UK POLICE INACTION (IRISH TIMES)

KATE AND GERRY McCann have dismissed fierce criticism of Scotland Yard’s intervention in the search for their missing daughter Madeleine.

They said British prime minister David Cameron gave assurances that all funds for the case review would come from central Government and would not eat into the force’s budget.

Speaking in Dublin yesterday, the couple said they would like to thank the Conservative leader for his intervention.

Mr McCann said it would go a long way to addressing one of their key complaints about the inaction on the part of UK police. “We welcome their involvement,” he said.

“We have been calling for a transparent, independent review. We have yet to see exactly the details of their involvement and what it will entail and I hope this does improve communication between the home office and ourselves . . .

“I’m sure it will go a long way to (addressing) one of our key disgruntlements, which was that British police had lots and lots of information and it was just sitting there and no one was looking at it.

“The Met has excellent expertise in reviewing major crimes, so we are very pleased and we would like to thank David Cameron for his intervention.”

Metropolitan police authority member Lord Harris yesterday said the intervention undermined the independence of the force and the investigation would use up valuable resources.

Writing on his blog, he said: “Whilst no one doubts the desirability of doing what can sensibly be done to find out what has happened to Madeleine McCann, I can imagine that the senior leadership of the Metropolitan Police are not exactly happy about this.

“It again embroils their officers in a high-profile investigation, where the chances of success are unclear.”

The McCanns made their appeal to the prime minister in a letter published in The Sun.

Responding, Mr Cameron told the couple: “Your ordeal is every parent’s worst nightmare and my heart goes out to you both.”

The prime minister’s official spokesman said Mr Cameron and home secretary Theresa May asked for the review because of the “exceptional” nature of the case.

I think Cameron will rue the day he authorised the Review, just when Police Forces in the Country are being forced
to take cuts and the Country on it"s knees financially. Do we know for sure the Portugese will co-operate? Remember
Isobel duarte tried the same thing and the "not relevant file "which she was given access to proved exactly that, "not relevant" and a glut of new sightings which proved worthless.

I Don't know what the hell is going on,

dutchclogs wrote:
I Don't know what the hell is going on,

Hi dutchclogs.......your"e not the only one.

Panda wrote:

dutchclogs wrote:
I Don't know what the hell is going on,

Hi dutchclogs.......your"e not the only one.

I do... it's a whitewash!

I'm noticing Gerry's latest buzz word "key" a lot recently, for some strange reason.

If portugal says they know nothing about it..then it's just that NOTHING.


Their may be a review by the met off the files which have already been scrutinised by the mccanns and their 'detectives'..but why do that....it makes it look as if their OWN P.I.'s are useless....20 met detectives sitting their going through thousands off files looking for that piece off nugget....don't think so somehow.


No, that's not what the mccanns want....they make the public think that's what they want but what theY say don't mean what they want..... We all know what they want....

kitti wrote:If portugal says they know nothing about it..then it's just that NOTHING.


Their may be a review by the met off the files which have already been scrutinised by the mccanns and their 'detectives'..but why do that....it makes it look as if their OWN P.I.'s are useless....20 met detectives sitting their going through thousands off files looking for that piece off nugget....don't think so somehow.


No, that's not what the mccanns want....they make the public think that's what they want but what theY say don't mean what they want..... We all know what they want....

I think they do want it. It's their final way of getting the cloud from over their heads with the case 'shelved.' They know the Met aren't going to find anything.... they are as slick as slime, having had four years worth of rewriting history. They've even answered the question re the sedatives by saying she was extra tired that day....... could somebody have given her some sedatives???........ so now if her body is found...... hey presto..... "to be honest, we suspected as such!" Karma is the only thing that's going to take them down now...... I don't even think a body will do it!

pennylane wrote:

kitti wrote:If portugal says they know nothing about it..then it's just that NOTHING.


Their may be a review by the met off the files which have already been scrutinised by the mccanns and their 'detectives'..but why do that....it makes it look as if their OWN P.I.'s are useless....20 met detectives sitting their going through thousands off files looking for that piece off nugget....don't think so somehow.


