25/07/2008
Ex-Maddie
cop - “She died in apartment”
Gonçalo
Amaral, who was removed as chief investigator into
the case of Madeleine McCann after lashing out at
her parents, has this week launched an explosive
book in which he makes a number of controversial
statements, saying the toddler died in the apartment
on the night she was reported missing. In the book,
which has been read by the The Portugal News after
it was received in Lisbon on Wednesday morning,
almost 36 hours before its publication, Gonçalo
Amaral accuses Kate and Gerry McCann of possibly
having concealed Madeleine’s body after she died
in what he believes was the result of a “tragic
accident”. In a separate development, the chief of
the the National Director of police has this week
vowed to “search to the ends of the Earth” to
find the missing girl.
The
book is entitled, “Maddie – a verdade da mentira”,
or “The Truth of the Lie”, and is promising to
be a best-seller here in Portugal, following the
enormous coverage it has received by the media here
the past few days.
Over 200
pages, the former chief inspector, who resigned in
June to unveil the “facts of the investigation”,
gives his version of the events, especially the
initial stages of the investigation.
These latest
revelations come as a fresh blow to the McCanns, who
learnt on Monday that Portuguese authorities had
closed the investigation and lifted their status as
arguidos or persons of interest.
A statement
handed to The Portugal News by the Attorney
General’s
office on Monday said the investigation had been
closed due to lack of evidence against the McCanns
and Robert Murat.
The missing
girl’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, were made
arguidos, last September as part of a police
investigation into the disappearance in May 2007 of
their then three-year-old daughter from an Algarve
holiday complex.
British-born
Robert Murat, a long-time Algarve resident who lived
close to resort where the McCanns were staying, was
made an arguido two weeks after the young child’s
unexplained disappearance on May 3, 2007.
The Attorney
General’s office added that the McCann case might
be reopened if any “relevant” evidence emerges.
In the
meantime, Amaral (48) says the abduction of
Madeleine McCann was “fabricated” and that her
parents were guilty of negligence for leaving their
three children alone and unattended in their holiday
apartment as they dined at a nearby Tapas
restaurant.
The former
police detective adds at one stage, he and
colleagues were led to believe that Kate McCann was
willing, in an “indirect manner”, to indicate
where the body of Madeleine could be found.
“According
to Kate McCann, details of where Madeleine might be,
was given to her by people with psychic or
paranormal powers. The body could be in a drain that
leads out near the beach at Praia da Luz or on the
eastern side of the beach”, he writes in his book.
Amaral has
justified the writing of the book “from the
necessity I felt to reinstate my good name which was
smeared in public without support of the institution
that I have belonged to for 26 years, the Portuguese
Judiciary Police, or allowing me to defend myself
”.
He explains
that when “I was laid off the case, I realised it
was time to publicly defend myself. I immediately
asked for retirement so I could regain my full
freedom of expression.
“A
criminal investigation should only commit to finding
material truth. It should not be concerned by
political correctness”, he says accusingly, with a
veiled reference to the said interference by
Whitehall in the investigation shortly after
Madeleine went missing.
He
continues: “For me the investigation was killed
off on October 2nd 2007 (…) when the McCann’s
released a photo-fit of the alleged kidnapper.
He continues
later: “I had the feeling that with that statement
[when the former National Director of Police
publicly declared that giving the McCanns
‘arguido’ statuses had been a rushed decision]
he was preparing the public for the inevitable, the
end of the investigation and the shelving of the
case.
“We always
found it odd the way the couple were treated”, he
says, “even after being made official suspects,
and how they eventually had access to police
information”.
“If there
were mistakes in this case, then that is one of
them”; referring to the delay in making the
McCanns official suspects.
“There was
too much politics and too little policing”, admits
Amaral.
He reports
that every day, for the first few days, around
09h00, the children would be handed over to the
on-site crèches, picked up at around 12h30, taken
back at 14h30, and collected at 17h30.
They would
then be taken to the apartment where the couple
would bathe and relax enjoying New Zealand wine
before putting the children to bed at roughly 19h30
– 20h00. They would then all go for dinner.
All the
families put their children to bed at the same time,
he writes.
