Kate and Gerry
McCann
are refusing to tell their two-year-old twins
Sean and Amelie
that Madeleine might be dead,
the couple have revealed.
"When Madeleine first went missing we told them that she was on a little trip,"
said
Mr McCann.
"Now we tell them that she is not here at the moment."
|
Kate and Gerry McCann, outside their home
yesterday, have hired the experts to carry out independent DNA tests |
However, Mr McCann denied that he is trying to hide the
truth from his children, saying: "We talk about
Madeleine
to the twins all the time. It's not a hidden subject. We answer the twins'
questions.
"They are also surrounded by all of her toys and belongings and all the pictures
of her.
"There are no attempts to shield them from Madeleine and the memory of her."
The McCanns say they continue to cling to the hope that Madeleine is still
alive.
Although they say they have considered the possibility that she may be dead, the
couple have repeatedly declared that they will be unable to rest until they find
out what happened to Madeleine.
Yesterday Mrs McCann revealed that despite the turmoil they are going through,
the couple have had some brief uplifting moments since they returned to their
home village of Rothley, Leicestershire.
"I found it very uplifting to go to
church
in Rothley," she said. "It was nice to
see everybody from the local community.
"They were very supportive and that meant a lot for both of us.
"For both of us it was lovely to see Sean and Amelie back in their own
environment playing on the slides in the garden and messing around in the toy
room.
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Uplifting: Kate McCann, pictured with Amelie, says it is 'lovely' to
see the twins playing on the slides in the garden at home in Rothley |
We are very pleased with the support we have got from our
immediate neighbours."
She also revealed she was touched to get the support of the Portuguese woman
whom the McCanns have employed to email them a digest of the country's
newspapers every day.
"We were very touched by the fact that she's conveyed to us that she thinks we
are innocent of any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance, and that everybody
that she has spoken to in
Praia da Luz
feels the same.
"We have brief uplifting moments, but then something happens, like a bad report,
and that's it.
"The only thing that will make us truly happy is that we find Madeleine or what
has happened to her."
Astonishingly,
Mrs McCann
also revealed that despite the couple's ordeal in Portugal, the
couple are considering returning to the country on holiday.
"There are a number of reasons why we may go back. We have friends over there we
may wish to visit, as well as the continuing liaison with our advisers.
"We may go back to discuss matters with our advisers, but there is nothing
planned at the moment.
"But we don't see any circumstances in which we will never go back."
She added: "There are lots of reasons, both spiritual, emotional and social, for
us to return to Portugal. We will be going back of our own volition as and when
we wish to."
In the weeks after Madeleine first went missing, the couple travelled all over
Europe and also to America and Morocco to raise the case's profile.
However, yesterday Mrs McCann made it clear that the couple are not considering
another European publicity tour.
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Missing: Madeleine disappeared from the
family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3 |
|