Tapas seven - what, why and how.

Did they know that a Fund was going to be set up and what form this Fund would take?
I rather think they didn't - I've seen no evidence of ardent collecting on their part.

Did they comply with the abduction and alleged child neglect just to help a friend?
Both the Paynes and JT and ROB had baby monitors with them - only after the Rothley meeting is it leaked to David Smith from Timesonline that JT and ROB had one. It first appears officially in the RIs.
That leaves only baby Grace and the three McCann children.

Did they think it was all going to blow over after a couple of months and all would be back to normal?
Because if they'd known what they know now, I'm sure they would have distanced themselves.

Are they all still close friends of the mcCanns?
I rather doubt it.

Was their involvement such that it was impossible to extricate themselves?
ROB wanted to change his evidence in November and this was reported again in January, that he wanted to change his evidence to say that he too had seen the abductor JT saw.

Did they know what powerful connections Gerry had?
If they didn't, they might have wondered why these could not simply have suppressed the results of a PM in Portugal. Surely very much easier than the endless circus that is still taking place. The T 7 need only have backed up the mcCanns' story, lied to say that the parents were with the child when she had an accident - but e.g. asleep and she died during the night, etc. etc.
Result would have been - body of child shipped out to UK. PM gives accidental death, burial, some publicity general sadness. End of story.
But no money, no Fund, no celebrity .