Sharon Osbourne slammed after branding the parents of missing Madeleine McCann 'insane' for leaving daughter alone

  • Sharon Osbourne criticised parents who would leave young children alone 
  • She made a reference to Kate and Gerry McCann and called them 'insane'
  • Friend of McCann's said Sharon's remarks were 'ignorant' and 'ill-informed'

Sharon Osbourne has caused a stir after she suggested the parents of Madeleine McCann were 'insane' for leaving their daughter alone on the night she went missing.

The 63-year-old made the comments on her US chat show The Talk while discussing a thread on Mumsnet, which asked whether it was ever okay to leave a 10-month-old baby home alone.

In reference to Kate and Gerry McCann, the former X Factor judge criticised parents who would even consider doing this on the CBS show on Friday.

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Sharon Osbourne caused a stir when she suggested the parents of Madeleine McCann were 'insane' for leaving their daughter alone

Sharon Osbourne caused a stir when she suggested the parents of Madeleine McCann were 'insane' for leaving their daughter alone

A family friend said Kate and Gerry have never forgiven themselves after their daughter was snatched

A family friend said Kate and Gerry have never forgiven themselves after their daughter was snatched

She said: 'I will tell you a very quick story. There was a husband and wife on holiday in Portugal.

'They left their baby in the room sleeping, sleeping while they went to dinner in the restaurant.

'While they were in the resort their baby was taken. And it is like, 'Oh but we can see everything that is going on' and it is, like, insane.'

A friend of the McCann family spoke to The Mirror after the show was broadcast and claimed Sharon's remarks were 'ignorant' and 'ill-informed'.

The friend added that she should have considered the effect on Madeleine's brother and sister and kept her opinion to herself.

Maddie was taken a few days before her fourth birthday and has never been found.

She disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, a resort in the Algarve region of Portugal, on the evening of May 3, 2007.

Her parents were eating dinner with friends at a nearby restaurant. The couples had been taking it in turns to go back to the apartment and check on the children.

Maddie was taken a few days before her fourth birthday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, and has never been found

Maddie was taken a few days before her fourth birthday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, and has never been found

In reference to Kate and Gerry McCann, the former X Factor judge criticised parents who would even consider leaving their children unattended

In reference to Kate and Gerry McCann, the former X Factor judge criticised parents who would even consider leaving their children unattended

The friend told the paper that Kate and Gerry, of Rothley, Leicester, have never forgiven themselves after their daughter was snatched that night.

Adding that the remarks should not have been aired in the random way that they were.

Speaking on the show, Sharon claimed that 50 per cent of mothers who responded to the post agreed that they would never leave their 10-month-old unattended at home.

She said: 'This is insane. It is like so many things happen in just a second. If you leave a candle on and the curtain blows on it and it caught on fire.

'And I think of all these scenarios in my head and there is no way in a million years that you would ever do that.' 

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