Gerry and Kate McCann in Lisbon: Day 2 of the proceedings.(pm session)

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Above: Kate and Gerry McCann at Lisbon airport, December 2009.

Afternoon session of the proceedings, Wednesday January 13th 2010

2.30: Waiting outside the courtroom for the afternoon's proceedings to begin. Mr Amaral is here too, chatting on a mobile phone.

2.41: We're back in the courtroom, as are the legal teams, Mr Amaral and the McCanns. No sign of the judge yet though.

2.42: We're expecting to hear from three witnesses involved in the publishing of the book this afternoon.

2.57: Judge Maria Gabriela Cunha Rodrigues has arrived, so the afternoon's proceedings can begin.

3.00: JondiPaolo Jose Manuel Enes, a former forensic laboratory chief in the Portuguese police, is the next witness.

3.00: Mr Enes is giving evidence in person, rather than via video link as Mr Flores did this morning.

3.00: Mr Enes has an associateship in chemistry and a doctorate in anthropology, but has now retired from the police force.

3.04: Mr Enes was interviewed by a Portuguese journalist for a book about Madeleine's disappearance.

3.12: JondiPaolo Mr Enes says that the immense media interest in the Madeleine case was unhelpful for the investigators trying to solve it.

3.13: JondiPaolo Mr Enes compared the Madeleine McCann case to that of OJ Simpson, saying that allegations of contamination of evidence had compromised it.

3.15: JondiPaolo Mr Enes' phone has just gone off, drawing laughter from the court. The judge is smiling too as the clerk has to turn it off for him.

3.17: Mr Enes tells the court he has been called to give evidence in several other cases as an expert witness.

3.17: Mr Enes says his conclusions are often relied upon completely by the courts in which he gives evidence.

3.22: Mr Enes: I strongly respect the convictions and work of Mr Amaral.

3.22: Mr Amaral has suddenly got up and walked out of the courtroom, causing a murmur among the onlookers on the public benches.

3.37: JondiPaolo Mr Amaral has left the court building, stopping to give a few comments in Portuguese before climbing into a waiting car.

3.39: JondiPaolo Mr Amaral said he was pleased with Mr Flores' testimony earlier, adding that for the first time it had been explained why he wrote the book.

3.39: Mr Amaral added that he wrote the book to protect his honour and set the record straight.

3.40: The former policeman said what he described as a campaign against him in the British press is continuing.

3.40: JondiPaolo He added that he had only this morning been described as 'incompetent' in one British newspaper.

3.43: jondipaolo: Right. Back to the courtroom. Mr Enes is still giving evidence.

3.45: jondipaolo: Mr Enes says the Madeleine investigation was the victim of 'friendly fire' from the media that hampered its course.

Comment: Yes, one wonders whether the media had an interest in helping to solve the case, or just in denigrating the Portuguese police for some reason.

3.47: jondipaolo: Mr Enes says that just because people put forward their own theories, it does not prevent other lines of inquiry being investigated.

3.49: JondiPaolo Mr Enes: Some parts of the book were put too strongly - it's not the way I would have done it, but that's because I'm from another era...

3.49: JondiPaolo ...the course of justice should not be diverted by books or films, it should be deaf and blind to them.

3.52: Jondipaolo: Mr Enes has left the witness stand, and has been replaced by Mario Sena Lopes, former chief editor at the book's publisher, Guerra e Paz.

4.01: jondipaolo: Mr Lopes tells the court that Mr Amaral's book had been ready to publish in the last week of July 2008.

4.01: jondipaolo: The book was published very quickly to take most advantage of marketing opportunities, the court hears.

Comment: I am assuming a response from the McCann legal team about this just being a marketing exercise to make money, in which case the reply would refer to Gerry's having been asked in an interview for Vanity Fair if he thought publishing details of Madeleine's eye defect could have placed her at risk. Gerry's response was yes, but it was a 'good marketing ploy.'

"Although initially reluctant, the McCanns finally informed the media of Madeleine’s unique right eye—a risky revelation. Whoever had taken the child now held a universally recognizable little girl.

Gerry understood that. But, he says, the iris “is Madeleine’s only true distinctive feature. Certainly we thought it was possible that this could potentially hurt her or”—he grimaces—“her abductor might do something to her eye.… But in terms of marketing, it was a good ploy.”

4.05: Jondipaolo: The marketing plan for the book was much smaller than normal, because we are a small publisher, Mr Lopes tells the court.

4.46: jondipaolo: Sorry about the pause - we had a brief intermission during which Gerry McCann left the court.

4.50: jondipaolo: He explained that he was leaving the court case as he had unavoidable work commitments in the UK, but that Kate would stay on until the end.

4.50: jondipaolo: Despite the avalanche of testimony favouring Mr Amaral over the past two days, Mr McCann seemed to be quite upbeat.

Comment: The man's a nutter! Just my opinion, of course! His theory about the window as an escape route has been trashed and Amaral's witnesses agree that the book is based on the investigation, but Gerry is "quite upbeat."

4.50: jondipaolo: "I think it's important that things have been debated in a court of law," he told reporters.

Comment: Well, they haven't really been debated yet, since only one side has been put forward so far.

4.50: jondipaolo: "From our point of view, what happened here in the past few days is to be expected."

4.58: jondipaolo: "I think it's particularly disappointing that the police officers who considered us responsible for Madeleine's disappearance...

4.59: jondipaolo: "...are the same officers that we are depending on to carry on the search for Madeleine."

Comment: Well, slap my thigh, knock me down and call me Jeffrey! Didn't Gerry say, just this morning, in his rant on Sky News, that no one else was looking for Madeleine?

And if he wants those officers to be searching, why not ask for the investigation to be re-opened?

4.59: jondipaolo: "The search for Madeleine is ongoing. We don't have any leads and we need to keep searching."

Comment: All that money spent, other people's money from donations, and they've got no leads? Have they ruled out the very ill paedophile, Raymond Hewlett and the VictoriaBeckham Looky-Likey?

5.01: jondipaolo: Mr McCann added that mistakes were made during the investigation that now cannot be righted - but that was not the point of the court case.

Comment: What mistakes and how can they be righted? You can go back and finally take part in a reconstruction? Kate can answer the 48 questions she refused to answer?

5.04: jondipaolo: "We made a mistake by leaving Madeleine alone in the apartment, and we have to live with that. We can't change it," Mr McCann said.

