British business tycoon Richard Branson has pledged financial support of 100,000 pounds to create a fund for helping the parents of missing Madeleine McCann clear their names, a leading daily reported.
Gerry and Kate McCanns have been named as formal suspects by Portuguese police probing the disappearance of the British toddler in May. Even the British police are planning to re-interview the couple.
The Virgin boss will give 1,00,000 pounds so that the fund can cover both legal and public relations expenses, The Sunday Times quoted a source close to Branson as saying. “The money would mean that members of the McCann family could drop their plans to sell their houses to pay the legal costs.”
“Sir Richard wants to ensure the McCanns get access to the best legal advice. He has a good instinct on these things.
It will help to ensure that they get a fair hearing and that all of the facts become available.
“A number of other individuals will be involved. The fund’s size is potentially unlimited. It will initially look to raise about one million pound, but it will be as much as it takes to make the McCanns’ case,” the unnamed source said.
John McCann, Gerry’s brother, said that they would welcome a court hearing.
“Gerry and Kate feel it would be better for them to be charged so they could prove their innocence. In court it would be there for all to see how ridiculous the charges and the evidence are. Unfortunately their reputations have been tarnished…,” he said.
It may be mentioned that according to a ‘YouGov’ poll for newspaper, only 20 per cent of respondents believe that the McCanns are completely innocent while 48 per cent said they could have been responsible for their daughter’s death, even if it’s an accident. However, 32 per cent were unsure.