Kate and Gerry McCann today pleaded for Europe-wide backing for a cross-border
missing child alert system.
Gerry and Kate McCann at the European Parliament
The parents of Madeleine, missing for nearly a year after disappearing from a holiday resort in Portugal, urged Euro-MPs to put their names to a declaration demanding swift agreement on a US-style “amber alert” system to track abducted youngsters across the continent if necessary.
Mrs McCann told a meeting at the European Parliament in Brussels: “We employ you to support our declaration. Please do not wait for another child and family to suffer as we have”.
Mr McCann said: “This is a very simple child alert system with almost no cost implications — who would not support such a system?”
But the couple heard from MEPs today that efforts two years ago to introduce the same missing child plan failed to get sufficient support to succeed.
Today hopes were high that their high-profile loss of Madeleine will help galvanise full backing in the European Parliament and from EU governments.