Updated - The McCann case: analysis of telephone calls reveals a lead that wasn't investigated.

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16/12/08

Justine McGuiness and the Vascão river.

Justine McGuiness, spokesperson for the McCanns who accompanied them in fleeing to England immediately after they were made arguidos, left various documents in the apartment that served as the couple's headquarters, including photographs, establishing a possible connection between Madeleine's disappearance and the banks of the river Vascão, near the Spanish border. Today, 19 months after Madeleine's disappearance, the trail left by Justine McGuiness resurfaces.

It is September 9th 2007, the day that Kate and Gerry take flight to England, four months after Madeleine McCann's disappearance that the PJ get their hands on a series of documents left in the Vista Mar villa, until then occupied by the couple, where photographs and even a sketch are found, indicating the detailed location of a place on the border between Alentejo and the Algarve, 20 km from Almodovar, crossed by the Vascão river. The PJ inspectors went into the house immediately after the McCanns left for the airport, thus taking advantage of the fact that the journalists were accompanying the couple.

The documents left there by the McCanns' spokesperson, Justine McGuiness, were found under a sofa. In addition to the identification of a clearly defined geographic area, were numerous inscriptions which the PJ have never succeeded in interpreting. According to sources close to the investigation, nothing was done in this direction and the PJ employees who allegedly regarded the documents as being the work of an esoteric group, did not even take the trouble to visit the place indicated, considering the lead as being of no value to the case.

The McCanns' spokesperson, who was with them throughout the time when they were constituted arguidos under Portuguese law, ended up being dismissed on her arrival in England, this in spite of the fact that she might prove to be one of the most embarrassing witnesses for the couple and the English authorities. The fact is that Justine McGuiness has never been questioned by the PJ and thus it is that the exact significance of the documents and photographs has never been explained.

In statements recorded recently in London, sources close to the former Liberal Party candidate and specialist in public relations, confirmed that Justine McGuiness was even allegedly the target of various pressures, notably in the legal field, meaning, for her, that she should keep quiet about everything she saw and heard during the time she worked for Kate and Gerry McCann.

What is certain is that the former spokesperson and her employers, the McCanns, were already at odds, particularly with Kate, on the day they left Portugal together and their "divorce" on arrival in England did not surprise anyone. Justine had always directed very harsh criticism towards Madeleine's mother, sometimes in the presence of journalists. And the poor relations between the two women were not limited to financial matters, on which Justine always demanded settlement for her work and for numerous extra hours spent with the couple, but also in meetings and dinners with journalists and representatives of the British authorities.

Today, all this might have been forgotten if it were not for the results of an investigation into records of the McCanns' telephone calls and of all the people who were in contact with them, an investigation led by journalists, in collaboration with former operatives of the information services.

Swansea again.

In the course of the enquiry into calls received and made by mobile phones belonging to the McCanns. during the time they spent in Portugal, the investigators were to find a report by inspector Paulo Dias of the PJ where he confirms that on May 2nd 2007, Kate received a call from Swansea (UK) at around 11.21am that she would later justify to the PJ as being a mistake. A sufficiently important "mistake" for Madeleine's mother to keep the log of that call on her mobile phone, in spite of having deleted the details of other communications.

Yet more interesting, the investigators - some of them British - used to dealing with cases labeled sensitive, were to find the recording of a telephone call made after lunch on the same day, between a mobile phone in Praia da Luz and the same Swansea number which had contacted Kate McCann. The mobile from which the call was made belonged neither to either of the McCanns nor to the group of friends who accompanied them and to date the PJ, in spite of various requests to the English authorities, have never managed to identify the owner of that mobile nor obtained anything from the English, whoever they asked, about those calls.

Now, in correlating the results obtained from mobile phone operators in Portugal and Spain with reports from the PJ, especially the excellent work of Paulo Dias, investigators and journalists have found a new element worthy of interest: the mobile used in Praia da Luz to call the Swansea number which had contacted Kate on May 2nd, was used to make and receive calls in the area indicated in the documents and photographs that the McCanns' spokesperson left under the sofa, on the day of the flight to England.

According to the now known records, the mobile was used near the Vascão river on various occasions, notably between May 12th and 15th 2007, but also in June and July of the same year, telephone calls always made to England or Praia da Luz, except one, made to the British Embassy in Lisbon.

Clarence Mitchell: how I met Gerry and Kate McCann

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Clarence Mitchell : Comment j'ai rencontré Gerry et Kate McCann …

The spokesperson for the McCann family was questioned, as a witness (under oath..) by the Leicestershire police, on April 28th 2008. Clarence Mitchell explained to them how he met Gerry McCann in 2007, at the end of May, when Madeleine's father went back to the United Kingdom for the first time after his daughter's disappearance.

According to Clarence Mitchell, it was a casual encounter (1) at Leicestershire police while he was working for the consular assistance unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Clarence Mitchell told the Leicestershire police in his witness statement, that he was invited to go to Portugal with Gerry McCann, where he met his wife, Kate McCann.

Later, according to his statements, he developed a good professional and personal rapport with the family. In the same witness statement, Clarence Mitchell states that he went to Portugal on May 22nd 2007 (the meeting at Leicestershire police with Gerry was on May 21st 2007) and that he stayed there until the middle of June. After his return to the United Kingdom, he maintained daily contact with the family and met with them 2 or 3 times a week.

Seconded to the Foreign Office.

But according to Minister of State, Jim Murphy, on May 7th 2008, Clarence Mitchell was seconded by the Central Office of Information (COI) to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, for a period of 25 days, in May 2007, to assist Madeleine McCann's family in dealing with the media.

