Madeleine Parents Will 'Not be Bullied' into Leaving Portugal on 100th Day

The parents of missing British four-year-old Madeleine McCann said on Friday they would not be "bullied" into leaving the Portuguese holiday resort where she disappeared.

In a series of television interviews, Gerry and Kate McCann responded to critics and intense media scrutiny in the Algarve region of southern Portugal.

They also unveiled a new initiative to help trace missing children to mark the 100th day since their daughter's disappearance.

Madeleine, from Rothley, Leicestershire, disappeared on May 3 during a holiday with her parents at the Mark Warner Ocean Club holiday resort of Praia da Luz.

Britain's Daily Express newspaper reported that the lawyer acting for the only suspect in the case, Briton Robert Murat, said locals wanted "these bloody McCanns" to return to Britain.

Kate McCann said media attention was "very intrusive", but that they were "not going to be bullied into going home".

"We're going through that much pain with not having Madeleine with us that anything that's written or said is just a minor hurdle in comparison," she told Sky News.

"We still strongly want to do what we believe is the right thing to, what's the right thing for Madeleine, what's the right thing for us and that is to stay."

While the British media has remained supportive of the family, other journalists and some members of the public have been more critical.

They have questioned why the couple had left their children alone, and suggested that their behaviour since has not been what people would expect.

News that traces of blood had been found in the apartment has prompted Portuguese media to report that police suspected Madeleine might have been murdered there.

Kate McCann said negative press reports were "really unhelpful", but added that "(for) anything negative that's written, we've had thousands (of messages of support) to counteract that".

"I've had so many letters of support from families from other mothers any they've said: 'Kate, we've done that. We do that. Who'd have ever thought that something as horrible (as this) would happen?"

On Saturday, the McCanns will mark the 100th day since Madeleine disappeared with the launch of "Don't You Forget about Me", a channel on video-sharing website YouTube.

It will feature videos of missing children around the world to raise public awareness about their disappearance.

"I think it's a fantastic idea," said Gerry McCann of the site, which will be managed and policed by the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in Washington DC.

"It's something tangible that could benefit other people and give renewed interest to other missing kids and (is) a medium that younger people use," said Gerry.

"Tens of millions of people use YouTube. There are over 229 videos of Madeleine on it already, so it's incredible."

The couple refuted a suggestion that the move showed their hopes of finding Madeleine were fading and they were trying to move the focus on to wider issues.

"From quite early on, we've wanted to know a bit more about the scale of the problem (of child abduction) -- it's massive, actually," said Kate.

"Knowing that, it's very hard to turn a blind eye to it."