The British man questioned in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal last year has won a large libel award from 11 newspapers who claimed he was involved in her disappearance.
Robert Murat was questioned by Portuguese police and his villa was searched soon after Madeleine went missing from her bedroom in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz on May 3rd last year.
He was later given arguidostatus, making him a formal suspect, although he denied any involvement.
Mr Murat had often spoken to reporters in the days just after the disappearance of Madeleine, saying she looked like his daughter in England. His mother's house was about 150 metres from the resort apartment where the McCann family was staying.
He took legal action in April this year against 11 newspapers - The Sun, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star, London Evening Standard, Metro, Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, News of the Worldand the Scotsman.
It is reported that the newspapers have agreed to pay Murat between £250,000 and £550,000 and to issue a written apology for their coverage.
The news comes after Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, won £550,000 in damages from the Daily Expressand Daily Starin March over stories that suggested they might have killed their daughter.
The papers issued front page apologies for the "baseless" reports and agreed to pay the money, which was donated to the fund set up to find the missing girl.
Despite a worldwide hunt and reported sightings of Madeleine, no confirmed trace of her has ever been found.
Earlier this month, Portuguese police sent their final report on the case to prosecutors, with local media reporting that detectives had ended their investigation.
The McCanns and Murat still remain official suspects, although police have not found any evidence to bring charges.
Reuters