McCanns defend their high-profile campaign

LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have defended their high profile campaign to find their missing daughter who was snatched from a holiday villa in Portugal over a month ago.

The couple, in Berlin to ask German holidaymakers for help, responded to a reporter who suggested that they had not been acting as people would expect, and even might themselves be involved.

''To be honest I don't think that is the case, I think that's a very small minority of people that are criticising us,'' Kate McCann told a news conference.

''We are very responsible parents and we love our children so much.'' Gerry McCann said it was the first time he had heard anyone suggest they might be suspects.

''There's absolutely no way Kate and I are involved in this abduction,'' he said.

''I can understand why people are amazed at what Kate and I are doing. I'm sure everyone in this room has asked yourself how, when your daughter that we love so much has been taken, can you continue to function?'' He said for the first two or three days they had been ''almost non-functional'' but had thrown themselves into the campaign because they had been advised it would help get Madeleine back and help them deal with the situation.

In the latest attempt to raise awareness of their plight, the McCanns appealed to German tourists who were in the area on the Algarve before Madeleine was snatched to upload their holiday snaps to police via the Internet.

''The difficulty that Kate and I have is that there is no degree of certainty that Madeleine is still in Portugal,'' Gerry McCann said.

''Therefore we have to appeal to as wide an audience as is possible. She may be in any country.'' The McCanns have already been to Spain to publicise Madeleine's disappearance and will move onto Amsterdam after their visit to Berlin.

REUTERS KN ND1800