No, that's not what the mccanns want....they make the public think that's what they want but what theY say don't mean what they want..... We all know what they want....

I think they do want it. It's their final way of getting the cloud from over their heads with the case 'shelved.' They know the Met aren't going to find anything.... they are as slick as slime, having had four years worth of rewriting history. They've even answered the question re the sedatives by saying she was extra tired that day....... could somebody have given her some sedatives???........ so now if her body is found...... hey presto..... "to be honest, we suspected as such!" Karma is the only thing that's going to take them down now...... I don't even think a body will do it!

I think the sales of the Book will not make them millionaires and Amaral and his Book publishers will want damages
for their loss because of Duarte not returning the Books. If the Trial doesn"t go their way either they will not be able
to keep the Fund going and will fade into obscurity

Panda wrote:

pennylane wrote:

kitti wrote:If portugal says they know nothing about it..then it's just that NOTHING.


Their may be a review by the met off the files which have already been scrutinised by the mccanns and their 'detectives'..but why do that....it makes it look as if their OWN P.I.'s are useless....20 met detectives sitting their going through thousands off files looking for that piece off nugget....don't think so somehow.


No, that's not what the mccanns want....they make the public think that's what they want but what theY say don't mean what they want..... We all know what they want....

I think they do want it. It's their final way of getting the cloud from over their heads with the case 'shelved.' They know the Met aren't going to find anything.... they are as slick as slime, having had four years worth of rewriting history. They've even answered the question re the sedatives by saying she was extra tired that day....... could somebody have given her some sedatives???........ so now if her body is found...... hey presto..... "to be honest, we suspected as such!" Karma is the only thing that's going to take them down now...... I don't even think a body will do it!

I think the sales of the Book will not make them millionaires and Amaral and his Book publishers will want damages
for their loss because of Duarte not returning the Books. If the Trial doesn"t go their way either they will not be able
to keep the Fund going and will fade into obscurity

I think you are right Panda!

Unless the case is reopened in Portugal or the Portuguese work very closely with Scotland Yard, I can't see how there could possibly be any progress, either in finding out exactly what happened to Madeleine or, for those who believe she was abducted, in finding Madeleine herself. The Portuguese made it clear at the time of shelving that if there was any new evidence of note they would reopen the case; they said:

'The inquiry may be re-opened on the initiative of the Public Ministry or at the request of an interested party if new elements of proof emerge that will give rise to serious, pertinent and consequential investigatory activities.'

If Dave Edgar or any of the previous PI's had found anything that fell into this category and notified the PJ of their findings, I feel sure the Portuguese would have kept their word and reopened the inquiry. If the PI's haven't found anything of real interest, then what exactly are Scotland Yard going to follow up? If OTOH their task is to study the actual investigation itself to see if either the PJ or the Leicester police missed anything, they can only do so with Portuguese compliance and help, since only Portugal holds the full information, at least for their side of the investigation - and their side is the major one since Madeleine's disappearance happened in their country. There's no point in the McCanns saying the Portuguese didn't do this or that, didn't follow this or that, as Scotland Yard will only know exactly what the Portuguese did or didn't do if the Portuguese tell them.

The bottom line is that this is a Portuguese case, not a British one, and the full details are known only to the Portuguese, therefore anyone else working on the case would do well to be very wary in what they say about the original investigation since basically they'd be speaking from a position of ignorance. Also, it's considered extremely unprofessional for any police force to attack another police force, so if the McCanns are hoping to have SY detectives casting slurs on the PJ I think they're in for a big disappointment. If anyone from SY did such a thing, it would immediately detract from SY's own reputation for professionalism. This case has already seen far too much PJ-bashing, both from Team McCann and the British tabloids; it's time for some restraint and professionalism - something no one in Team McCann or in the tabloids seems to be familiar with.

