartbeat and breathing patterns change, as well as how much their fingers are
sweating compared with the normal rates.
In the UK, councils use the machines to catch out benefit cheats and a special
version can help insurance firms spot fake claims on the telephone. |
