ABOVE: Kate and Gerry face their fourth Christmas without Madeleine

KATE and Gerry McCann have sent a public message to their daughter’s kidnappers begging them to “treat her with love and respect”.

As the couple face their fourth Christmas without Madeleine, they say: “We hope with all our hearts that wherever she is, she is safe and well.”

They also hope “whoever may be with her is treating her with the love and respect she so deserves”.

The McCanns also appealed for people around the world to “remember to spare a thought and a prayer for all the children who will not be with their families this Christmas”.

Maddie, who would now be seven, disappeared from a holiday apartment in Portugal’s Praia da Luz in May 2007 while her parents were dining with friends in a nearby tapas bar.

Kate, 42, also told how the family’s ordeal had been made worse by WikiLeaks claims last week that British police had “developed evidence” against them as they were investigated by Portuguese authorities.

Kate said: “The WikiLeaks ‘news’ has led to the repetition of many unfounded allegations and smears in the UK and in Portugal.

“This has been seized on as an opportunity by those who wish to compound our suffering and hamper our efforts to find her.”