Express papers say sorry to McCanns

Four newspapers owned by press baron Richard Desmond and his Express newspapers group have been forced to apologise to Kate and Gerry McCann after publishing more than 100 articles on the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine, some of which suggested the couple were involved in her death. The Express group has also agreed to pay out what it calls a "very substantial sum" to the Find Madeleine fund after a behind-the-scenes libel challenge by Madeleine's parents. The McCann's spokesman Clarence Mitchell confirmed today that the figure was £550,000.

Today's Daily Express and Daily Star carry unprecedented front page apologies to the McCanns. Under the headline 'Kate and Gerry McCann: Sorry', the Express said it had apologised because "a number of articles in the newspaper have suggested that the couple caused the death of their missing daughter Madeleine and then covered it up", before acknowledging "there is no evidence whatsoever to support this theory".

Desmond's papers have also removed all references to Madeleine's disappearance from their websites after the McCanns challenged what their spokesman Clarence Mitchell described as "wildly and grossly defamatory articles" since their four-year-old daughter went missing on May 4 last year in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz. According to media commentators, articles about the McCann case have featured on the Express group’s front pages more than any other in the past year - including that of Princess Diana, the papers' traditional news mainstay.

Meanwhile the McCanns have accused former Portuguese police chief Paulo Cristovao of making "hurtful and distressing" claims in his fictional account of Madeleine's disappearance. The Star Of Madeleine suggests that the little girl's body was dumped at sea.