Comment: Finally, an admission that this was a mistake. However, the real victim here is Madeleine, not Kate and Gerry McCann.

5.04: jondipaolo: He also rejected the testimony yesterday that Kate had had a dream about Madeleine lying buried somewhere, saying "that never happened"..

Comment: So, Snr Paiva was lying?

5.07: jondipaolo: "I hope that everyone remembers that there is a little girl missing that still has to be found," Mr McCann continued.

Comment: Play to the emotions of the audience, Gerry!

5.07: jondipaolo: "That's why we carry on. We have other children who miss Madeleine dearly."

Comment: Now, early on in this case, just after Madeleine vanished into thin air, Kate was asked how the twins were coping. She said they were OK because they had never spent much time with Madeleine. So, how come, after nearly three years, those same twins, who hardly spent any time with Madeleine, are missing her dearly?

5.09: jondipaolo: He added that although the testimony had favoured Mr Amaral's version of events, it still had not produced any evidence Madeleine was dead.

Comment: The present court process is about whether Snr Amaral's book is libelous and that hinges on whether it is based on the police investigation. If there were evidence that Madeleine was dead, then: a) you wouldn't be facingSnr Amaral in court, and b) the chances are that someone would be languishing in prison. This is not about producing evidence, but about proving that the theory put forward byGonçalo Amaral is not simply his personal belief, but a record of an investigation.

5.10: jondipaolo: Mr McCann also rejected the charge that the trial was a bid to restrict freedom of speech, as has been claimed by Mr Amaral's supporters.

Comment: I really don't know what to say about someone who hires Carter Ruck, libel lawyers, threatens bloggers and others, and claims the above!

5.41: jondipaolo: That's the last update from court for today. Back tomorrow morning.

Gerry McCann returning to Britain this afternoon.

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(The above image produced by 'Himself,' is from either The McCann Gallery or Good Quality Wristbands I can't find it now to provide the proper artistic credit and reference, but if 'Himself,' should happen along, perhaps he'll forgive me for filching one of his images and direct me to the page so that I can give proper credit!)


The Scottish Herald reports that Gerry McCann will return to Britain this afternoon because of work commitments.

"Mr McCann will return to Britain this afternoon because of work commitments, a spokeswoman for the couple said."

"Fiona Payne, one of the friends who was on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine disappeared on May 3 2007, is flying out to support Mrs McCann"

This is all a bit sudden and was not indicated yesterday at the start of proceedings in the Civil Court in Lisbon. I am sure the McCann couple stated that they were going to be in Lisbon for the week, but today Gerry has to leave because of work commitments? Gerry's a cardiologist, not a surgeon and surely the NHS can arrange cover for him? Work commitments didn't seem to get in the way when Kate and Gerry went to Strasbourg to push the American-style Amber Alert system or when they went to the US to appear on the Oprah Show.

"Mr McCann was asked by a Portuguese reporter whether it was worth the emotional cost for the couple to attend the court case.

He replied: “Do you have children? Anyone who has children would go through the same process.”

And yet, suddenly, with no prior notice, Gerry has work commitments?

I am wondering, and this is just my opinion, pure speculation, that Gerry may have been advised by his legal team that he was getting himself rather worked up, that this was not conducive to his being called to the witness stand tomorrow, and that perhaps he should take leave of absence from the proceedings.

Kate and Gerry McCann: Day 2 Of Court Process In Lisbon.

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(Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie in English )

Above: Kate and Gerry McCann arriving for day 1 of the court hearing in Lisbon.

(For a detailed report on day 1 of the proceedings see: Joana Morais)

Day 2 of the hearings in which Dr Gonçalo Amaral presents further witnesses in defence of his book "A Verdade da Mentira," The Truth Of The Lie.

J. di Paulo is reporting from the court on behalf of Sky News.

9.59: Gerry McCann outside court: we've heard no evidence Madeleine is dead.

Comment: There seems to be no evidence that Madeleine is alive, apart from "sightings," all over the world, on all 5 continents, sometimes on the same day. No sighting has led to a reliable source.

10.00: Gerry McCann: we're not denying the existence of the dogs, or anything else. It's evidence we're interested in.

Did you hear the one about the dyslexic, agnostic insomniac? Lay awake all night wondering if there was a dog!

Comment: I think there may be a problem with translation. The dogs obviously do exist. And as for evidence, the fact that the dogs alerted to cadaver and blood odour in various places occupied by the McCanns and in their hired car may not in itself be evidence, but both dogs, Eddie, the Enhanced Victim Recovery Dog (Cadaver dog) and Keela, the CSI (blood-sniffing dog) have an almost 100% success record in hundreds of cases all over the world.

10.02: Gerry mccann: this is the legal process we're going through to protect our daughter. We're looking for more information to help the search.

Comment: Pity your daughter wasn't protected when you were enjoying your meals out every evening in Praia da Luz, when she and her siblings were left alone in an unlocked apartment. More in formation? You won't find that in the court room. You have had the police files for over a year. The process being reviewed in court is based on those files.

10.03: Gerry McCann: anyone else with children would do the same.

Comment: The same as what? Leave them alone, set up a fund within days, sell tacky wristbands and T shirts, make a child's eye defect into a "marketing ploy," scarper when made suspects, refuse to return for a reconstruction, return for a court case demanding £1 million? Well, I wouldn't!

10.15: Mr amaral claimed victory outside court, saying the witnesses had borne out his argument.

They do seem to have done, with yesterday's witnesses bearing out these facts: that the police suspected the McCanns from the beginning; that the thesis of Madeleine's having died in the apartment was reached by the investigating teams, following the visits by the two English sniffer dogs. Thus, the evidence presented bore witness to Amaral's book having been based on the investigation, details being in the police files which are in the public domain.

10.38: We're back in court. The first witness is Moita Flores, former senior policeman and noted public figure.

10.41: Flores: this case involves a question of freedom of speech.

10.44: Flores is an acquaintance of Amaral's and wrote the preface to the sequel to his book about Madeleine.

Gonçalo Amaral's second book is "The English Gag," in which he recounts his experience of interference in the investigation by British authorities and lack of co-operation by the British police, who, when asked for background information on the McCanns, provided a report which was one side of A4. This was corroborated by witnesses in court yesterday.

10.50: Flores: PJ investigation was based on well-established principles of police work adhered to all over the world.

