Madeleine's parents subjected to 'spiteful' internet hate campaign

The parents of   Madeleine McCann have become the subject of a hate campaign on the internet.

Their local newspaper, the  Leicester Mercury, has had to ban all comments on stories about the missing four-year-old after it was bombarded with "spiteful and defamatory" messages about her parents Gerry and Kate.

The paper's Internet site has received hundreds of postings, many of which call for the couple to be prosecuted over the abduction of Madeleine.

Mr and Mrs McCann have faced criticism over their decision to leave their daughter asleep in her room at their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while they dined at a nearby tapas bar.

Mr McCann, a hospital consultant, described the critical remarks as hurtful and unhelpful.

Leicester Mercury editor Nick Carter said: "A tiny minority of people seem to want to say nasty, spiteful and defamatory things about the McCann family.

"They are bombarding our site, and we had no choice but to block comment entirely on reports about the family.'

Mr McCann, who is visiting the U.S. to study the work of child protection agencies there, was forced to defend the couple's decision to leave Madeleine and their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie in the apartment.