Editorial: Discord will not help solve this case

Editorial: Discord will not help solve this case

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/editorials/editorial-discord-will-not-help-solve-this-case-8120659.html

The failure so far of the French police to find any obvious leads in the case of the mysterious murder of the Al-Hilli family in the Haute Savoie region is, unsurprisingly, creating tensions between the two countries. Britain naturally wishes to see the case solved as soon as possible, and also wants that point driven home, which helps to explain the presence last Friday in Annecy of the British ambassador to Paris, Sir Peter Ricketts.


At the same time, the French clearly feel irritated both by the pressure coming from the other side of the Channel and from the army of reporters camped out in Annecy, whose presence, some feel, is a distraction, adding only to a swirl of speculative rumours about who may have been responsible for the killings of Saad al-Hilli, his wife, a Swedish passenger of theirs and a passing cyclist.


Unfortunately, there is no reason to believe a breakthrough may be imminent. One of the few clues, that a dark four-wheel-drive vehicle was spotted near the crime scene, does not help much in a part of France where the possession of such vehicles is almost routine. As for the two survivors of the tragedy, four-year-old Zeena has said only that she heard screaming and shouting, while her older sister has only just come out of an induced coma.


What's important at this frustrating juncture, when the French prosecutor in Annecy has begun to complain about British rumour-mongering, is for both sides to remain level-headed and for the police in both countries to continue co-operating as closely as possible.


The last thing anyone needs is a repeat of the unhelpful recriminations that followed the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, when British and Portuguese police traded insults through their respective countries' newspapers, as a result of which the case assumed the contours of an international dispute. That did not help the McCann family, and a repetition of those events certainly won't help this family. The interests of two small orphaned girls must remain paramount as the police in both countries struggle to make sense of the tragedy surrounding the deaths of their parents

I don't agree with this one: "That did not help the McCann family"

weissnicht wrote:I don't agree with this one: "That did not help the McCann family"

The McCann family did not help the McCann family.

McCann Family?... The Adams Family without the comedy more like.

From the first sentence that article is xenophobic.

The failure so far of the French police to find any obvious leads in the case of the mysterious murder of the Al-Hilli family in the Haute Savoie region is, unsurprisingly, creating tensions between the two countries.

The French police have failed in some way because a few days into a complex investigation they haven't come up with any obvious leads. It's the failure of those Johnny Foreigner police again.

"At the same time, the French clearly feel irritated both by the pressure coming from the other side of the Channel and from the army of reporters camped out in Annecy, whose presence, some feel, is a distraction .. "

There must be many PJ officers feeling sympathy for the French police over this matter.

AnnaEsse wrote:From the first sentence that article is xenophobic.

The failure so far of the French police to find any obvious leads in the case of the mysterious murder of the Al-Hilli family in the Haute Savoie region is, unsurprisingly, creating tensions between the two countries.

The French police have failed in some way because a few days into a complex investigation they haven't come up with any obvious leads. It's the failure of those Johnny Foreigner police again.

In the absence of any fresh news, no bulletins released, no real leads and definitely no 'scoop' on the horizon, what passes for journalism and journalists in our country turns to speculation and downright inventiveness. But, they are allowed to get away with it time and again. In fact, with the McCann case they were actively, (imo) encouraged to partake in perpetuating mass hysteria against Portugal and the Portuguese police.

Did a journalist write this tripe or a complete noodle-brain???

Actually it appears to be sub-Sun writing...dear oh dear. There are so many points to quote on that it should just be binned and forgotten about. Is it any wonder that I haven't bought a newspaper in 40 years.

malena stool wrote:McCann Family?... The Adams Family without the comedy more like.

Most probably, and again, the clue is not in the country where the drama took place, but within the family or the surroundings of the main protagonists. Here the last news in the French newspaper "Le Parisien":

"Ce lundi, le quartier ou vivaient la famille des victimes de la tuerie de Chevaline à Claygate (Grande-Bretagne) a été partiellement évacué. Les voisins immédiats de l'habitation ont dû quitter les lieux. Un périmètre de sécurité a été mis en place, ceci après la découverte d'élément qualifiés «d'inquiétants» par les enquêteurs."

The houses close to the house of the victims have today being evacuated after the discovery of worrying elements

It's a shame that the PJ was not allowed to search the McCanns' house, such was the cooperation at the time.

Carolina wrote:It's a shame that the PJ was not allowed to search the McCanns' house, such was the cooperation at the time.

Wouldn't have taken long to scour the mantelpiece .......

The End Is Nigh wrote:

Carolina wrote:It's a shame that the PJ was not allowed to search the McCanns' house, such was the cooperation at the time.

Wouldn't have taken long to scour the mantelpiece .......

Should've asked the dogs!

The End Is Nigh wrote:

Carolina wrote:It's a shame that the PJ was not allowed to search the McCanns' house, such was the cooperation at the time.

Wouldn't have taken long to scour the mantelpiece .......

Yes, the money pot. The central piece on Maddie shrine. (says all about kate$gerry)

weissnicht wrote:

The End Is Nigh wrote:

Carolina wrote:It's a shame that the PJ was not allowed to search the McCanns' house, such was the cooperation at the time.

Wouldn't have taken long to scour the mantelpiece .......

Yes, the money pot. The central piece on Maddie shrine. (says all about kate$gerry)

I was thinking about something more poignant than money, but you're right of course.

Carolina wrote:It's a shame that the PJ was not allowed to search the McCanns' house, such was the cooperation at the time.

Indeed. The British police are very cautious,in order, may be, not to repeate the same blunder: According to the last article on the BBC site today,

"Surrey Police said earlier that the investigation is French-led, with British officers facilitating requests rather than following their own leads."