Dimsie wrote:Unless the case is reopened in Portugal or the Portuguese work very closely with Scotland Yard, I can't see how there could possibly be any progress, either in finding out exactly what happened to Madeleine or, for those who believe she was abducted, in finding Madeleine herself. The Portuguese made it clear at the time of shelving that if there was any new evidence of note they would reopen the case; they said:

'The inquiry may be re-opened on the initiative of the Public Ministry or at the request of an interested party if new elements of proof emerge that will give rise to serious, pertinent and consequential investigatory activities.'

If Dave Edgar or any of the previous PI's had found anything that fell into this category and notified the PJ of their findings, I feel sure the Portuguese would have kept their word and reopened the inquiry. If the PI's haven't found anything of real interest, then what exactly are Scotland Yard going to follow up? If OTOH their task is to study the actual investigation itself to see if either the PJ or the Leicester police missed anything, they can only do so with Portuguese compliance and help, since only Portugal holds the full information, at least for their side of the investigation - and their side is the major one since Madeleine's disappearance happened in their country. There's no point in the McCanns saying the Portuguese didn't do this or that, didn't follow this or that, as Scotland Yard will only know exactly what the Portuguese did or didn't do if the Portuguese tell them.

The bottom line is that this is a Portuguese case, not a British one, and the full details are known only to the Portuguese, therefore anyone else working on the case would do well to be very wary in what they say about the original investigation since basically they'd be speaking from a position of ignorance. Also, it's considered extremely unprofessional for any police force to attack another police force, so if the McCanns are hoping to have SY detectives casting slurs on the PJ I think they're in for a big disappointment. If anyone from SY did such a thing, it would immediately detract from SY's own reputation for professionalism. This case has already seen far too much PJ-bashing, both from Team McCann and the British tabloids; it's time for some restraint and professionalism - something no one in Team McCann or in the tabloids seems to be familiar with.

I have a feeling that David Cameron had already spoken to the Portugese acting Prime Minister, Socrates and got
his permission before writing the letter. They probably agreed this was the best way of resolving this disappearance
finally. The McCanns don"t want a full review, as Clarence Mitchell said, from 2008 which would wipe out any chance
of a reconstruction the conflicting FSS reports, the LP delay in sending the Gaspar Statements, the LP denying
the McCanns had any Credit cards, the Witness Statements and anything else I have missed. All they want is the
list of Witnesses they can chase up , I just hope Scotland Yard investigates from the beginning.

Dimsie wrote:Unless the case is reopened in Portugal or the Portuguese work very closely with Scotland Yard, I can't see how there could possibly be any progress, either in finding out exactly what happened to Madeleine or, for those who believe she was abducted, in finding Madeleine herself. The Portuguese made it clear at the time of shelving that if there was any new evidence of note they would reopen the case; they said:

'The inquiry may be re-opened on the initiative of the Public Ministry or at the request of an interested party if new elements of proof emerge that will give rise to serious, pertinent and consequential investigatory activities.'

If Dave Edgar or any of the previous PI's had found anything that fell into this category and notified the PJ of their findings, I feel sure the Portuguese would have kept their word and reopened the inquiry. If the PI's haven't found anything of real interest, then what exactly are Scotland Yard going to follow up? If OTOH their task is to study the actual investigation itself to see if either the PJ or the Leicester police missed anything, they can only do so with Portuguese compliance and help, since only Portugal holds the full information, at least for their side of the investigation - and their side is the major one since Madeleine's disappearance happened in their country. There's no point in the McCanns saying the Portuguese didn't do this or that, didn't follow this or that, as Scotland Yard will only know exactly what the Portuguese did or didn't do if the Portuguese tell them.

The bottom line is that this is a Portuguese case, not a British one, and the full details are known only to the Portuguese, therefore anyone else working on the case would do well to be very wary in what they say about the original investigation since basically they'd be speaking from a position of ignorance. Also, it's considered extremely unprofessional for any police force to attack another police force, so if the McCanns are hoping to have SY detectives casting slurs on the PJ I think they're in for a big disappointment. If anyone from SY did such a thing, it would immediately detract from SY's own reputation for professionalism. This case has already seen far too much PJ-bashing, both from Team McCann and the British tabloids; it's time for some restraint and professionalism - something no one in Team McCann or in the tabloids seems to be familiar with.

