Scotland Yard Officers in Spain - Standard

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-24017941-yard-officers-in-spain-as-search-for-maddy-crosses-the-border.do

Scotland Yard officers in Spain as search for Maddy crosses the border

Justin Davenport, Crime Editor
5 Dec 2011

Scotland Yard detectives examining the Madeleine McCann case have flown to Spain, the Standard can reveal.

Homicide officers have met Spanish colleagues in Barcelona in the last two weeks to hold talks over her disappearance.

The trip widens inquiries by officers carrying out the "investigative review" into the three-year-old's disappearance from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007. Police are believed to be discussing reports that Madeleine may have been abducted and smuggled across the border to Spain.

Detectives have also travelled to Portugal three times to meet detectives involved in the original investigation.

Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine's parents, issued a statement today hailing the work of the Metropolitan Police, saying : "We are pleased that the review is making progress."

Their comments came after they made an emotional appearance at the Leveson inquiry into press standards, when they told how they were left distraught by suggestions they were responsible for their daughter's death.

Scotland Yard was called in to carry out a review of the McCann files this year after a request by Prime Minister David Cameron. The McCanns had asked him to help revive the search for their daughter, who disappeared shortly before her fourth birthday while the family was on holiday in the Algarve.

She vanished from a holiday flat in the resort of Praia da Luz as her parents, both doctors, were dining with friends nearby.

Since then there have been hundreds of "sightings" of Madeleine around the world but none confirmed. The official police inquiry into her disappearance was shelved in July 2008 but private detectives employed by the McCanns continued the search. Scotland Yard says the trips to Portugal, and now Spain, are part of "laying the ground work" for future co-operation between the police forces.

They are playing down any suggestion of a breakthrough in the case but the visits raise the possibility that British detectives will be involved in an active role in any future inquiries. In July Scotland Yard said it would examine all the evidence connected to the case, including material gathered by private investigators.

One theory - among the many others - was that the child was snatched by a paedophile gang and smuggled over the border to Spain an hour's drive away, or even taken there by boat. There were sightings of someone matching her appearance in Spain shortly after she disappeared and Portuguese authorities were criticised for not alerting border and police officials until 12 hours after she went missing.

The British team is believed to have been discussing these reports with Spanish colleagues.

Detectives spent the first five months reading a huge file of case material which had to be translated into English from Portuguese.

The Met says it has been in close liaison with the McCann family about their actions. The Yard emphasises that the Portuguese police remain the "lead force".

A Met Police spokesman said: "There has been very good co-operation with Portuguese authorities and liaison will continue.

"Officers have travelled to Portugal three times in connection with the investigative review and three officers travelled to Barcelona. They are continuing to discuss how to take it forward and we are hopeful that we will be able to do that."

Homocide means they are searching fora dead body does it not?????????

bump

Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine's parents, issued a statement today hailing the work of the Metropolitan Police, saying : "We are pleased that the review is making progress."

Making progress? What makes the McCanns think the police are making progress? They're just doing as they said they would, and following up whatever they find in the files that they think needs checking out.

AnnaEsse wrote:

Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine's parents, issued a statement today hailing the work of the Metropolitan Police, saying : "We are pleased that the review is making progress."

Making progress? What makes the McCanns think the police are making progress? They're just doing as they said they would, and following up whatever they find in the files that they think needs checking out.

anna i stand to be corrected but imo if homocide are working with SY they now admit maddie is dead because homocide is used for a crime etc

Just on Sky news as Breaking News
Martin Brunt on shortly

"The Met says it has been in close liaison with the McCann family about their actions".

Really ! But are they remaining objective and managing to see through the flannel?

This article seems to be steering the outcome into an abduction to Spain. If so, the MET have been duped.

Brunt says it may be to do with a sighting of Madeleine there 2yrs after she disappeared

Scotland yard ... three police officers have gone to Spain... Barcelona. Martin Brunt is on now... part of a continuing review... Surely they must have some kind of lead. They are not going to Spain for nothing...

Martin Brunt just been on. He thinks they went to Barcelona to discuss the sighting of Madeleine and the connection with the boat. Was that the carry on involving the posh spice lookalike??????

Brunt just mentioned the possible sighting in Barcelona that came up 2 years after she went missing and the link with the boat (Posh lookalike?). I thought that had been discounted? He said its part of the review and they were looking at the possibility that Madeleine, in some form, may have gone to Spain.

Justiceforallkids wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine's parents, issued a statement today hailing the work of the Metropolitan Police, saying : "We are pleased that the review is making progress."

Making progress? What makes the McCanns think the police are making progress? They're just doing as they said they would, and following up whatever they find in the files that they think needs checking out.

anna i stand to be corrected but imo if homocide are working with SY they now admit maddie is dead because homocide is used for a crime etc

I wasn't correcting anything! Maybe I'm not as awake as I thought I was!

ali1966 wrote:Martin Brunt just been on. He thinks they went to Barcelona to discuss the sighting of Madeleine and the connection with the boat. Was that the carry on involving the posh spice lookalike??????

hang on who is they the mcanns or????????????

Scotland Yard says the trips to Portugal, and now Spain, are part of
"laying the ground work" for future co-operation between the police
forces."


Uum, what have Leicester Police been doing all this time? It was Scotland Yard who sent an e-mail to the Belgium Police saying they had received info from an informant that Madeleine was in Belgium. The Head of Missing Children"s Dept. in Belgium replied asking for more information but did not receive a reply.

Why wasn"t their first visit to Metodo 3 to check their files ? Were not they the Detectives who forecast Madeleine would be home by Christmas? Metodo 3 claimed they did not receive the £50,000 quoted by the British Press, wouldn"t it have been good if SY examined their records to check this out? Another whitewash I fear.