10.54: Flores: McCanns have been trying to convince police since the beginning that abduction was the only line of inquiry worth pursuing.

Comment: within hours of Madeleine's disappearance, Kate and Gerry had phoned friends and acquaintances, telling them that the shutters had been "jemmied," the window opened, and Madeleine had been abducted. The Portuguese police subsequently confirmed no evidence of a break-in.

"The McCanns curious behaviour, as witnessed by Inspector Ricardo Paiva, 03 September 2007

To: Coordinator of Criminal Investigation, Lic. Gonçalo Amaral
From: Ricardo Paiva, Inspector
Subject: Disappearance of Madeleine McCann."

(Extracts)

"Gerald McCann on the other hand, insisted constantly on delivering to Ricardo Paiva, letters and e-mails that he received and selected, most of them from psychics and mediums, and that in general held no credible information about the whereabouts of Madeleine and of her alleged abductor."

"Today" (03/09/07), when Ricardo Paiva went to their residence to notify them to be present at the police headquarters to make a deposition, accompanied by their lawyer, if they wished, Kate McCann immediately reacted negatively, making comments like "what will my parents think" and "what will the press say when they find out" and that the "Portuguese police are suffering pressure from the Government to end the investigation immediately".

-" More recently, even before Kate McCann was questioned, in a phone contact between Gerry Mccann and Ricardo Paiva, when referring to the investigation, Gerry stated that he was certain that the Police didn't have any proof that might incriminate them on the death of Madeleine McCann, and added that the police were wasting their time directing the investigation toward the parents."

11.02: Flores: I have spoken to respected experts on crime and none of them agrees it would be possible to pass a child through the window

11.03: Flores: It is not possible to ask an investigator anywhere in the free world to follow the abduction line only.

11.03: Flores: We would all like to find Madeleine alive, but that is another thing.

11.03: Flores: Our constitutional rights cannot be attacked.

11.05: Flores: The good name of the McCann family is not attacked by Mr Amaral's book. The book is about the investigation.

11.11: As on the first day of the case, the McCanns are sitting on the front bench, listening impassively to the proceedings.

11.12: Flores: No judge should be able to order people not to think about a case just because the police investigation has ceased.

11.17: Flores: No-one should be allowed to steal our constitutional rights - rights that were very hard to win. That is what this trial is about.

"Everyone shall possess the right to freely express and publicise his thoughts in words, images or by any other means, as well as the right to inform others, inform himself and be informed without hindrance or discrimination 2.Exercise of the said rights shall not be hindered or limited by any type or form of censorship Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, Article 37.º"

11.24: Mr Flores is being cross-examined by a lawyer from a Portuguese television company that aired a documentary based on Mr Amaral's book.

Comment: The documentary is available as a video on YouTube, under, "The Truth Of The Lie."

11.26: Flores: It is not true to say that the police only pursued the line of inquiry that the McCanns were guilty.

Comment: See link at the top of this page to the English translation of Gonçalo Amaral's book, which describes in detail the lines of inquiry.

11.26: Flores: Many, many hours were spent by officers checking out every other possible line of inquiry.

Comment: Refer to English translation as above.

11.27: Flores: A detective has to think about what went through the head of the victim and the criminal.

11.30: Flores: It would have been a very stupid person who tried to pass a sleeping child through the window of the McCanns' holiday flat.

Comment: the opening of the window to the childrens' bedroom of apartment 5A in Praia da Luz was very narrow.

11.30: Flores: The theory about passing the child through the window makes it seem as though someone is trying to fool the police.

11.41: The McCanns' lawyer, Isabel Duarte , is repeating the same question to Mr Flores. Yesterday, she became quite impassioned on their behalf.

Comment: The question itself is not noted in this part of the report from the courtroom.

11.42: The McCanns are both in conversation with their interpreters. Gerry however looks relaxed and smiles as he talks.

Comment: However confident a parent might feel about being in the right in a situation like this, I doubt that many parents would find much to smile about in the tense atmosphere of an important courtroom session.

11.47: Flores: I worked in a different part of the police to Mr Amaral but I know him from the investigation and I respect him a lot.

12.00: Isabel Duarte, the McCanns' top lawyer, leaves the bench and approaches the couple for a quick huddled chat before returning to the fray.

12.04: Flores: This case is pathetic. A citizen is being prevented from freely expressing his opinions in a reponsible way.

Comment: Well said Snr Flores! From my reading of Dr Amaral's book, the opinions are indeed expressed in a responsible way.

12.06: Flores: The McCanns have every right to do everything they can beyond what the Portuguese police did in order to find their daughter.

Comment: That right has never been denied to them. I consider that questions arise concerning how they have gone about this search and the various teams of private investigators they have engaged. When Madeleine disappeared, some local people in Praiada Luz took a week off work to help look for Madeleine: the McCanns themselves did not physically search for their daughter.

See: Who Searched For This Little Girl: Part 1

12.12: Flores: The documentary (based on Mr Amaral's) book is a hypothesis that believers take to be the truth.

12.13: Flores: The book is autobiographical, it traces a period of Mr Amaral's life.

12.16: Flores: Sections of the British media spread propaganda about Mr Amaral.

12.20: Glamorous judge Maria Gabriela Cunha Rodrigues halts the cross-examination of Mr Flores by the McCanns' lawyer, saying it is not relevant.

Comment: No details about the nature of the cross-examination. "Glamorous judge."? If this were a young male judge, would the reporter describe him as handsome or attractive etc?

12.22: Flores: It was a scandal to see such nasty portraits painted of the Portuguese investigators by the British media.

Comment: The British media went overboard with stories about long "boozy lunches," and described the investigators as, "incompetent," and "sardine munchers," as well as describing Portugal itself in terms more appropriate to a Third World Country.

12.27: Flores: Mr Amaral was the victim of a smear campain. He is a good professional with a good technical background.

Comment: Gonçalo has an excellent record in criminal investigation and has a PhD in Law.
(Refer to English translation above.)

12.27: Flores: Mr Amaral was the co-ordinator of the investigation. He was not in the field.

12.40: Duarte: What does the title of the book (by Mr Amaral) mean? Flores: The book is a thesis, not the absolute truth.

12.41: jondipaolo: The proceedings have adjourned for lunch. Back in an hour's time.


(Will be updated regularly as the hearing progresses.)