But how would this help to find Madeleine and bring whoever is responsible abductor/or other to justice. All it is doing is opening all the files held by Portuguese Police. Who wants to see these files desperately ?

Surely SY wont give the files to the McCs or their defectives. Its plain that the McCs want to see what the Portuguese files hold, thats all theyve b een on about for ages, reviewing the files, transparently.

tanszi wrote:Surely SY wont give the files to the McCs or their defectives. Its plain that the McCs want to see what the Portuguese files hold, thats all theyve b een on about for ages, reviewing the files, transparently.

You would like to think so - ................ but nothing - Absolutely Nothing would surpise me about this case.............

Portugals a bit skint at the moment and due to the uproar about giving pakistan all that aid perhaps he thought he would contribute to the portugese economy in a way in which it looked like they were providing a service, and as a side effect the Mccans get their deserts its time well spent. Moreover cold cases are good training exercises for new detectives so if something happens like this again they will have gained a lot of good experience.

Angelique wrote:

But how would this help to find Madeleine and bring whoever is responsible abductor/or other to justice. All it is doing is opening all the files held by Portuguese Police. Who wants to see these files desperately ?

If the review was going to be done by Leicester police or some other UK regional police force, I agree there could be worries about just who might get to know something of what's in the files held by the PJ. But I think with Scotland Yard, we have a different situation. I think anything they're told in confidence by the Portuguese will remain in confidence, especially if that something tends to suggest a solution to the case that doesn't include abduction. Also I really can't imagine SY letting either of the McCanns run the review, nor can I imagine them being happy if they find the media being briefed by anyone from Team McCann, as in 2007 when the media circus was at its disgusting height with the McCanns or their spokesman running off to the media to complain that the police were doing their investigation all wrong (I know, I know, when did the McCanns do their police training?) There's no way SY will stand for that, IMO; they're not going to let the McCanns or their friends run rings round them media-wise.

Sooner or later, this case was always going to have to be reviewed or reopened. There's no way to find out what happened to Madeleine while it remains shelved. The Portuguese had made it clear they would only reopen it under certain conditions regarding new evidence, but they may be prepared to collaborate with Scotland Yard in a thorough review. It may not be as welcome as a full reopening, but it must surely be better than nothing?

agree with alll you've said Dimsie (which doubtless comes as a great relief to you)

You are so sensible,,,

Dimsie wrote:

Angelique wrote:

But how would this help to find Madeleine and bring whoever is responsible abductor/or other to justice. All it is doing is opening all the files held by Portuguese Police. Who wants to see these files desperately ?

If the review was going to be done by Leicester police or some other UK regional police force, I agree there could be worries about just who might get to know something of what's in the files held by the PJ. But I think with Scotland Yard, we have a different situation. I think anything they're told in confidence by the Portuguese will remain in confidence, especially if that something tends to suggest a solution to the case that doesn't include abduction. Also I really can't imagine SY letting either of the McCanns run the review, nor can I imagine them being happy if they find the media being briefed by anyone from Team McCann, as in 2007 when the media circus was at its disgusting height with the McCanns or their spokesman running off to the media to complain that the police were doing their investigation all wrong (I know, I know, when did the McCanns do their police training?) There's no way SY will stand for that, IMO; they're not going to let the McCanns or their friends run rings round them media-wise.

Sooner or later, this case was always going to have to be reviewed or reopened. There's no way to find out what happened to Madeleine while it remains shelved. The Portuguese had made it clear they would only reopen it under certain conditions regarding new evidence, but they may be prepared to collaborate with Scotland Yard in a thorough review. It may not be as welcome as a full reopening, but it must surely be better than nothing?

Agree Dimsie.
A lot of people are presuming it will only be a review of the files but we don't know anything yet. With the pj's help, they could well be asked to do a recon. And how can they refuse now! Like you said, it was going to happen at some point and who better to do it than the Met.