I’VE written supportively about Kate and Gerry McCann over the past decade and each time been criticised for it.

I still feel the same, however, about the couple whose four year-old daughter Maddie went missing on holiday in Portugal and wish with all my heart there was a happy ending to their story.

They’re still convinced she is alive, buy presents for her birthdays and continue to try to find her.

Whatever happened to her, I still don’t believe they were involved and, apart from the lapse of leaving their children alone for a time, are not guilty of anything.