The Circus Is Back In Town!

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Roll up, roll up, folks, the circus returns to the Civil Court in Lisbon tomorrow, Tuesday January 12th. On my right is the "disgraced," former policeman who initially led the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance. On my left, Madeleine's parents, who will return to Lisbon for the three days of the hearing.

We've seen the trailers for this momentous occasion.

Leicestershire police will keep all the information they hold on the case under wraps, some of which may be made public once those responsible for Madeleine's disappearance are brought to justice and all appeals have been exhausted. (The Express Sunday January 3rd)

There was much speculation as to the timing of this press release. What transpires is that this was advance notice for the statement that one Sgt José de Freitas, an English police officer who was sent to Portugal to act as liaison officer between the Portuguese and British police and to give support to the McCann family, will not be able to appear as a witness for Dr Amaral in the hearing about the temporary injunction on his book, "A Verdade da Mentira."

Sgt José de Freitas, in a letter to the judge, invokes English state secrets in his refusal to give evidence in court. (Jornal de Noticias 10/01.2010/)

Now, hang on a minute, I say, wasn't/isn't this a Portuguese police investigation? Logically and in some kind of fairness, doesn't all the information relating to this case belong to the Portuguese police? It seems that logic and fairness doesn't come into this. All the work that Sgt De Freitas carried out in Portugal was recorded and is now subject to the UK laws of state secrets. Which raises the question for me as to should liaison be a two-way process? Seemingly not since the communication that took place between De Freitas and the McCanns is officially now state secrets.

"The English cop, incidentally with a Portuguese name (José de Freitas), was the liaison officer between the Portuguese and English authorities and the McCann couple. On several occasions he accompanied Kate and Gerry, who would be constituted as arguidos, after being confronted with evidence of human blood and cadaver odor in the apartment at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, Lagos. The traces - remember - were detected by the English dogs "Eddie" and "Keela."

"As an usual standard in the procedures of the British, all the contacts and signals expressed by the McCanns were registered, including those that contributed to support the decision to constitute them as suspects. And it's relating to that, and to other data, that Gonçalo Amaral seeks a statement."

"Any potential evidence [testimonial] that I can give may be subject to confidentiality and Immunity of the English Public Interest. Furthermore, since all the services that I performed were official, it is applied the principle of State immunity and it will be necessary the consent of the United Kingdom authorities to waive that State immunity before I could be subject to the jurisdiction of the Portuguese courts and to be able to give any evidence, whether relevant or not. The State immunity covering my official acts is that of the United Kingdom and not mine, and can not be renounced by me, but only by the United Kingdom", wrote José de Freitas to the judge of the Civil Court of Lisbon after having been notified, in a letter that JN had access." (Joana Morais 11/01/2010)

And of course the UK media has made sure that the appearance of the golden couple, Mr and Mrs McCann, who left their three children alone in an unlocked apartment, night after night, but don't we all do it, and it was, "just like dining in your own back garden," has been well featured in their preparations for sending their journalists out to Portugal. Wey hey! Lights, camera, action!

Sky News "McCanns Return To Portugal For Libel Case."

Well actually, like most of the UK media, Sky has got it wrong: this is not the libel action, this is the hearing to decide on the temporary injunction on Snr Amaral's book, the English title of which is, "The Truth Of The Lie."

"Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "I can confirm that Kate and Gerry McCann will be returning to Portugal on Monday to attend the resumption of the Amaral trial on Tuesday.

"The details of their travel plans and itinerary will remain private at their request."

Their itinerary will remain private? Does he mean private as in there will be no details given out or private in that we will be swamped with photos of them wherever they go and only pre-prepared statements will be presented by them?

"The couple have previously said any money awarded in damages by the courts would go towards paying for private investigators to look for their daughter."

Oh dear! More private investigators? Like Metodo 3, the bunch of Spanish goons, who had never investigated even one case of a missing child, who claimed to know who had kidnapped Madeleine, exactly where she was being held and that she would be home in time for Christmas 2008? The bunch of cowboys who are suspected of paying witnesses in Morocco to report sightings of Madeleine?

More private investigators like Oakley International, whose boss is now languishing in jail on fraud charges?

"Kevin Halligen, from Surrey, was hired by the Find Madeleine fund as a security consultant. His Washington-based company, Oakley International, was awarded a six-month £500,000 contract by the fund, but Mr Halligen allegedly disappeared with £300,000."

And what about the intrepid duo Dave Edgar and Arthur Cowley, retired UK police officers, who:

Flew to Germany, insisting that convicted paedophile Raymond Hewlett spoke to them to, "clear his name," as a suspect in the Madeleine McCann case. They issued a 15 year-old photo of Hewlett and claimed some resemblance to an e-fit image of Maddie's alleged abductor.

Received and acted on a report, two years after the event, from a British man on holiday in Barcelona, that he had been approached by a "Victoria Beckham look-a-like," who asked if he had come to, "deliver her daughter." This invoked a massive hunt in Australia for the woman who was said to have been voyaging in a luxury yacht from Australia. However, the dedicated duo of investigators appear not to have actually investigated very thoroughly.

"The Mail on Sunday however, has established that 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."

So, should they by any chance win their libel action, who next? There must be some reputable private detectives in the world, who would seriously and efficiently put their experience to work in searching for a missing child. Are the McCanns just unlucky or have they knowingly thrown money, other people's money, at a few posses of detectives who were never going to find their way out of the bank?

What else has been brought to our attention in the run-up to this media event in Portugal? Well, for some reason, creating a negative image of Snr Amaral maybe, by piling on as much negative guff as possible, several newspapers have dug up a story from last year about The Madeleine Foundation's invitation to Gonçalo Amaral to attend a meeting in the UK in February this year.

Not content with telling its readers about the invitation, which has not been accepted, the Scottish Daily Record/, takes this opportunity to purge itself of some of the rubbish relating to Snr Amaral, which it has fondly cherishing in its bosom, like a half-warmed fish.

"THE cop who led the hunt for Madeleine McCann plans to visit the UK to talk about his claims that her parents are to blame for her disappearance.

Portuguese former police chief Goncalo Amaral also criticised British police involvement in the case.

And he was pictured enjoying

boozy lunches when he should have been working. He was eventually sacked."

Amaral was not "sacked." He was removed from the invesigation and re-assigned to the PJ's offices in Faro. The Record adds something closer to the truth at the end of this piece of journalistic licence.......

