Enfants Kidnappés 3/09/08: Diane Webster's statement 4/05/07

http://www.kidnapping.be/maddie/maddie.html

3/09/08

The interview begins at 8.45pm on May 4th 2007. Since the informant has no command of Portuguese in spoken or written form, an interpreter was called for: Natalia C.

On the matter in hand, we note that:

The informant is interviewed as a witness, She is part of a group who traveled to Portugal with the parents of the minor, Madeleine. She is FIONA's mother. She had accompanied her, her husband and her two small children. She has known the parents of the missing child, Kate and Gerald, for around four years, through her daughter. They have since become friends.

She states that the McCann couple have three children, twins aged two and Madeleine, nearly four years. She thinks the idea of coming to Portugal came from her daughter. She believes her daughter knows Portugal.

The informant arrived in Portugal on April 28th at around 12.20/12.30 from Leicestershire to Faro and then to Praia da Luz. From Faro to the Ocean Club they they used the airport's shuttle service. After checking in, she was placed in apartment G5H with her family. (Her daughter, her son-in-law and their two small children)

Concerning the usual routines, the informant states that she only spent part of each afternoon with her family and that not always. Sometimes she read, she went shopping or did other things. As for the mornings, she only had lunch one day with her family, Wednesday, because it was raining. On the other days, she spent the mornings playing tennis.

Concerning the day yesterday, she went to the beach with the children, her son-in-law and her daughter. They arrived there at around 3.45pm and left at around 6.15pm to go to the tennis courts where she stayed until 7pm. The informant then went to the apartment with the small children and ten minutes later, her son-in-law, David, joined them. With her son-in-law's help, they bathed the children.

They left the apartment at around 8.45 and accompanied by her son-in-law and her daughter, they went to join the rest of the group at the "TAPAS" restaurant. The McCann couple were amongst the other friends at dinner. To our question, the informant told us that given that her daughter had an intercom allowing them to hear if the children were shouting or crying, no one went to check on the spot. However, she reported that Kate and Gerald as well as other couples went a few times, on a regular basis, to make sure their children were OK. During one of these checks, Kate came back, frightened and nervous, even panicked, saying that Madeleine had disappeared.

They immediately organised search parties, in the apartment, thinking that she could be hiding in there, then outside. In spite of help from the Ocean Club's employees, the searches were fruitless.

The informant does not know Madeleine well, because she lives a long way from the McCanns, and she cannot say very much about Madeleine's personality. Nevertheless, she reports that Madeleine was calm but active and energetic and well brought up. She is an attractive and a good child.

During this holiday, she has noticed nothing unusual or which could be linked to the investigation.

She has no other details to add. After reading with the interpreter, who explains to her, she goes on and signs.

The rest of the news....

(I'll finish the rest of the news tomorrow!)

Comment: I just keep getting this sense of Déjà vu with each new statement I type. I am sure that Diane Webster's words are almost identical to those of someone else in places, especially when she talks about Kate's going back to the restaurant, frightened, nervous and panicked even.

SOS Madeleine McCann 27/05/08: four of the McCanns' friends refuse to return to Praia da Luz for the reconstruction.

SOS Maddie 27/05/08

Maddie : Quatre amis des McCann ont refusé la reconstitution de la nuit du crime

La PJ va maintenant discuter avec le Ministère Public pour savoir si celui-ci avance avec l'accusation ou si la reconstitution reste indispensable.

Quatre des amis qui avaient accompagné Gerry et Kate McCann pendant leurs vacances au Portugal ont refusé de retourner à Praia da Luz pour y participer à la reconstitution des événements liés à la disparition de Madeleine, une diligence prévue pour jeudi et vendredi prochains et que la Police Judiciaire (PJ) considérait "extrêmement importante" pour consolider l’enquête.

Maddie: Four of the McCanns' friends have refused the reconstruction of the night of the crime. The PJ are now going to discuss with the Public Ministry to find out if they will proceed with the prosecution or if the reconstruction is still necessary. Four friends who had accompanied Gerry and Kate McCann during thier holiday in Portugal have refused to return to Praia da Luz to participate in the reconstruction of the events linked to Madeleine's disappearance, an action planned for next Thursday or Friday and which the PJ would consdier, "extremely important," to consolidate the enquiry.

L’information, confirmée aujourd’hui par une note du cabinet du Procureur Générale de la République (PGR), avance encore que, faute de leur présence, la diligence serait pure et simplement annulée.

L’annonce du refus de coopération des quatre britanniques, et la conséquente annulation de la reconstitution, n’a pas surpris les enquêteurs car ils avaient déjà reçu, il y a plus d’une semaine, l’information de leurs collègues au Royaume-Uni de qu’au moins deux des "Tapas sept", le couple Jane Tanner et Russell O’Brien, n’allaient pas revenir.

The information, confirmed today by a note from the office of the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR) further states that, without their presence, the action would purely and simply be cancelled. The announcement of the refusal to cooperate by the four British people, and the consequent cancellation of the reconstruction, has not surprised the investigators because they had already received, over a week ago, the information from their colleagues in the United Kingdom that at least two of the, "Tapas seven," the couple Jane Tanner and Russell O'Brien would not be going to return.

