Updated

A judge has banned the sale of a book by a former investigating police officer in the Madeleine McCann case, a spokesman for the missing girl's parents said.

Clarence Mitchell said Kate and Gerry McCann were "absolutely delighted."

A judge at Lisbon's main Civil Court banned any further publication and sale of "The Truth of The Lie" by Goncalo Amaral.

The book claims that the little girl is dead.

Mitchell said the book had hampered the search for missing Madeleineand added to her parents' distress.

Amaral worked on the investigation into three-year-old Madeleine's disappearance from an apartment in Praia da Luz in May 2007 during a family holiday.

He was removed from the investigation after criticizing British police.

The injunction, granted today after a hearing last week, means he has to ensure that all unsold copies of the book are removed from shops and warehouses across Europe.

If he fails to do so he faces a fine of $1,400 a day.

"Kate and Gerry McCann are absolutely delighted that the judge in Portugal has done the right thing by granting this injunction," Mitchell said.

He said Amaral's claims that he believed Madeleine was dead were "threatening the search."

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