"He was the one who authorised their status as arguidos, or official suspects.

But he was removed from his post after five months and then retired."

.........which makes it appear that retirement was imposed on Inspector Amaral, whereas he took early retirement in order to write his book, express himself clearly and recover his reputation which had been tarnished by the likes of the Daily Record.

So, tomorrow it kicks off! Clarence Mitchell, PR spokesperson for the McCanns has obviously been very busy making sure the Teflon Two get their great tranche of publicity in advance of their trip to Portugal. We've seen the videos, we've seen the photos, we've seen the comments about the supposed visit of Gonçalo Amaral and we even know that the McCann twins want to go back to Praia da Luz, from where their sister disappeared in 2007, when they were just two years and three months old, who, in Kate McCann's own words, had never spent much time with Madeleine. Perhaps in going there they will hope to see some evidence of the existence of the sister they probably hardly knew, whom they cannot possibly remember very well by now. Or perhaps, like most four-year-old children they see their parents upset and want to please them.

It appears that there has been an effort to tarnish the image of Gonçalo Amaral, at least in the eyes of the UK reading public in advance of the commencement of the hearings on Tuesday.

Only the Mail On Sunday, in reporting the invitation to Snr Amaral from The Madeleine Foundation, gives an accurate summing up of the reasons he was removed from the case.

"Next week, Amaral is due to appear in a Lisbon court to fight a £1million libel action brought by the McCanns over his book on the case.

In it, he accused the couple of neglecting their children, questioned their need to employ a spokesman and claimed British police were ‘too close’ to them."

Neglecting their children? Well, in spite of the McCanns' insistence that it was, "like dining in your own back garden," we know that the Tapas restaurant was around 100 metres away and that there was no actual view of the apartment from the table where the McCanns and friends were enjoying their meal.

Their need to employ a spokesman? Well why? Why do the parents of a missing child need to employ a full-time media spokesperson? And also, I would add, why did the British ambassador become personally involved and even Gordon Brown throw in his pennyworth? Was all this lined up for the mother of Ben Needham, who disappeared outside his grandparents' house in Greece? No, Ben's mother eventually left the island when she could no longer afford to eat.

And then there is the question of the British police being "too close to them." Well, there may be something in that, given that the Leicestershire police: failed to pass on statements in a timely fashion from the Gaspers, a married couple, both doctors, who made statements relating to allegedly sexualised behaviour by David Payne, in relation to small children; refused to release credit card details for the McCanns; refused to release medical records for Madeleine or Kate McCann; refused to hand over any personal details about any of the Tapas 9 at the beginning of the investigation. All of this recounted in detail in "A Verdade da Mentira," and Snr Amarals's second book, "The English Gag."

"The Truth Of The Lie," is an account of the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance, carried out by Snr Amaral and teams of Portuguese and English police officers. It is nothing more than that. In disclosing details of the investigation, Amaral describes the process by which the McCann couple came to be named arguidos. The book has sold very well in several European countries and nearly a year after its first publication, when it appeared that the book was about to be published in English, for the UK reading public, the McCanns took action to stop it.

My very best wishes to Gonçalo Amaral and his family tomorrow and for each day of the hearings. I doubt sometimes that the truth will ever be known about what happened to Maddie on the night she vanished into thin air and subsequently a spokesperson quoted her parents as saying, "Find the body and prove we killed her," but I also doubt that Gonçalo Amaral will readily give up his quest for that truth or his fight for justice for a little nearly four-year-old child.

Where the lie is erected as truth, one day the world may know the truth of the lie. May that day come soon.

The crowds are gathered, Clarrie, the appointed ringmaster has worked up the audience. Let the circus begin! And please, God, let Gonçalo emerge victorious as the tamer of the English state lions!

Madeleine McCann: "Jane Tanner never left that table that night."

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Watch CBS News Videos Online

CBS video from January 20th, 2008, featuring an interview with private investigator, Joseph Moura speaking to CBS presenter, Hannah Storm. I will précis Hannah Storm's questions and type Moura's answers in full.

The video begins with the presenter talking about the Madeleine McCann case, how it has seen the biggest search in Portuguese history and shows some footage of helicopter and ground search. The voice-over introduces Francisco Marco of the Metodo 3 Spanish detective agency which was engaged by the MCanns to help in the search for their daughter. Francisco Marco states that they know where Madeleine is, who her kidnapper is and how he/they did it. There are images of the McCanns and some audio: Gerry from the prepared statement the couple made soon after their daughter's disappearance; Kate from the interview they did for a Spanish TV channel, saying she believes that Madeleine is still, "out there."

Joseph Moura went to Praia da Luz to investigate the case.

The first question put to Moura is whether he believes this or not, that Madeleine is "out there," alive and that Marco knows where she is.

"Joseph Moura: No, I don't because I think it's a pretty ridiculous statement to be making.

Hannah Storm: asks a question about a sighting 2 days after the disappearance, when Maddie was reported to have been seen with 3 people in a van.

JM: The Portuguese police had 160 police officers working on this case. If this was a set of facts consistent with the real case, they would've identified this person by now.

HS: Question about whether the parents brought about the child's death or if someone abducted her.

JM: Having worked the case in order to identify a timeline, what is the real important part of this case is that in my mind was there enough opportunity for these people to have committed a crime and then dispose of the body. We find that the timeline doesn't fit. They couldn't possibly have been involved. Whether accidental or not, they would've had to dispose of the body and there just wasn't enough time.

HS: Question about how many nights in a row the parents left the children alone.

JM: They had already been out five nights in a row and they had set a pattern and every night was 8.30 sharp they had reservations at the restaurant and they all went there to dine and they had between six and seven bottles of wine when they had their dinner. So, when you start looking at that time element, looking at the waiters who served them and at the bartenders who brought them bottles of wine, then that's how you get that time frame that we're talking about.

HS: Asks if Kate and Gerry left the children alone every night.

JM: They did. They weren't the only ones. Their friends also did the same.

HS: Asks about baby-sitters.

JM: It's a good question because they do provide a baby-sitting service at the compound.

HS: Asks if the holiday apartment was visible from the restaurant. JM had visited the Tapas restaurant and sat at the table the McCanns and friends had occupied on the night of May 3rd 2007.

JM: You cannot see the actual apartment that they were staying at from the table where they sat down.

