THE parents of missing Madeleine McCann have said they are disappointed after it emerged last night they cannot give evidence at the libel trial of a former Portugese police officer.

Glasgow-born Gerry McCann and his wife Kate had asked the court in Lisbon for permission to testify at the on-going trial resulting from Goncalo Amaral's book, entitled The Truth of the Lie, about the case.

A source last night revealed said they had been refused permission ahead of the next hearing on Tuesday.

It is understood the McCanns' lawyer Isabel Duarte is likely to appeal against the judge's decision. Mr Amaral has also lost a bid to give evidence personally.

The McCanns launched a legal action against Mr Amaral, his publisher and documentary makers behind a film based on the book.

It is alleged the The Truth Of The Lie damaged the hunt for Madeleine and exacerbated their anguish.

Last year, Mr McCann's sister Trish Cameron told the court that the family's pain over Madeleine's disappearance was "multiplied 100 times" by the book, while the trial previously heard how Mrs McCann had considered suicide in the aftermath its publication in 2008.

Kate McCann and her husband had flown to the trial several times in the hope of being able to give evidence.

Madeleine, who was then nearly four, disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3 2007 as her parents dined at a nearby restaurant.

Despite an international hunt, there have been no sign of the youngster from Leicestershire.