The book
also says Kate brought Calpol with her to Portugal,
but to use as paracetamol, not as a sedative, and
claims she never gave the children any whilst they
were in Portugal.
During
police investigations in the UK, he alleges a
schedule was found on the fridge on which it was
detailed that Madeleine had bad or inconsistent
sleeping patterns.
The only
medication found in the apartment was a box of
paracetamol.
“When
police arrived on the night Maddie disappeared, the
cots in which the twins slept had no blankets and
Madeleine’s bed was only slightly unmade”, he
claims, adding: “The twins slept soundly
throughout the ordeal despite the mother’s screams
when she found Maddie missing”.
He also
claims that despite claiming the window was open and
the bedroom curtains flying in the wind, Kate left
the twins alone to go back to the restaurant and
raise the alarm.
Gonçalo
Amaral also writes that the only finger-prints found
on the window shutter belonged to Kate McCann.
Concerning
mobile telephone records, Amaral reveals that no
phone calls were made from Kate’s mobile phone
between April 27th and May 4th, nor received between
11h22 and 23h17 on the night Madeleine disappeared.
“There
were no calls registered on Gerry’s phone before
00h05 on May 4th, despite Kate’s phone showing she
received a phone call from her husband on the night
their daughter disappeared, at 23h17.”
In the book,
he concludes that these records had been deleted.
On
discovering that her daughter had disappeared, says
the retired detective, Kate is said to have screamed
“We let her down”.
He also
writes that an Irish family also claim to have seen
a man walking in Praia da Luz carrying a child on
the night Maddie disappeared. After apparently
watching the BBC news at 22h00 on the day that Kate
and Gerry McCann left Portugal and returned to the
UK, one family member is said to have become
convinced the man he saw carrying a child was Gerry
McCann. In his book, Amaral says the “the likeness
became obvious as he watched images of Gerry
disembarking the plane carrying son Sean.”
“For me
and my team, working with me at the time and until
October 2007, the conclusions we reached are: Minor
Madeleine McCann died in apartment 5A of the Ocean
Club, in Vila da Luz, on the night of May 3rd 2007.
There was a fabrication of kidnap. Kate Healy and
Gerry McCann are suspected of being involved in
covering up the disposal of their daughter’s body.
Death could
have been caused by a tragic accident. There are
signs of negligence in the keeping and safety of
their children.”
At the time
of going to press, it was unclear whether or not
Kate and Gerry McCann would be looking to take legal
action against Gonçalo Amaral.
Earlier this
week, Kate McCann said in a statement to the media
that they welcomed the announcement from the
Portuguese Attorney General to lift their status as
arguidos, “although it is no cause for
celebration”.
“It is
hard to describe how utterly despairing it was to be
named arguidos and subsequently portrayed in the
media as suspects in our own daughter’s abduction
- and worse. It has been equally devastating to
witness the detrimental effect this status has had
on the search for Madeleine.
“We look
forward to scrutinising the police files to see what
has actually been done and, more importantly, what
can still be done, as we leave no stone unturned in
the search for Madeleine. We would once again urge
anyone with relevant information to come forward and
call our helpline on +44 845 838 4699 or send
information to investigation@findmadeleine.com
Kate McCann
concludes: “Finally we would like to thank
everyone who has supported us and stayed with us
during this particularly difficult period. We assure
you we will never give up on Madeleine”.
[Source: The
Portugal News]
22/07/2008
Kate
and Gerry McCann cleared over Madeleine disappearance
The parents of Madeleine
McCann said that there was no cause for celebration
after they were cleared by the Portuguese authorities
yesterday, 14 months after the disappearance of their
daughter.
After the investigation was
shelved, Gerry and Kate McCann described their
“utter despair” at being named as suspects. The
Portuguese police announced that they had lifted the arguido
(suspect) status from the couple and were shelving the
investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance from
the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz in May last year.
The arguido status was
also lifted from Robert Murat, the British property
developer living in Portugal who was the first man to
be named as a suspect.
Speaking in Rothley,
Leicestershire, yesterday the McCanns, both 40,
described the devastating impact of being labelled
suspects and the effect this had on the investigation.