HS: Asks if the McCanns therefore wouldn't have seen anyone coming or going.

JM: They had no actual view whatsoever.

HS: Mentions that Kate McCann has refused to take a lie detector test.

JM: I think that a lie detector test is inconclusive. I wouldn't take one and I would never advise a client of mine to take one. So, that doesn't necessarily bother me.

HS: Asks about inconsistent stories and specifically about Jane Tanner's statement about having seen a man carrying a child.

JM: Jane Tanner gives a very inconsistent story. It's not a truthful story. I'm not quite sure why she did it. I mean it would be impossible for all these people to be getting up and going to check on the children, going off for walks, when they have only an hour and twenty minutes time frame. They have dinner, they had seven bottles of wine and they had their coffees. There's just not enough time to do all these things. She never left that table that night.

HS: In a word, do you think this girl's alive?

JM: I do not."

It seems that Joseph Moura is saying that he thinks the McCanns and friends could not have been involved in Madeleine's disappearance because there just wasn't enough time for them to have made her disappear into thin air as she appeared to have done. Also, he appears to be implying that they wouldn't have managed all the checks they listed on their timeline for the evening on the covers of a child's sticker album, repeated in their interviews.

Mr Moura states, quite categorically, that Jane Tanner never left the table that night. So, I am extrapolating that he believes, or at least believed at the time, that fewer or no checks were actually made on the children, thus creating a greater window of opportunity for any would-be abductor. How he would explain the total lack of forensic evidence of an abductor having passed through the apartment, I don't know: the only fingerprints on the window that was said to have been forced and found open by Kate McCann were her own. No break-in and no traces at all left behind by the abductor.

The most interesting aspects, for me, of this interview are that Mr Moura strongly insists that Jane Tanner did not leave the table and that the timeline details as given by the Tapas 9 would have been impossible, given the time available and their dining and drinking habits.

So, let's run through a few options of what could have happened to Madeleine McCann.

1) There were no checks whatsoever on the children, thus leaving a huge window of opportunity for the abductor, although Gerry was in the vicinity of the apartment when he bumped into Jez Wilkins.

2) The checks were all carried out with the group playing musical chairs and there was a very small window of opportunity for the abductor, who was watching and waiting and accomplished the deed in a matter of a few minutes, leaving no trace of himself and making a clean gettaway.

3) Gerry's was the only check and the abductor had lots of time, thus leaving the McCanns guilty of neglect leading to significant harm under the Children and Young Persons Act (1932)

4) The Tapas 9 are a bunch of lying toads and at least two of them know what happened to Madeleine.

I'm sure there are other scenarios, so please add any you think may be plausible or implausible (like the abduction theory itself) if you wish.

Gonçalo Amaral: Here's to the glorious twelfth!

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As most of the world knows, in September, the McCanns obtained a temporary injunction on the sale of Gonçalo Amaral's book, the English title of which is "The Truth of the Lie."

The hearing, at which Gonçalo Amaral was due to present witnesses in an attempt to overturn the injunction was postponed due to staff sickness in the office of Snr Amaral's lawyer. Outside the Civil Court building in Lisbon, Kate and Gerry did a 1-2 double act about how they weren't disappointed and Kate MCann asserted the rights of "human beings," above the right to freedom of speech. She sounded like she was trying hard to remember the words used by her lawyer in some kind of pep talk. "Mrs McCann your human rights are being infringed," but Kate asserted the rights of human beings, which being a rather pedantic person led me to wonder if she was therefore stressing the rights of human beings over the rights of, say, jelly fish or orangutans. Free the Chiltern Hundreds I say. They have rights!

Anyway! The delayed hearing has been rescheduled for Tuesday January 12th. In the past week or so, there have been interesting developments, both in the mainstream media and on various blogs.

On Sunday January 3rd, the Express reported...

"Thousands of British police files detailing the hunt for Madeleine McCann will not be released unless those behind her disappearance are brought to justice." (Emphasis mine.)

.......and in the Monday 4th January edition of the Express, we were given...

"THOUSANDS of police files detailing the British involvement in the hunt for Madeleine McCann will remain secret until her kidnappers are brought to justice, it emerged yesterday." (Emphasis mine.)

Those behind Madeleine's disappearance are not necessarily kidnappers and this appears to be what the original press release, presumably from the police force "Operation Task," investigating Madeleine's disappearance, is stating by their more generalised phrasing. What happened in the 24 hours between those editions? A press release from the McCann team? "You promised Mr Express editor, to make sure our comments were published on any news story relating to Madeleine."?

The question arises about why this statement now. Is there a connection between the timing of this press release and the upcoming hearing in the Lisbon Court? If so, what? Several theories have been mooted: the McCanns made a request to Leicestershire police for access to the files and they were turned down; the Leicestershire police were sending a message to Gonçalo Amaral that if he had wanted to use anything contained in those files, he could whistle Dixie! In all likelihood, this is just coincidence, because in the UK, police files would never be released while, as the press release states, the investigation is ongoing. Also, I would have thought that the court in Lisbon would have the power to requisition the information from Leicestershire police in what is, after all, a Portuguese police investigation.

THE HEARING WILL BE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS?

On Thursday January 7th, John Blacksmith reported on his blog, The Blacksmith Bureau, that next week's hearing would be behind closed doors. John does not reveal a source for this news, but he does go on to say that the details will emerge from behind those closed doors, bit by bit, inexorably.

"Whatever the verdict, the key elements of the court proceedings will come out, one way or another, during the coming months, like a dripping wound.

In July 2008 the Coffin and Gerry McCann, the latter with a spring in his step, the former lurching behind, shedding pine chips, were able to twist the meaning of the Portuguese prosecutors’ report because they had privileged access to it in translation. This time? Oh, no - there are plenty of Portuguese civil libertarians, volunteers for a cause they believe in, to ensure that the information will flow freely. The Team, from next week on, are going to be unable to stop the bleeding."

If John Blacksmith's information has come from a reputable source and the hearing is to be held in camera, for whose benefit is this likely to be? The McCanns' because they have reason to be concerned about how this is reported in the Portuguese media and the presence of members of the Portuguese public, who were vocal in their dislike of the McCanns in December? Gonçalo Amaral's in that his lawyer may wish to ask Snr Amaral's witnesses certain question which would touch on information contained in the thousands of files which have not yet been made public by the Portuguese police?

