THE McCanns fear their daughter Madeleine's kidnapper may "strike again" and believe they will have been laughing at claims they hid the body.

Glasgow-born Gerry McCann and his wife Kate spoke out after delivering personal statements at Lisbon's Palace of Justice in the libel case brought by them against Goncalo Amaral over claims he made in a book about their role in the disappearance of their daughter in Praia da Luz in the Algarve in 2007.

Mr McCann said whoever was involved must have been laughing at what Mr Amaral claimed - that there was no abduction and no predator.

He said: "There's an unsolved serious crime and there's a series of other crimes against children who have been on holiday so at the very least these people need to be brought to justice. We don't know if Madeleine is alive but there is no evidence that she is dead and she is missing and she is completely innocent."

The couple earlier told the court there was no doubt Mr Amaral's claims had done "severe damage" to their struggle to find Madeleine.

Mrs McCann told the judge her young son Sean had asked her about the allegations she was involved in Madeleine's disappearance after hearing it reported on the radio on his school bus.

The libel case continues.