Mrs McCann said: “We welcome
the news today but it is in no way cause for
celebration. It is hard to describe how utterly
despairing it was to be named arguidos and
subsequently portrayed in the media as suspects in our
own daughter's abduction. It has been equally
devastating to witness the detrimental effect this
status has had on the search for Madeleine.”
Mr McCann refused to confirm
whether the couple would take legal action against the
Portuguese authorities, saying: “Our priority has
always been to search for Madeleine. Anything else is
secondary and will be considered in due course.”
He added that the family had
no immediate plans to return to Portugal.
Clarence Mitchell, the
McCanns’ spokesman, said the couple’s lawyers
would be making an immediate application for full
access to the police files so they could follow up any
leads.
He said: “There is a degree
of relief but no air of celebration whatsoever. They
should never have been arguidos. This shows
them to be the wronged couple they are.”
Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro,
Portugal’s Attorney-General, told police to halt the
investigation into of Madeleine’s disappearance.
A statement released by his
office confirmed that it had decided to “close the
file on the investigation concerning the disappearance
of the minor Madeleine McCann due to lack of evidence
that any crime was committed by the persons placed
under formal investigation”.
The files have been archived
but they will be reviewed periodically and could be
reopened if new evidence emerges, he said.
Madeleine was nearly four when
she vanished from her family’s holiday apartment on
May 3, 2007, as her parents dined in a nearby
restaurant with friends.
Police named Mr Murat, 34, as
their first suspect but later focused their
investigation on the McCanns. All three have
strenously denied any involvement.
Mr Murat also welcomed the
clearing of his name, adding: “It doesn’t take
away from the fact that there is still a child
missing, which is very sad. It would be better to be
cleared and know exactly what happened, and have a
feeling of finality, but that hasn’t happened.”
According to reports
yesterday, one key error that led to the McCanns being
declared suspects was made by Britain’s own Forensic
Science Service.
The report, apparently from
the Portuguese authorities and which was leaked to the
London Evening Standard newspaper, states that
the Policia Judiciaria, Portugal’s criminal
investigation department, was told that DNA evidence
found in the couple’s hire car, on the window sill
of their holiday apartment and in the car park of the
apartment complex, belonged to Madeleine.
The document claims that it
was given categorically as her DNA and as a result the
McCanns were questioned and later made suspects. But,
one month later, the forensic service wrote another
report saying that it could not be sure that those
findings were correct.
[Source: The
Times]
16/07/08
£550,000
libel win for McCann 'suspect'
Eight British
newspapers are to pay a combined total of £550,000 to
a man they accused of being a prime suspect in the
disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
Lawyers for Robert
Murat, who owns a villa 150 yards from the flat where
Madeleine went missing while on holiday with her
family in Portugal, confirmed yesterday that he had
settled his claim for defamation against at least
eight papers.
The case follows a
similar sized libel payout by Express Newspapers to
Gerry and Kate McCann, who won front-page apologies in
the Daily Express and Daily Star over allegations that
they were involved in their daughter's disappearance.
In May, The Scotsman
published an apology to Mr Murat after its
"seriously defamatory" and
"untrue" coverage likened his behaviour to
that of the Soham murderer Ian Huntley, suggesting
that he was involved in the abduction of the
thee-year-old girl.
Mr Murat, 34, was
questioned by police 11 days after Madeleine went
missing from the Praia da Luz resort on 3 May 2007,
before being made a formal suspect or arguido. Police
searched the villa where he lived with his mother
after the Sunday Mirror journalist Lori Campbell spoke
to the British embassy and the police about Mr Murat.
Last month Mr Murat
said he hoped the return of computers seized from him
by police signalled that they would soon drop his
status as a suspect.
His mother, Jenny
Murat, has always maintained she was with her son at
home on the night of Madeleine's disappearance.
Mr Murat is expected
to return to Britain on Thursday to attend a formal
High Court hearing in which an agreed statement will
be read out by his lawyers.
In their April
statement, his lawyers named The Sun, the Daily
Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star, Daily Mail,
London Evening Standard, Metro, Daily Mirror, Sunday
Mirror, News of the World and The Scotsman.
