Woman who claimed to be Maddie McCann 'fearing for her safety

A POLISH woman who is accused of stalking Madeleine McCann's parents while claiming to be their missing daughter told a court she has concerns for her safety, especially after someone in prison allegedly "slipped something" in her drink days before her trial.

- SOPHIE ROBINSON

Julia Wandelt, 24, told Leicester Crown Court "someone should finally investigate my claims properly, because even if she is acquitted of the charge she said she will still not know her identity.

She also told the court that a friend, whose wife was a victim in the Post Office scandal, offered to pay for her DNA test because she is also a "victim of a miscarriage of justice".

When answering questions from her co-defendant Karen Spragg's barrister, Simon Russell Flint KC, yesterday, Wandelt said: "Even in prison, a few days before my trial, someone slipped something in my drink and the officers didn't want to help. I have been concerned about my safety since I told my story."

The defendant tearfully told the jury she agreed she was "vulnerable", had suffered with depression, been a victim of sexual violence and had been "fooled, duped and conned" by an American woman called Fia Johansson, who offered to help her.