The McCanns partially won their libel action against the author and former lead detective Gonçalo Amaral, but the matter is far from over.

Amaral intends to appeal. In his first comment on the verdict he said today: “I find that the court’s decision is unfair and questions my right and every Portuguese citizen's right to freedom of expression and of opinion. For that reason, I do not resign myself to the decision and I will appeal it until the very last judicial instance.”

The former Judicial Police inspector from Portimão who wrote a book in which he suggested that Madeleine McCann’s parents could be involved in her disappearance has been order to pay half a million euros to the couple.

The amount is for emotional and psychological damages to the McCann family caused by the publication of Gonçalo Amaral's book ‘The Truth of the Lie’ and may mark the end of five years of legal wrangling.

London's Metropolitan Police management has been urged to shelve the inquiry into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, according to Police Federation chairman John Tully who told British tabloid the Daily Star today, “It is time to re-focus on what we need to do to keep London safe.”

The Operation Grange team of 31 officers working exclusively on the Madeleine McCann case could be better used in fighting the war on terror on Britain’s home turf rather than continuing to spend money on the McCann inquiry which has cost an estimated £10 million to date, reckons Tully.

The verdict in Kate and Gerry McCann’s civil action against the former lead detective Gonçalo Amaral may come sooner than expected because of a recent behind-the-scenes development in the long-drawn-out case.

The question of whether or not Kate and Gerry McCann are legally entitled to represent their daughter Madeleine in their claim for damages has taken a significant step closer to being resolved, according to a source close to the process.

Kate and Gerry McCann seemed to suffer a setback on Wednesday in suing former detective Gonçalo Amaral over his controversial book about the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine.

In Lisbon’s Palace of Justice, Judge Maria Emília Melo e Castro handed lawyers in the civil action a written statement evaluating as proven or not a list of 37 points on which she intends to base her verdict. Neither the McCanns nor Amaral were present.

An Algarve-based British expat has been questioned in Faro by Portuguese and British police about his movements on the evening when Madeleine McCann disappeared from an apartament in Praia da Luz in 2007.

The British man is alleged to have been working near the holiday apartment rented by Kate and Gerry McCann and had given a statement to police at the time of the original investigation.

A 76-year-old British national in Gozo, Malta has been identified by local police and will be extradited to the UK to serve time in prison for the sexual assault of a girl aged under 13.

Roderick Macdonald consented to be extradited yesterday morning after his arrest, according to the Times of Malta.

A woman found dead in a British hotel room is believed to be that of Brenda Leyland who had been accused by a TV reporter of online trolling of the McCann family.

The discovery was made on Saturday.