Madeleine's parents to sue Portuguese paper

LONDON (Reuters) - The parents of missing Madeleine McCann said on Friday they will sue a Portuguese newspaper that claimed they had killed their daughter.

Gerry and Kate McCann said they had instructed their lawyers to begin legal action against Tal & Qual for the "deeply hurtful" story.

"The paper claimed we killed our lovely daughter Madeleine," the couple, from Leicestershire, said in a statement. "This is without evidence or truth.

"We have tried to ignore some of the more ludicrous speculation, but we simply could not ignore T&Q's report.

"Our daughter Madeleine was snatched from her bed. She is still missing. The police have said time and time again we are not suspects. These are the facts."

The newspaper had no immediate comment.

The four-year-old girl went missing from a holiday apartment in the resort of Praia da Luz, southern Portugal, on May 3.

Several possible sightings across Europe have come to nothing and police in Portugal say she may be dead.

Newspapers in Britain and Portugal have followed every twist of the case, often reporting developments attributed to unnamed police sources.