Outside the court in Lisbon in December, Snr Amaral appeared to quite relaxed, composed and confident: no ummms, errrrs, or you knows from him! He has always affirmed that his book, "A Verdade da Mentira," is nothing more than a narrative about the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance, which was carried out by teams of Portuguese and English police officers. As far as I can tell from reading the said book, that is exactly what it appears to be.

Gerry McCann's assertion is that people will stop looking for Madeleine if they believe Amaral's thesis that, "an innocent little girl is dead." (Gerry's words.) There's something about Gerry's words that makes me decidedly uncomfortable. Implicit in the phrase, "..an innocent little girl is dead," seems to be some kind of implication that a little girl was being blamed for her own demise. Why does Gerry have to keep stressing, "innocent."? Could a little three-year-old girl be described as guilty? And if so, would her death not be such a crime or so significant? The use of the "innocent little girl," mantra would, in my opinion, be a plea to the mentality of the tabloid-reading public. "Innocent grandmother of 4 bitten by viscious unemployed teenage hoodie's ferret."

The MCanns and their backers have thrown oodles of dosh at expensive legal firm Carter Ruck, (They of the Trafigura injunction in which they sought to prohibit an MP's question in the House being made public), Portuguese PR firm "Lift Consulting," and Portuguese lawyers, in an attempt not only to ban Snr Amaral's book and prevent him from even talking about it, but have sought to silence bloggers who have dared to question their abduction theory. To me, though, in spite of all that, for all his posturing and ranting through his puckered, spaghetti-hole mouth, Gerry McCann's threats still sound as scary as Achmed, the dead terrorist! I keeeel you!



The McCanns' abduction theory has as much substance as Achmed's body. There is no substance to it. In nearly three years they have tried to pad it out with Jane Tanner's still being updated story and description of an elusive abductor, with sightings from all over the world, and simply their repeated protestations that it is so.

And finally, the television programme, which was broadcast on Portuguese TV, released on DVD, and included in the temporary injunction obtained by the McCanns, is available (of course!) on the internet. Here for the convenience of my readers, is the video with English sub-titles.



For more excellent videos and commentary on the Madeleine McCann case, see:

http://joana-morais.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Joana, for allowing embedding of this video.

And to Dr Gonçalo Amaral, my very best wishes and hopes that the 12th of January will indeed be the glorious twelfth, when at least some of the truth behind all the lies will come out. Let's hope that very soon the world will be able to distinguish the truth from the lies.

Anjem Choudary talks of 7/7 and states that only Muslims are "innocent."

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Anjem Choudary is the leader of Islam4UK, the Islamic group that is planning to stage a protest march through Wootton Bassett. Here, he is discussing the London bombings of 7/7 and refusing to condemn the actions of his, "Muslim brothers," while implicitly stating that since only Muslims are "innocent," and all those people who died or were seriously injured on the tube trains and on the London bus were legitimate targets.

This is the person who claims that all he wants to do is honour the Muslims who have been killed as a result of the war in Afghanistan.

Somehow, I don't believe him.

"They Shall Not Pass."

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Above: hundreds of people line the streets of Wootton Bassett as coffins carrying the repatriated dead service men and women from Afghanistan pass through.

Islam4UK, an Islamic group linked to the extremist organisation Al-Muhajiroun is planning a march through Wootton Bassett in the coming weeks in memory of Muslims, "‘murdered in the name of democracy and freedom’. There's something quite ironic there.

Islam4UK's leader, Anjem Choudary, said the protest, involving 500 people, would be ‘peaceful’ and that ‘symbolic coffins’ would be carried to honour Muslim victims of the conflict.

"But Chris Wannell, the Wiltshire town’s former mayor, said: ‘We don’t do what we do for any political reason but to pay our respects to those who have given their lives for our freedom.

‘We are a Christian country and a traditional old English market town who honour very much our Queen and country. We obey the law and pay respects to our servicemen who protect our freedom."(Daily Mail)

Now, I'll come out here and say that I am a pacifist and that I particularly see no sense in the original reasons for invading Afghanistan or for the continuing conflict there. However, I have known men and women who have served in the armed forces, most of whom have joined with very good intentions and a belief that they were defending the freedoms we in the west enjoy and possibly helping people in countries who did not enjoy those freedoms. I have also, as a teacher, known young people who intended to join the armed forces, some because they saw it as a way to gain training for future employment and as a way to travel and see some of the world, some because they couldn't think of any other way to leave home, most with a sense of doing something honourable and decent.

The people who turn out time after time in Wootton Bassett to pay their respects to the British service men and women who have been killed in Afghanistan could be honouring one of my ex-students, young people who went where they were sent and died for a cause that I don't believe is worth dying for, but I think they and their families and the people of Wootton Bassett should not be insulted by this planned march.

On October 4th, 1936, an event took place in London, that came to be known as, "The Battle Of Cable Street." Oswald Mosley and his British Union of Fascists planned to march through Stepney, the area with the largest Jewish population in England.

"Their way was blocked by thousands of demonstrators, made up of communists, Jews, dockers and labourers from the local community.

They flooded the narrow streets, making them impassable. They carried banners and chanted "They Shall Not Pass" a slogan adopted from the Spanish Republicans." (BBC)

This planned demonstration by around 500 people from Islam4UK must not be allowed to happen. Those of us who feel that the dead from a futile war should be allowed to travel in peace to their final resting place and that the route of their final journey should not be tainted by hate must come together now and echo the words of those ordinary folks of East End London.

"They shall not pass."

Madeleine McCann: who searched for this little girl? (Part 4) Metodo 3?

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Above: the McCanns arriving back in the UK soon after being made arguidos.

I'm still on a mission to find the McCanns searching for their daughter. While in Portugal, they traveled a great deal, they probably did a little shopping, but did they search? Even when they eventually reached Morocco, in spite of reported sightings there, which were thought to have been interesting, the McCanns never went to investigate the relevant areas for themselves.

Back to The McCann Files for a detailed diary of events leading up to and following Madeleine's disappearance. Nigel Moore, what would we do without you and your meticulously maintained site?

http://mccannfiles.com/id12.html

We are finally approaching some searching folks....well, I think we are, ye know, well, really...

October 2007 saw a great tsunami of activity in the UK press, based on articles in Portuguese journals for the most part.

