mirror.co.ukMcCann friend slams Portuguese police over leaksBy Mirror.co.uk 24/04/2008
French police dismiss Madeleine sighting
One of the 'Tapas Seven' pals of Kate and Gerry McCann has launched a furious attack on the Portuguese police, accusing detectives of leaking sensitive case information to the media.
Rachael Oldfield was with the McCanns on the night their three-year-old daughter Madeleine disappeared during a family holiday on the Algarve.
She insisted officers were guilty of "double standards" for insisting the group obey strict secrecy laws.
Mrs Oldfield made the claims in her first interview since Madeleine went missing for a BBC Radio 4 documentary.
She told the BBC: "They leaked information and these rumours that have flown around for the past year - it is outrageous. We have all felt very angry about it.
"We were asked to comply with the Portuguese judicial secrecy laws (under) which we were made to understand that we could face two years in prison for speaking out.
"So, as a group, we have not said anything from day one. There have been all these rumours flying around and leaks from sources close to the PJ (Policia Judiciaria), which we haven't been able to refute.
"We would have loved to have spoken out really and just put the record straight, but believed that the investigation would be the best way of finding Madeleine if we co-operated with the police and complied by their rules and regulations."
Defending the McCann’s, Mrs Oldfield said that it had been "agonising" to watch the couple’s reaction when Madeleine went missing from a ground floor apartment in Praia da Luz on 3 May 2007.
She said: "Anyone with an ounce of common sense would be able to see they couldn't have done it."
The documentary, Searching for Madeleine, is broadcast tonight at 8pm on BBC Radio 4.