Early this month,
Portugal's attorney-general confirmed that prosecutors
had received the final police report, but said the
case was still "the subject of careful
assessment".
Local media said
detectives have concluded there was not sufficient
evidence to charge anyone, and that the case should be
closed.
[Source: The
Independent]
08/07/08
Police
disclose possible leads to McCanns
Police in the UK have
agreed to hand over "strong" evidence about
Madeleine McCann's disappearance to her parents,
halting a high court fight for the material.
Leicestershire police
are releasing 81 "potential new leads" to
private investigators working for Kate and Gerry
McCann. As a result the McCanns yesterday dropped
their legal challenge demanding that the force
disclose information.
The evidence relates
to telephone calls made to the McCanns' solicitors
that were forwarded, without taking details, to the
Leicestershire incident room during the early stages
of the inquiry. The chief constable, Matt Baggott, has
now agreed to provide contacts and a summary of the
material.
Clarence Mitchell,
spokesman for the McCanns, told the Guardian:
"The critical thing is that this is early
information and potentially strong information."
Mrs Justice Hogg said
she had not asked for the McCanns' presence at the
hearing because "they have suffered enough".
The couple's counsel,
Tim Scott QC, told the judge yesterday there was no
proof that Madeleine was alive, "but there is not
a scrap of evidence that she is not".
Shortly after
Madeleine disappeared, a judge in the high court
family division granted the McCanns a wide order
requiring anyone on whom it was served to disclose
relevant information to their solicitors. The police
were among those served with the order, and issues
then arose about the public interest in maintaining
confidentiality.
The decision to release the
material, 81 pieces of information out of more than
11,000, is viewed as a compromise.
[Source: The
Guardian]
17/06/08
Madeleine McCann:
evidence against parents to be revealed
The parents of
Madeleine McCann will finally learn what evidence Portuguese
police have against them, the country’s most senior
law officer has revealed.
After months of secrecy, Kate
and Gerry McCann will be given full access to the
confidential case files.
The development is a boost to
the couple, who are desperate to clear their status as
“arguidos” or official suspects the disappearance of
their daughter.
Attorney general Fernando Jose
Pinto Monteiro told the daily newspaper 24 Horas:
“From July the (Madeleine) case will cease to be
covered by judicial secrecy, and will be available to
consultation by all parties involved.
“I do not know which date, but
in July the case ceases to be covered by judicial
secrecy.”
Access to the confidential
police files will allow the McCanns to begin building a defense
if necessary, and to demand that they are cleared.
24 Horas speculated the judicial
secrecy will end on July 14, more than 10 months after
the couple were named suspects.
The McCanns, both 40-year-old
doctors from Rothley, Leics, were made official suspects
last September but have never been arrested or charged
and vigorously deny any wrongdoing.
Their official spokesman
Clarence Mitchell has previously described the endless
delays in the process as “inhumane.”
The McCanns have given a
cautious welcome to the report.
Mr Mitchell said: “Despite the
attorney general’s comment in the Portuguese press,
neither Kate and Gerry, nor their lawyers, have received
and official confirmation that the judicial secrecy is
to be lifted.
“They will be making no
comment until the judicial secrecy is lifted and they
know that to be a fact.
“If this is the case, clearly
this is something to be welcomed.
“Their lawyers would once
again urge the authorities to lift their arguido status
as soon as possible.”
Madeleine disappeared from
family’s rented holiday apartment in the Ocean Club,
in Praia da Luz, on May 3 last year.
Her parents left Madeleine and
twins Sean and Amelie, now two, sleeping while they
dined at a nearby restaurant with seven friends.
The McCanns still face the
possibility of charges of neglecting their daughter, who
was three when she went missing, but the authorities
would have to prove intent.
Currently in Strasbourg for
meeting with MEPs, the couple are hopeful that their
attempt to set up a European wide missing child alert
system could succeed.
They spent today trying to
convince parliamentarians that they should sign a
written declaration which, if it gets enough support,
will be sent to the European President and published.
They have now gathered 225
signatures and need a further 168 by the close of the
plenary session at the end of July to ensure the
declaration is formally recognised.
