The father of missing British girl Madeleine McCann left a Lisbon court on Wednesday (October 2) without testifying in the libel case against former police chief Goncalo Amaral.

Gerry McCann was in Portugal last week when he submitted a request to be heard as a witness in the proceedings against Amaral, but the deadline for the judge decision is still running.

Madeleine McCann vanished in Portugal six years ago, when she was three years old. Former police chief Goncalo Amaral claimed the girl's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, covered up the death of their daughter.

Kate and Gerry McCann launched a one-million pound libel action against Amaral who led the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance and declared both of them suspects in the case.

As part of the same case, the McCanns are also suing Amaral's publisher, the producer of a documentary based on his book, and the broadcaster that screened it.

Amaral's book was published in 2007 and claimed Madeleine died accidentally because of her parents' negligence.

Madeleine McCann went missing from her room at the Praia da Luz holiday resort in the Algarve in May 2007 while her parents were dinning with friends at a nearby restaurant, leading to a global search that gripped the world's media.

Presented by Adam Justice