Vendredi passé, un haut responsable de la police britannique à Enderby, avait révélé que "Kate et Gerry McCann ont établie un accord avec leurs sept amis visant empêcher la réalisation de la reconstitution demande par les autorités portugaises," soulignant "qu’ils savent que cette reconstitution n’aura pas lieu si le groupe n’y est pas au complet."

Last Friday, a senior officer of the British police at Enderby, had revealed that, "Kate and Gerry have established an agreement with their seven friends to prevent the setting up of the reconstruction requested by the Portuguese authorities," stressing that, "they know that this reconstruction will not take place if the whole group is not there."

Selon le même officier, le couple McCann ne voulait pas "refuser directement et en public leur participation, sous peine de voir l’opinion publique au Royaume-Uni se retourner contre eux. "

"Si leur présence est exigé, ils iront, ils doivent y aller," avait dit Clarence Mitchell à propos de Kate et Gerry McCann soulignant que le couple avait toujours le statut d’arguidos, ce que n’était pas le cas des amis.

According to the same police officer, the McCann couple would not want to, "directly and publicly refuse their participation, at the risk of seeing public opinion in the United Kingdom turn against them."

"If their presence is necessary, they must go," Clarence Mitchell said about Kate and Gerry McCann, stressing that the couple still had arguido status, which was not the case with the friends.

Les sept amis - Jane Tanner et Russell O’Brien, Matthew et Rachael Oldfield, David et Fiona Payne, et la mère de celle-ci, Diane Webster – ont été interrogés comme témoins au Portugal et au Royaume-Uni affirmant vouloir aider l’enquête à la disparition de Madeleine, une position que la PJ avait déjà remise en cause par le passé et que le refus annoncé aujourd’hui semble confirmer.

The seven friends - Jane Tanner and Russell O'Brien, Matthew and Rachael Oldfield, David and Fiona Payne, and her mother Diane Webster - were questioned as witnesses in Portugal and in the United Kingdom, stating being willing to help the enquiry into Madeleine's disappearance, a position which the PJ had already questioned in the past and which their refusal announced today seems to confirm.

**********Transcript ends**********

On Friday May 2nd, Enfants Kidnappés reported that a reconstruction had already taken place last year in October, without the principal, "players," in the case.

http://www.kidnapping.be/maddie/maddie.html

"Une reconstitution a déjà été faite.

C'est dans un certain silence, voire une certaine indifférence qu'une première reconstitution a déjà été faite en octobre 2007. Une reconstitution, en langage criminel, signifie rassembler tous les éléments et intervenants d'une même affaire et les replacer dans les circonstances du crime ou du délit. Permettant d'avoir une vue complète sur les évènements. Ce qui n'est pas possible sur papier ou bien des éléments peuvent ne pas paraître aussi évident. Ainsi, une reconstitution permet de révéler bien des éléments. Or une première reconstitution a déjà été faite en octobre dernier avec tous les éléments et figurants présent à Praia de Luz le 03 mai entre 18h30 et 22h40. Seuls, les intervenants principaux n'étaient pas présents. C'était voulu! En effet, maintenant la PJ dispose d'une vue précise de ce qui s'est passé ou plutôt de "qui faisait quoi" et surtout "où et à quel moment" précis

A reconstruction has already been done.

It was in a certain silence, even a certain indifference that the first reconstruction was done in October 2007. A reconstruction, in criminal language, means bringing back together all the elements and players in the case and putting them back into the circumstances of the crime or offence, allowing a complete view of the events. This is not possible on paper, where many of the details would not be clear enough. Thus a reconstruction allows the details to be revealed more clearly. Now, a first reconstruction has already been done last October with all the elements and the people present in Praia da Luz on May 3rd between 18.30 and 22.40. Only the principal players were not present. It was valuable. In fact, now the PJ has a clear view of what happened or rather of, "who did what," and above all, "where and at what time," precisely."

"Praia da Luz one year in the past."

Perhaps the Public Prosecutor will be willing to allow the PJ to proceed with the case based on what was discovered during this previous reconstruction in October 2007. When the PJ state that the planned reconstruction with the principal, "players," Kate and Gerry and friends, would allow them to compare the points of view of witnesses and suspect, perhaps this is where the comparison would be made, between details gleaned from witnesses in the previous re-enactment, and that including the Tapas Nine.

So, what now? The McCanns are still official suspects in the enquiry and the PJ consider the reconstruction to be necessary. Four of those who were present on the evening of Madeleine's disappearance are unable to attend and participate in a reconstruction. You'd think the McCanns, who vowed to, "leave no stone unturned," in the search for their child, would be begging their friends to participate in anything which might have the remotest chance of helping to discover what had happened to that child. I don't think I'd be ready to accept, "Sorry, I can't make it," if this had been my child.

The McCanns were made arguidos and departed pretty sharpish on the next available plane, promising to returns when requested to do so by the PJ, the Tapas seven have stated that they would be willing to help in any way, yet none of them look as though they making any great shakes to get their asses over there to the Algarve. Public opinion turning against the McCanns? That seems to have happened quite some time ago and, in my opinion, the only way to restore some of that would be to book a flight to Portugal and to do their best to persuade their friends to accompany them. What could possibly be more important than participating in something which may help to resolve the disappearance of a very young child, however useless they might think it is?