Although it carries no legal
weight, the McCanns believe it will help them win the
moral argument over whether such a cross-border system
is needed.
Mr McCann said: “This is an
important issue and Europe needs to work together. We
want to get as many signatures as possible but there’s
limited time left.”
[Source: The
Telegraph]
29/04/08
Madeleine McCann's
parents investigated for neglect
The parents of
Madeleine McCann are being investigated for possibly
neglecting their daughter on the night she disappeared
from their Portuguese holiday apartment, it has been
revealed.
The first published
court ruling on the Madeleine case confirms that the
police inquiry covers homicide, abandonment, concealment
of a corpse and abduction.
The reference to “abandonment”
suggests that Portuguese detectives are investigating if
there is evidence that Kate and Gerry McCann were
negligent in leaving their daughter alone on the night
she was reported missing. The charge carries a maximum
10-year jail sentence.
Mr and Mrs McCann, both
doctors from Rothley, Leicestershire, have strenuously
denied negligence and said they were just 50 yards away
at the time their daughter was taken.
The court ruling also
reveals that the public prosecutor wants access to the
content of text, audio and video messages from 10 mobile
telephones believed to belong to Kate and Gerry McCann
and seven of their British friends.
Investigators are
particularly interested in the content of 18 text
messages allegedly sent from an unidentified mobile
number to Mr McCann between May 2 and 4 last year. They
also want details of all calls made between members of
the group between 8pm on May 3 and midday of the
following day.
Madeleine was reported
missing at 10pm on May 3 from her bedroom at the Ocean
Club resort in Praia da Luz. Her parents and their
friends had been dining at a Tapas restaurant while
Madeleine and her twin 18-month-old siblings were
asleep.
The investigation has
been covered by Portugal’s strict laws on judicial
secrecy which meant that even Mr and Mrs McCann, who
were made official suspects last September, have been
unable to access details of the inquiry or any evidence
against them.
However, details of the
investigation have emerged in a court judgment, seen by
The Times, after prosecutor Magalhães e Meneses was
refused access to the content of the group’s telephone
messages.
He had requested a “complete
listings of all telephone traffic to calls made to and
from” numbers between April 28, when the group arrived
in Portugal, and September 9, when the McCanns left the
country. He also sought details of the locations of the
mobile telephones which would allow detectives to
recreat the movement of the group.
The request for access
to the messages was rejected by instructional judge
Pedro Frias at the court in Portimão. He said it would
breach the right to privacy and that Portuguese law did
not allow for the retrospective interception of
telephone calls.
The Évora Supreme
Court of Justice has now rejected the prosecutor’s
appeal and published its reasons, giving the first
glimpse into the investigation.
Judge Fernando Ribeiro
Cardoso rejected the application, saying: “The details
of the content of the messages can only be objected to
interception in real time, with due judicial
authorization.”
Portuguese police had
hoped to stage a reconstruction of the events
surrounding Madeleine’s disappearance tomorrow.
However, they have been forced to abandon the
re-enactment after some of the McCanns friends said they
could not see the value in returning to Portugal to take
part.
Clarence Mitchell,
spokesman for the McCanns, said: “We are pleased to
see that the investigation covers abduction. Kate and
Gerry have had legal advice in both Portugal and Britain
which say that everything they did was within the
boundaries of reasonable behaviour.”
He said that Mr McCann
had no knowledge of the texts referred to on May 3 and 4
and had received only a few calls on his mobile in the
six days the family had been in Portugal prior to
Madeleine disappearance.
[Source: www.timesonline.co.uk]
16/04/08
Madeleine McCann
mystery will be solved, say police.
Portuguese police have
insisted they will solve the mystery of Madeleine
McCann's disappearance.
Faro police chief
Guilhermino Encarnacao, who is in charge of coordinating
the investigation into the missing girl, has brushed off
criticism of his force.
advertisement
He insisted the to
insist the case was moving forward.
Madeleine McCann
investigators have been locked in a war of words with
the four-year-old's parents and their press spokesman
Clarence Mitchell following the leaking of the couple's
police statements.
