Anorak May 11th...Facing the Facts with Lee Rainbow

haven't seen this before, apologies if already posted.

http://www.anorak.co.uk/280925/madeleine-mccann/madeleine-mccann-facing-facts-with-lee-rainbow.html/

MADELEINE McCann: Times is hard and members of the Metropolitan Police Force’s Governing body are rightly upset and confused by UK Premier David Cameron’s request the London Woodentops carry out a review of the strange case of missing child Madeleine McCann.

They want to know who is going to foot the bill? That answer is easy…everyone.

Cameron’s decision to involve Scotland Yard was defended by Downing Street officials as a whirlwind of complaint struck with cries of “Foul” around claims intervention was a “PR exercise”. Others say the move could take years and cost millions.

It is complicated by: time since the disappearance, the lack of facts, answers, trace of the child or her body and the ensuing publicity storm surrounding the events which have developed into pro and anti-McCann camps

Critics point out the Portuguese remain the lead investigators since no crime is known to have been committed in Britain and the child disappeared while in the care of her parents the Doctors Gerry and Kate McCann.

It is correct permissions have to be sought and given and then all documents will have to be translated and read by Scotland Yard detectives ( a loose term since any chief Woodentop could be based at any London Police Station).

Coincidently, for those not in London and the immediate environs, London has TWO Police Forces – the Metropolitan lot and the City of London Police.

The choice of the Met for this probe is interesting because the City of London’s Force’s investigations into long and complex fraud cases would seem to give it a better track record for this sort of review.
Lord Harris of Haringey, a Labour Party supporting Peer and member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, says the Tory PM’s intervention undermines the independence of the force and the investigation would use up valuable resources.

“While 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,” said the Labour peer.

Better Place

It is true the investigating team set up by the Met will have a long and difficult task. Translations are not always the best place to start.

There is perhaps a better place…right in their own back yard. For the past few years British Police Forces have used the skills of criminal profilers to help them with extremely difficult cases.

The Madeline McCann Case is more than difficult, it is baffling, it is the Marie Celeste all over again: No body, no clues, no answers to vital questions and for some time now no investigation at all since the Portuguese Police authority leading the investigation says it has no evidence on which to proceed. That and the reaction to it are all well documented here in Anorak and elsewhere.

Basics

Police work and ‘proper’ journalism have one thing in common, begin at the beginning and ask the five Great Questions:
What?
Who?
Where?
Why?
When?

There is a good starting point which does not need any translation team to start an immediate review.

Britain’s highest ranking criminal profiler had a clearly expressed view which he told the Portuguese police they should follow after they had also asked for help.

Strangely the information was revealed after the Drs McCann had demanded suppression of a book published by the once lead investigator into the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of their daughter.
The advice (again from Britain’s top criminal profiler) was reported in the Mirror:

The National Policing Improvement Agency ( NPIA) expert wrote a report to Algarve police chiefs giving advice.

Details of the confidential report emerged during the final day of a libel trial involving former Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral, who led the Maddie investigation.

Amaral is trying to overturn a worldwide injunction banning the publication of his book Maddie: The Truth of the Lie. In it he claims Kate and Gerry were involved in Maddie’s death and staged her disappearance. His lawyer, Antonio Cabrita, told the court Rainbow wrote: “It was Madeleine’s father who was the last one to see her alive.

“The family is a lead that should be followed. The contradictions in Gerald McCann’s statements might lead us to suspect a homicide.”

The details were in evidence led in a Lisbon Court last year and prompted a whirlwind PR campaign on the court’s steps immediately after the revelation.

Mickey Mouse

Then Anorak said: “The probe suggestion came from the man heading Britain’s TOP criminal profiling unit. Not a Mickey Mouse operation, the very top unit which all UK police forces are able to use as a resource when investigating crime. There was nothing in the advice saying there was any evidence to support the suggestion.”

It was said there were contradictions in the statements Dr Gerry McCann had given and he should be considered as part of any investigation.

There should be nothing unusual about that since police would have looked at the family involved first in almost every missing child case.

Lee Rainbow the criminal profiler was featured here when The Times talked to him in rare interview. He then headed a five man team.

The unit has helped in high profile cases such as the Ipswich prostitute murders and the disappearance of Shannon Matthews

When the information was revealed in court it was largely ignored by the UK Media. The Daily Mail seemed to be the only British national featuring the formerly secret information which was revealed by a lawyer acting for the former head of the investigation team into the child’s disappearance in a hearing into a ban on his book “The Truth of the Lie“.

Skilful

It would seem to be a logical and very good place for any British detective to now begin. Call in the very top man for a chat and seek his opinion on the way the investigation should proceed.

Why? Because that is why Mr Rainbow was paid (by the Home Office which has complied with the Prime Minister’s bidding and requested/ordered/suggested/asked? for the inquiry). Lee Rainbow is recognised as the most skilful and adept adviser the UK has in its armoury.

There’s more: the use of Behavioural Investigative Advisers in serious cases is recommended at all senior detective training courses. Guess who is considered at the very top of the list of advisers? One Lee Rainbow; he wrote the paper.

No PR campaign can ever diminish or cloud that fact. His opinion and views have to be faced and dealt with.

It could the start the ball rolling and as in all good detective stories you should begin right at the beginning and don’t stop until the Sherlock announces who-done-it.

There is one last and as yet unasked or answered question…just who gets the result of this specialist review, who reads it and forms judgement upon it? Premier Cameron had better insure the answer to that question is also everyone.
PR, whether publicity or a voting system, doesn’t always produce the desired result. – AGW

Hmm.

There are six fundamental questions - the missing one is "How?"

Jolly good article and I would certainly support the investigation starting with Lee Rainbow.

Only one problem is that it's only a Review - as far as I understand it the Met. are only shuffling through the papers looking for leads to find Madeleine - a bit like the non- existent ones hired by the Mac's.

Or am I mistaken?