MADELEINE McCann’s parents vowed they would have “fought tooth and nail” if they had ever been prosecuted for leaving their missing daughter and her twin brother and sister alone, a close pal has revealed.

Kate and Gerry were “very concerned” that they could have been charged with child neglect, the friend claimed.

Maddie’s parents say they will fight tooth and nail if ever prosecuted for child neglectCredit: PA:Press Association
It emerged after TV personality Katie Hopkins branded it an “injustice” that the couple escaped punishment for leaving three children alone during a family holiday.

The friend responded by saying: “They were well aware they could have been charged with child neglect and naturally very concerned.

“But in legal terms they were doing everything well within the bounds of respectable parenting.”

The source insists: “Any legal action against them would have failed.

“A court would have to show Kate and Gerry had wilfully neglected their daughter and her siblings, and they did not.

“They would have robustly defended any charges, if brought.”

Maddie vanished while on holiday with her family in Portugal’s AlgarveCredit: PA:Press Association
The McCanns left their three children, all under the age of four, asleep in a holiday apartment in Portugal while they were dining nearby with pals.

The couple could have faced jail under Portuguese law if they had ever faced a charge of abandonment and been convicted.

A court would have to show Kate and Gerry had wilfully neglected their daughter and her siblings, and they did not.

a source said
Mum-of-three Katie, in a global YouTube interview with glamour model Jodie Marsh, claims they should never have escaped justice.

She also claimed Kate was insensitive for ever washing her snatched daughter’s favourite cuddly toy, Cuddle Cat.

Three-year-old Maddie vanished from the un-locked doored flat in The Algarve’s Praia da Luz in May 2007.

Columnist Katie Hopkins says Maddie’s parents should never have escaped justice over leaving their kids aloneCredit: Getty Images

Kate and Gerry are bracing themselves for painful milestone since Maddie’s disappearanceCredit: EPA FILE
Her parents chose not to pay for a baby sitting service while they ate and drank in a tapas bar with chums, dubbed the Tapas Seven.

Ex GP Kate, 49, and heart doctor Gerry, 48, of Rothley, Leics, were never prosecuted for abandoning their kids out of “compassion”, a former Portuguese law chief revealed last year.

Former minister of internal affairs Rui Pereira slammed the decision not to charge the McCann’s with “the crime of abandonment.”

Little Maddie would now be 13 years oldCredit: PA:Press Association
He revealed in a TV interview how top officials, out of “compassion” for the parents, ruled out charges citing Brits’ “peculiar cultural customs, thinking it is natural for them to leave children alone.”

Last week the McCanns faced fresh misery when a Portuguese crime expert spouted further outrageous claims over their daughter’s disappearance.

In a shocking TV outburst Francisco Moita Flores said: “Maddie died in that apartment, I have no doubt.”

In May it will be 10 years since Maddie mysteriously vanishedCredit: REAL MADRID TV FILE
Maddie’s parents are bracing themselves for the painful milestone 10th anniversary of her disappearance in less than seven weeks.

They cling onto a glimmer of hope that their daughter, who would now be aged 13, could still be alive.

Kate and Gerry will not be fuelling any of this pure speculation with any comment whatsoever.

Clarence MitchellMcCann spokesman

McCann spokesman Clarence Mitchell today declined to discuss the latest rant, having previously said: “Kate and Gerry will not be fuelling any of this pure speculation with any comment whatsoever.”