Last week Mr Mitchell
demanded an inquiry into how the McCanns' witness
statements - given shortly after their daughter vanished
- had been leaked and claimed it was another attempt to
smear the couple.
In a rare public
statement, the Policia Judiciaria (PJ) then criticised
Mr Mitchell for his "baseless intervention".
Dr Encarnacao, speaking
after a meeting between public prosecutors and police
who travelled to Britain for fresh interviews with the
McCanns' holiday friends, said: "Everything's going
well.
"The inquiries
carried out in the UK are progressing in the best way
possible."
He said the police were
not "vulnerable to pressure" from any party
involved.
"The investigation
will bring its results, whoever they hurt."
The pledge came as a
clairvoyant claimed Madeleine McCann died in an
accident.
Last week it emerged
that Robert Murat, the British expatriate made a formal
suspect over the disappearance of Madeleine, has begun
one of the largest libel claims in the history of
British media.
The 34-year-old, who
lived close to the Portugal apartment where the missing
girl was last seen, has launched libel proceedings
against 11 newspapers and one television network.
[Source:
www.telegraph.co.uk]
11/09/08
Madeleine McCann
complained to mother Kate about being left crying alone.
Madeleine
McCann complained to her mother after she was left
crying and alone on the night before she disappeared,
leaked police documents have disclosed.
The
little girl, then aged three, spoke to Kate McCann at
breakfast the following morning and said: "Mummy,
why didn’t you come when we were crying last
night?"
The
question prompted Mrs McCann and her husband Gerry to
discuss keeping a closer on eye on their children.
However, just a few hours after that conversation,
Madeleine vanished from their holiday apartment in the
Algarve.
Friends
said they now believe Madeleine’s comment could even
be a clue that an intruder was in the flat on the night
before her disappearance and that they briefly disturbed
her before fleeing.
The
detailed revelations about Kate and her husband Gerry
McCann’s last day with Madeleine emerged during the
couple’s trip to Brussels on Thursday where they
called for the establishment of a missing child alert
system.
However,
Mr and Mrs McCann were furious that their witness
statements – the subject of Portuguese secrecy laws
– were released on the same day that they tried to
promote child welfare and safety.
Their
spokesman Clarence Mitchell said they were angry and
disappointed at the leaks, saying: "The only reason
this has come out is because of Kate and Gerry’s utter
honesty in their original statements.
"It
is very curious that this is being released now, having
been sitting in the police files for 11 months. The
timing of this is frankly suspicious."
Mr
Mitchell demanded an internal police inquiry in Portugal
into how the leak occurred: "We would be very
interested to know what the Portuguese justice minister
would say about how this has emerged from the police
files on the day that it has, in the way that it has.
"Kate
and Gerry have been nothing but honest and open and they
have been the victims of leaks and smears."
A friend
of the couple went further, describing the leak as a
"blatantly cynical attempt to smear them".
"The
minute that you talk about Madeleine crying is the
minutes that the vultures will move in and this is why
this has been leaked."
He said
the McCanns were conducting half hourly checks on
Madeleine, so they were surprised to learn that she had
been crying.
"It
wasn’t really a complaint or a scolding from
Madeleine, it was a comment in the morning."
Mr and
Mrs McCann, who are suspects in their daughter’s
disappearance but have not been accused of any
wrong-doing, have never discussed the events of the day
of her disappearance - May 3 last year - because of
secrecy laws.
But in
extracts read out on Spanish broadcaster Telecinco’s
late morning programme El Programa de Ana Rosa, it
emerged that Mrs McCann had told police about a
conversation she had with Madeleine on the morning she
disappeared.
he
little girl, then aged three, spoke to her mother
because she had left her and twins Sean and Amelie alone
in the night. Mrs McCann’s statement said: "While
we were having breakfast, Madeleine said: 'Mummy, why
didn’t you come when we were crying last night?’.
"Gerry
and I spoke for a couple of minutes and agreed to keep a
closer watch over the children."
After
Madeleine’s disappearance, Mr and Mrs McCann were
criticised for leaving their children while their dined
at a tapas restaurant nearby and have spoken of their
guilt for leaving them alone.
