In light of the shocking revelations that Kate McCann, mother of missing child Madeline McCann had been named as a suspect in the case, Madeline’s aunt yesterday spoke to Phillip Schofield and Ruth on yesterdays This Morning show on ITV1.

Ruth: “Only a week or so ago, you were in here talking to us and so much has happened in such a short space of time. I know that you’ve spoken to Kate this morning, 11 hours she was at the station answering questions, how is she this morning?”

Philomena: “She’s completely outraged, just like the rest of the family. It’s inconceivable what’s happening to them out there. There they are, they’re victims of this horrendous crime and now they’re trying to sully their name in this disgusting manner with this smear campaign. It’s just unbelievable.”

Ruth: “I know that during the news reports we’ve been seeing in the last couple of days it has been stressed that they are being questioned as witnesses not suspects. Is that still the case Philomena?”

Philomena: “Not that I am aware of, no. As far as I know they’ve changed their status and they are suspects. And I do know that some of the things that Kate has been asked are just incomprehensible. It’s just the most shocking news ever.”

Phillip: “We’re confused because we’ve been waiting all week, in fact for longer then that, for this piece of forensic evidence which was supposed to throw the case wide open and certainly shed some light on the areas we haven’t understood in the past. This is not what we were expecting, certainly not what you were expecting. Has there been anything mentioned to you about this forensic evidence we were supposed to be hearing about?”

Philomena: “Yes, there has been things mentioned, it’s about body fluids being on the family’s clothes. I’m not sure exactly, I don’t know in-depth details. Some of it seems to me more then a little ludicrous. Of course there would be Madeline’s fluids on their clothes, they pick her up. She’s a little girl who get’s hugged and lifted. How does that change their status? As far as I can see all they’re trying to do is fit Kate and Gerry up now because they haven’t found this perpetrator, who’s wandering about completely free to act as he pleases and possibly do that again. But at this time Kate and Gerry’s names are just being totally sullied.”

Phillip: “Does this mean that they are now formal suspects? Am I correct in saying they have moved up to this ‘arguido’ status?”

Philomena: “Yes that’s true”

Phillip: “Does that offer them any other protection that they didn’t have before?”

Philomena: “The only protection it offers is that they’re allowed to take legal representation in with then when they’re being questioned by the police and the other thing that it does is that allows them not to answer questions in case they incriminate themselves. But that’s not what Kate and Gerry want to do. The police are trying to suggest that Kate has in some way accidentally killed Madeline. How ludicrous is that when one of their friends actually saw Madeline being carried up the street but some unknown assailant?”

Ruth: “How much was Kate actually allowed to tell you? What kind of things did they ask her that’s made her now feel that they think she is a suspect in this?”

Philomena: “They were saying ‘Tell us what you did with her?” Kate’s like ‘You must be insane to think we’d put ourselves through this’. It’s just nonsense.”

Phillip: “The relationship between your family and the police, up until now, has appeared to be very good. They’re been frustration and certainly a discussion that mistakes have been made but that aside you do seem to have had a good relationship with the police.”

Philomena: “My brother’s telling me, do not antagonise these people. The enquiry is in their hands, we have to work with these people, they are our best hope. You have to be very political with what you say about them buy hey the gloves are off, these people are imbeciles.”

Ruth: “Is it right that Gerry is being questioned separately today?”

Philomena: “He’s going in at 2pm today. But he’s not the main suspect, for some unknown reason there’s something about a sniffer dog sniffing Kate. Suddenly a dog can talk and says she smelled a death. How can that be when a British sniffer dog came out months after Madeline’s case. They’re doctors, if there’s a smell of death on them could that possibly be a patient?”

Philomena: “You can imagine how low they feel about they with this, and yet there’s this adrenaline pumping through them because at the end of the day all the time they’re treating Kate and Gerry as suspects, the perpetrator is out there laughing that they’ve got away with this.”

Ruth: “How much do you think these recent developments will affect your campaign now?”

Philomena: “I think with out a doubt they’ll be a large number of people who think mud sticks. Whatever they say this has been covered by every news channel. It’s all those adages, ‘there’s no smoke without fire’. Well it depends where that smoke’s coming from and I think that smoke is just a smokescreen.”

Phillip: “Philomena, we’ll leave it there for the moment, all of us with our mouths wide open with shock and maybe we could speak to you again on Monday after the weekend and you could give us another update.”

Philomena: “Can I just tell the whole audience out there. This is a complete fabrication. Gerry and Kate have got nothing to with the disappearance of their daughter. It has been them pushing this investigation from day one. It is just not true.”