Kate McCann has revealed she was offered an offensive and outrageous deal by Portuguese police if she admitted to killing her daughter Madeleine McCann.
Just months into the investigation of the disappearance of 3-year-old Maddie McCann, police turned their attention to her parents Kate and Gerry.
In an astonishing and "highly offensive" offer, cops told Kate she would serve "around two years in jail" if she "confessed" to causing Maddie's death and hiding the body.
![In an astonishing and 'highly offensive' offer, cops told Kate she would serve 'around two years in jail' if she 'confessed' to causing Maddie's death, saying Gerry would 'walk free'. Photo / Getty](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/RXFTVDAN4D2UF2PGFFN2DWSYDI.jpg?auth=e2df5c19088208a95a05313ca2042f2cd71b1fa9e7659ccbe4a3ea5bb362cf93&width=16&height=9&quality=70&smart=true)
Adding further insult, one lawyer then told Kate if she "took the blame", her husband Gerry would "walk free" and encouraged her to take the deal over potential murder charges.
Kate revealed in her book she was told if she didn't accept the deal, she and Gerry could end up with life sentences if they were charged and convicted.
A furious Kate told lawyers she wouldn't admit to telling a "lie", insisting she and Gerry are innocent.
![Maddie went missing on the evening of May 3, 2007, from an apartment complex in Praia da Luz, Portugal, where she was sleeping with her two siblings. Photo / Getty](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/J2M7BW76A5ZQK4VWSOIK732C7I.jpg?auth=4da3a1a9c3d23511e2e8e608ef516cd6f4d259542d5f86d030ec1239323dc456&width=16&height=10&quality=70&smart=true)
The same lawyer, later on, told Kate not to answer any questions Portuguese police put to her during an extensive and gruelling interrogation session.
The confession offer left Kate "heartbroken" and she told The Sun: "It was the first time it really came home to me that my worse fears were true - no one was looking for Madeleine, except us."
The notorious missing child case is the subject of a new eight-part documentary on Netflix titled The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Maddie went missing on the evening of May 3, 2007, from an apartment complex in Praia da Luz, Portugal, where she was sleeping with her two siblings.
The McCanns have denied any involvement in the disappearance of their daughter.