In his
witness statement, Mr McCann told police that workmen
had gone into their holiday apartment two days before
Madeleine vanished to fix a broken window shutter in the
main bedroom.
He told
police he had checked on Madeleine and the twins at
around 9pm on May 3. "She was breathing softly and
I thought how beautiful she looked. I thought it was
quite hot and I didn’t need to cover her up."
He went
on: "Kate came running to the bar and said
Madeleine’s not there, someone has taken her."
"I
thought it couldn’t be and ran towards the apartment
along the same route as always. I looked everywhere.
"I
returned to the children room I tried to think what
could have happened. To my surprise I realised I could
lift up the window shutters without effort and almost
without making noise."
The
disclosures came as the McCanns announced they would not
go back to Portugal to mark the anniversary of
Madeleine’s disappearance.
Because
they do not believe they will be cleared of their
arguido status before May 3, they said they will not
return to Praia da Luz for the anniversary.
Portuguese
detectives want the McCanns to go to the Algarve for a
reconstruction but the couple’s lawyers are concerned
about being summoned back to Portugal.
The
McCanns are reluctant to go until the "cloud of
suspicion" surrounding them is lifted.
Mr
McCann, 39, said: "We do not know how long we are
going to be arguidos.
"The
reconstruction is still under discussion. We are not
quite sure what form it is going to take, whether it
will be a Crimewatch style programme with actors.
"We
support anything that would jog people’s memories, but
we will certainly not go back on May 3."
Mr and
Mrs McCann went to Belgium to garner support for the
missing child alert system.
Addressing
MEPs at the European Parliament, Mrs McCann, 40, said
she believed such a system might have helped find their
daughter.
"I
believe the chances of recovering Madeleine would have
been higher, it would have improved our chances.
"I
am unable to convey to you just how totally devastating
Madeleine’s abduction was, it has been totally
awful."
Mrs
McCann held a photograph of Madeleine as she made her
address to the European parliament and kept her
daughter’s favourite toy Cuddle Cat in her handbag
"If
anyone wanted to inflict the maximum pain on us, they
certainly achieved that," she said. "But that
pales into insignificance when you think of what
Madeleine has been through – the fear, absolute fear
that she has had to endure.
"We
implore you to support our declaration. Please do not
wait for another child and family to suffer as we
have."
[Source:
www.telegraph.co.uk]
09/04/08
Cops ask Kate &
Gerry McCann to do reconstruction on 'Crimewatch'
Madeleine reconstruction plan as Portugal detectives
quiz the Tapas 7
Kate and Gerry McCann have been asked to return to
Portugal to take part in a Crimewatch-style
reconstruction of the disappearance of daughter
Madeleine.
The Tapas Seven are also being asked to help.
Yesterday, Portuguese police started to quiz the friends
after flying to the UK.
Last night, McCann spokesman Clarence Mitchell gave
the police request a qualified welcome. But a family
friend said it was "insensitive and
distressing".
Ten months ago, Portuguese officers flatly refused to
let BBC's Crimewatch stage a similar event.
Advertisement Click here to find out more!
It is believed they have now suggested that Kate, 40,
and Gerry, 39, return to the Algarve resort of Praia da
Luz following the first anniversary of Madeleine's
disappearance on May 3.
Mr Mitchell said: "A proposal from Portuguese
police is being considered by our lawyers. Kate and
Gerry would welcome a re-enactment. It could be
broadcast around the world and generate important new
leads and information.
"But it would be untrue to say they've been
called back."
However, the angry family friend hit back: "No
thought appears to have been given to the emotional
effect this would have on the parents, especially Kate.
"She's not sure she'd be mentally strong enough
to walk back into Madeleine's bedroom in the holiday
apartment and re-enact her reactions. She finds the idea
deeply distressing.
"Would a lookalike play Madeleine - and how
could Kate cope with that?
"If the reconstruction were to be broadcast,
they might do it in the hope it might help the hunt for
Madeleine.
"But if it was done in private, then their
lawyers would question police motives."
Kate and Gerry, of Rothley, Leics, are still official
suspects in the search for their four-year-old daughter.