At the beginning of the month Carlos Anjos, head of Portugal's Police Federation ridiculed Gerry's theory that an abductor had been hiding in the apartment when he went to check on the children. Gonçalo Amaral was removed from the investigation following an outburst about his English colleagues.

Eileen McCann, Madeleine's grandmother who lives in Scotland, stated that any of Madeleine's DNA that was found in the hired car could be explained by the fact that Amelie was wearing Madeleine's sandals and her tops. (Daily Mail 2/10/09)

I find it quite strange that Amelie was wearing her sister's clothes. If one of my children had disappeared, there is no way that their clothes would have been worn by another child in the family. At some point I may have given some to a charity shop, just some, but I would not have immediately been dressing another child in those clothes. This seems like another clue that Kate and Gerry were not expecting Madeleine to turn up any time soon.

It emerged that the McCanns were carrying out their own 'secret investigation,' and their legal team was interviewing all witnesses to the events of May 3rd, the McCanns being confident that they would be cleared by Christmas. (Daily Mail)

A friend of the McCann couple said that evidence gathered would be presented to the Portuguese prosecutor. They would say, 'This is what we have got. We advise you not to go any further.' (Daily Mail)

A very worrying way to address a public prosecutor, I would say. If that really was how they would have worded it, there is a hint of threat there, in my opinion.

On October 18th, Channel 4 broadcast their Dispatches programme about Madeleine, in which it was claimed that entry via the shuttered window would have been almost impossible.

On October 25th, the McCanns released an artist's impression (another one!) of the man Jane Tanner had seen, carrying a child in the vicinity of the McCanns' holiday apartment. The McCanns went into reverse about their claim that an abductor had broken in through the window of apartment 5A and reveal that they believe the window was opened from the inside as a means of escape. Clarence Mitchell said he couldn't go into detail about the matter.

And here we come to the first mention of Metodo 3, Spanish detective agency hired by the McCanns. They are quoted as saying that they are convinced that Madeleine is being held in Morocco.

http://mccannfiles.com/id26.html

Into November and there is another alleged sighting of Madeleine in Morocco, which turns out to be old news as the event took place on August 21st.

On November 22nd, Portugal's top law officer, Pinto Monteiro, is quoted as saying that the huge publicity surrounding Madeleine's disappearance would have turned her into a liability if she had been abducted and 'There's a greater possibility of the girl being dead than alive.' (In an interview with current affairs publication Visao)

Searching folks! It is confirmed that Spanish detective agency, Metodo 3, is being paid £50,000 a month by the Find Madeleine Fund, for a 6 month contract. Metodo 3 is said to have up to 40 operatives working on the ground in the hunt for Madeleine, in at least 3 countries.

So, let's have a wee shufftie here at the search for Madeleine by this detective agency.

SOS Madeleine McCann 24/10/2007

By Duarte Levy and Paulo Reis

Levy and Reis present a run-down on the previous work undertaken by this agency. They have no previous experience of dealing with cases of missing children, their work having been focused on clients from the commercial and industrial sectors, dealing with such issues as money-laundering and security. Based in Barcelona, Metodo 3 was responsible for the new phone line set up after the latest appeal for information from the McCanns. The Portuguese police had not been consulted about this phone line.

SOS Madeleine McCann 31/10/2007

By Duarte Levy and Paulo Reis

A top-ranking Moroccan police officer stated that most of the children taken to Morocco were children who were involved in custody disputes, between a Moroccan and a non-Moroccan parent. There was paedophile activity in Morocco, but it was usually Moroccan children being abducted by foreigners for the prostitution trade in other countries, like Italy.

Metodo 3 claimed to know that Madeleine was being held in the Rif area of Morocco, but a Moroccan organisation against paedophilia, 'Touche pas a mon enfant," was quoted as saying there were hundreds of blonde children in the Rif area and also they did not believe that Madeleine would have been taken there by a paedophile ring, as claimed by Metodo 3, who state that they have a number of leads to follow up and know precisely where Madeleine is being held.

SOS Madeleine McCann 5/11/2007

Another blonde Moroccan child who isn't Madeleine McCann. A Spanish woman contacted the Metodo 3 help line to say that she had reported to the Spanish police in August having seen a blonde child whom she was 100% sure was Madeleine McCann. The Moroccan police were obliged to follow up every sighting and this child was not Madeleine. Metodo 3 insist that they have witness statements from lots of people who have seen Madeleine in Morocco.

SOS Madeleine McCann 10/11/2007

An Irish citizen on holiday in Bosnia contacted Metodo 3 to report that he had seen Madeleine in a Bosnian city. Clarence Mitchell said this sighting was being taken very seriously.

And so it goes on:

November 18th 2007: Francisco Marco states that he knows who kidnapped Madeleine.

November 20th 2007: A woman gives a witness statement to Metodo 3, stating that she had seen Michaela Walczuch, Robert Murat's friend, in Morocco, close to where Madeleine had been sighted.

Miss a few! See SOS Maddie blog for all posts on this subject.

December 22nd 2007: Metodo 3 admits never having known where Madeleine was, although they had assured that they would have Madeleine home by Christmas.

December 28th 2007: Metodo 3 comes up with two witnesses who say they had seen Robert Murat in the vicinity of the McCanns' apartment on the night she disappeared.

If they can't find Madeleine, it's that fall-back technique, once again, finger a patsy!

February 23rd 2008: Metodo 3 detective who had been involved in their hunt for Madeleine, is arrested for theft of cocaine from a police warehouse in Barcelona.

March 13th 2008: A detective working for Metodo 3 in Morocco is alleged to have paid witnesses to say they had seen Madeleine, according to a senior Moroccan police officer.

February 2nd 2009: Metodo 3 under investigation for money-laundering.

The Metodo 3 contract was not renewed on the same basis, but the agency was kept on a retainer and would raise its head again!

First of all, a very unlikely detective agency to be hired to hunt for a missing child, one that had no experience in this area of detective work and one that had previously been under suspicion for illegal phone tapping (The McCann Files day 206)

And what a shower they turned out to be: theft of cocaine, suspected of paying witnesses, suspected of money-laundering and admitting that they had never actually known where Madeleine was.

Metodo 3 didn't seem to do a great deal of actual searching for Madeleine. Their mission appeared to be to find as many witnesses as possible to alleged sightings, none of which turned out to have any basis in truth.

Hey ho! Next!