AnnaEsse wrote:

Justiceforallkids wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine's parents, issued a statement today hailing the work of the Metropolitan Police, saying : "We are pleased that the review is making progress."

Making progress? What makes the McCanns think the police are making progress? They're just doing as they said they would, and following up whatever they find in the files that they think needs checking out.

anna i stand to be corrected but imo if homocide are working with SY they now admit maddie is dead because homocide is used for a crime etc

I wasn't correcting anything! Maybe I'm not as awake as I thought I was!

lol no it was me i wa asking a retorial question lol i was just saying imo if homocide are involved imo it shows they may think she is dead

Justiceforallkids wrote:

ali1966 wrote:Martin Brunt just been on. He thinks they went to Barcelona to discuss the sighting of Madeleine and the connection with the boat. Was that the carry on involving the posh spice lookalike??????

hang on who is they the mcanns or????????????

Scotland Yard Carly. Apparently they have been to Portugal to discuss the sighting of Madeleine 2 yrs ago. I think it was the one where the Posh Lookalike was talking about "her daughter".

ali1966 wrote:

Justiceforallkids wrote:

ali1966 wrote:Martin Brunt just been on. He thinks they went to Barcelona to discuss the sighting of Madeleine and the connection with the boat. Was that the carry on involving the posh spice lookalike??????

hang on who is they the mcanns or????????????

Scotland Yard Carly. Apparently they have been to Portugal to discuss the sighting of Madeleine 2 yrs ago. I think it was the one where the Posh Lookalike was talking about "her daughter".

oh that yes she was appently a australian but didnt it turn out it was mistranslated as daughter???

quickfingers wrote:Brunt just mentioned the possible sighting in Barcelona that came up 2 years after she went missing and the link with the boat (Posh lookalike?). I thought that had been discounted? He said its part of the review and they were looking at the possibility that Madeleine, in some form, may have gone to Spain.

That 'in some form' remark is an odd turn of phrase, and it sounds ominous. I heard him say it too... However, it was such a quick and short interview it is hard to glean much out of it...

None of us knows for sure what really happened to Madeleine... but perhaps some of these police, in whichever country, have considerably more evidence than we think... and they may be doing something other than a paper shuffling exercise.

Justiceforallkids wrote:

ali1966 wrote:

Justiceforallkids wrote:

ali1966 wrote:Martin Brunt just been on. He thinks they went to Barcelona to discuss the sighting of Madeleine and the connection with the boat. Was that the carry on involving the posh spice lookalike??????

hang on who is they the mcanns or????????????

Scotland Yard Carly. Apparently they have been to Portugal to discuss the sighting of Madeleine 2 yrs ago. I think it was the one where the Posh Lookalike was talking about "her daughter".

oh that yes she was appently a australian but didnt it turn out it was mistranslated as daughter???

There was a question about the term 'daughter,' being slang for 'quarter,' i.e., a quarter of an ounce of an illegal drug.

The Barcelona "sighting" by some half drunk Englishman on a stag weekend was not reported for two years so I hardly think SY would be
interested in chasing up that sighting. My money would be a visit to Metodo 3 as I said earlier

They would be wise to take a detour to Huelva on the way back.

comperedna wrote:

quickfingers wrote:Brunt just mentioned the possible sighting in Barcelona that came up 2 years after she went missing and the link with the boat (Posh lookalike?). I thought that had been discounted? He said its part of the review and they were looking at the possibility that Madeleine, in some form, may have gone to Spain.

That 'in some form' remark is an odd turn of phrase, and it sounds ominous. I heard him say it too... However, it was such a quick and short interview it is hard to glean much out of it...

None of us knows for sure what really happened to Madeleine... but perhaps some of these police, in whichever country, have considerably more evidence than we think... and they may be doing something other than a paper shuffling exercise.

I agree about the interview with Brunt. He basically didn't have a clue, he doesn't know whats going on. Hopefully he gets onto it & finds out more info!

duncanmac wrote:They would be wise to take a detour to Huelva on the way back.

Yep! I wonder if thats where they are really going?

In the Mirror's article it says the visited November 23rd-25th.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/most-popular/headlines/2011/12/05/madeleine-mccann-cops-fly-to-spain-as-part-of-case-review-115875-23612026/

They might have been grilling Metodo 3

OR

Investigating the looodicrous sighting of a Spice Girl on the waterfront, the Cowley-Edgar 'investigation' of which went like this ...

... members of Mr Edgar’s team who had visited Barcelona:

Failed to speak to anyone working at the seafood restaurant near where the agitated woman was seen at 2am.

Failed to ask the port authority about movement of boats around the time Madeleine disappeared.

Failed to ask if the mystery woman had been filmed on CCTV.

Knew nothing about the arrival of an Australian luxury yacht just after Madeleine vanished until told by British journalists, who gave them the captain’s mobile phone number.

Failed to interview anyone at a nearby dockside bar where, according to Mr Edgar, the mystery woman was later seen drinking.

Failed to ask British diplomats in Spain for advice before or during the visit.

Also, Spanish police could not confirm that they had been contacted by the British investigators.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1206842/Why-did-Madeleine-McCann-detectives-ask-questions.html#ixzz1ffVimboq

If they can prove that many of these sightings were:

a) already eliminated, or

b) totally made up

then it will help to bolster a case for a faked abduction.


And this from the Mirror ......

Detectives are unwilling to discuss what led officers to travel to Barcelona to meet Spanish police between November 23 and 25.

Quite right too - tell 'em nothing - let 'em buy a programme ...

In any event, I hope they had a Huelva productive trip.