Yesterday, Portuguese officers led by Paulo
Rebelo,
45, sat in as Leicestershire detectives put prepared
questions to the first of the Tapas Seven, who dined
with the McCanns on the fateful night.
Jane Tanner, 37, of Exeter, Devon, claims she saw a
man making off with a child in his arms on the night
Madeleine vanished.
Her partner, consultant Dr Russell O'Brien, 36, will
be the next to be quizzed at Leicestershire police HQ in
Enderby.
Researcher David Payne, 41, and his wife Fiona, 41,
of Leicester, David's mother Dianne Webster, 61, of
Bedford, and Dr Matthew Oldfield, 37, and his wife
Rachael, 36, of Richmond, Surrey, will follow. Each will
be questioned purely as a witness.
[Source:
www.mirror.co.uk]
07/04/08
As Portuguese police fly to the UK to listen in on
interviews with the so-called "Tapas 7", what
is known about the people who are key witnesses in the
disappearance of Madeleine McCann?
The seven friends who dined with Kate and Gerry
McCann on the night of Madeleine's disappearance are the
central witnesses in this case.
Their evidence has been pored over by the police, and
their backgrounds closely scrutinised by journalists and
bloggers alike.
None of the seven is a formal suspect or "arguido".
and all have cooperated willingly and voluntarily with
the investigation. Bound by judicial secrecy laws, most
have made no public comment about what they saw.
Their friendship goes back a long way. Four of the
group - Matthew Oldfield, Russell O'Brien, David Payne
and Fiona Payne - studied medicine together at Leicester
University in the early 1990s - the Paynes becoming a
couple.
Timeline
Doctors Kate and Gerry McCann moved to Leicestershire
in 2000, and quickly became part of the medical social
circle.
Three other holidaymakers completed the table at the
poolside tapas restaurant on 3 May last year: Rachael
Oldfield (married to Matthew), Jane Tanner (partner of
Russell O'Brien) and Diane Webster (Fiona Payne's
mother).
The couples had travelled to the Algarve from East
Midlands and Gatwick airports, together with eight young
children.
Following Madeleine's disappearance, the nine adults
collectively provided the police with a timeline of the
evening.
As far as they were concerned, the timeline was a
common sense means of speeding up the investigation; but
elements within the Portugal's Policia Judiciaria
(investigating police) seem to have interpreted the move
as a closing of ranks.
Either way, the timeline is absolutely key to
understanding what might have happened to Madeleine.
This is how the group recalled the evening:
Key witness
Arguably the most significant witness is Jane Tanner.
She has already given detectives a detailed
description of a man she saw, close to the ground floor
corner apartment where the McCanns were staying.
She says he was carrying a child, dressed in pinkish
pyjamas - the same colour that Madeleine was wearing
that evening.
The man has never come forward or been traced by the
police, leading the McCanns to conclude that Jane Tanner
almost certainly witnessed their daughter being
abducted.
Last November, Ms Tanner told the BBC's Panorama
programme: "I know what I saw, and I think it's
important that people know what I saw - because I
believe Madeleine was abducted."
Based on her account, the McCanns produced an
artist's impression of the man, in the hope that it
might jog the memory of other holidaymakers.
Of the remaining friends, David Payne was the last
person - besides Kate and Gerry McCann - to see
Madeleine alive that evening, so his recollection of
timing is crucial.
Matthew Oldfield was the only group member, beyond
Madeleine's parents, to enter the McCanns' apartment
during the dinner.
If Jane Tanner did unwittingly see Madeleine's
kidnapper, the timeline suggests that the abduction took
place before Mr Oldfield made his check.
But not having set foot in the children's bedroom, he
cannot be sure of whether the little girl was there or
not.
Finally, three of the group have offered significant
evidence relating to Robert Murat, the third arguido in
the case.
Russell O'Brien, Fiona Payne and Rachael Oldfield all
say they saw Mr Murat later that evening, during the
frantic search for Madeleine.
Their testimony is directly at odds with his
assertion that he was at home with his mother all night.
Robert Murat says the McCanns' three friends are, at
best, confused; and, at worst, lying. But they, in turn,
remain certain of what they saw.
[Source:
www.bbc.co.uk]
|