Mr Jim Murphy revealed these details when questioned by Elliot Morley, Labour Party MP for the Scunthorpe constituency, on May 7th 2008, as shown in "Hansard - written responses," at the House of Commons.

After his return to the United Kingdom, mid-June 2007, Clarence Mitchell continued working as head of the Media Monitoring Unit, a department of the British government's Central Office of Information (COI). He resigned from the COI on September 7th 2007.

In August 2006, the Media Monitoring Unit employed 18 people, and according to information published in the media, it started to monitor blogs which published info about sensitive issues concerning government politics in 2007, using software developed by, "23 ltd," Internet Intelligence Service

The McCanns, victims of a heinous crime.

Clarence Mitchell was replaced by the Liberal Democrat Justine McGuinness, expert in communications and public relations, on June 2nd 2007. Justine announced her resignation soon after the McCanns returned to the United Kingdom and Clarence Mitchell left his well paid job with the government to become the McCanns' spokesperson, with a salary of £75,000 paid by the millionaire Brian Kennedy.

When he was starting his new job, he justified his decision to leave the Media Monitoring unit, stating clearly what he thought of the decision by the Portuguese police and the Public Prosecutor's Office to constitute the McCanns as arguidos or formal suspects: "I did it because I feel very strongly that they are the innocent victims of a heinous crime and I am willing to give up my career in government service to help them (....) I will simply represent Kate and Gerry as an individual, who believes that they are innocent of any involvement in the disappearance, let alone the death, of their daughter, Madeleine.

Duarte Levy and Paulo Reis.

(1) Gerry McCann left from Faro airport on May 20th 2007, on a late flight. He arrived at Coventry airport in the early hours of May 21st. The media had been informed that the trip was for personal reasons, but also for meetings with the organisers of the Find Madeleine Fund. He met Clarence Mitchell at the headquarters of Leicestershire police, and went to Rothley where he visited the place of pilgrimage, improvised in Madeleine's honour, set up at the war memorial in the centre of the village. The Daily Mail wrote that Gerry's meeting with the Leicestershire police was to see how they were coordinating their investigations, because they were the police force responsible for cooperation with the Portuguese police. On May 22nd, Clarence Mitchell and Gerry McCann took a return flight to the Algarve.

SOS Madeleine McCann 8/06/08: the British Foreign Office helped the McCanns return home

Le Foreign Office britannique a aidé les McCann à rentrer à la maison.

Entre 7 et 10 septembre de l'année dernière, Kate McCann luttait pour sa vie, selon The News Of The World parce que les autorités portugaises essayaient de l'incriminer. "Ils veulent que je mens- je suis incriminé", dit Kate McCann au Sunday Mirror. La raison, explique Kate, était le fait que la Police Judiciaire "manquait de budget pour poursuivre les investigations et voudrais y mettre un terme". Une autre raison, dit’ elle, était que la police portugaise "ne veut pas d’un meurtre au Portugal ni de la publicité à propos du fait qu’ils n’ont pas de lois contre la pédophile ici, ainsi ils nous accusent."

Between September 7th and 10th last year, Kate McCann was struggling for her life, according to the News Of The World, because the Portuguese authorities were trying to incriminate her. “They want me to lie – I am incriminated,” Kate McCann told the Sunday Mirror. The reason, explains Kate, was the fact that the PJ, “lacked the budget to continue with the investigation and wanted to bring it to a close.” Another reason, she says, was that the Portuguese police, “do not want a murder in Portugal nor publicity about the fact that they have no laws against paedophilia here, so they accuse us.”

Au même temps, Gerry McCann a admis qu'il avait déjà été informé par ses avocats de que la PJ "a pu rassembler assez d’éléments pour les accuser." Malgré qu’il était "absolument confiant de qu’il n’y avait preuve que puisse lier Kate et lui a tout soupçon du meurtre" de leur fille, Gerry a admis que la "dernière tournure des événements", pendant les premières semaines de septembre, "l'avait provoquait quelques 'inquiétudes". Selon l'édition du 9 septembre du The News Of The World, "les McCann craignent maintenant que les enquêteurs puissent être sur le point de les arrêter et accuser. Gerry a dit : "Notre avocat a dit que le poids est tell que, sous le système légal portugais, ils ont assez pour avancer contre nous."

At the same time, Gerry McCann admitted that he had already been informed by their lawyers that the PJ, “could have gathered enough evidence to charge them.” In spite of his being, “absolutely confident that there was no proof that could link Kate and himself to any suspicion of murder,” of the daughter. Gerry admitted that the, “last turn of events,” during the weeks of September, “had given him some anxiety.” According to the September 9th edition of The News Of The World, “the McCanns now believe that the investigators could be at the point of arresting and charging them.” Gerry said: “Our lawyer said the balance is such that, under the Portuguese legal system, they have enough to proceed against us.”

Le père de Madeleine McCann a considéré également la possibilité de que "tôt ou tard, il y aura un processus formel dans lequel nous pourrons réfuter les choses devant le tribunal. Alors il sortira tout". Gerry a expliqué que les McCann "étaient en pourparlers avec la police" de manière "à être autorisés à rentrer à leur maison au Royaume-Uni," après avoir été constitués "arguidos", ou suspects formels dans la disparition de Madeleine McCann.

Madeleine McCann’s father also considered the possibility that, “sooner or later, there will be a formal trial in which we will be able to refute everything before the court. Then it’ll all come out.” Gerry explained that the McCanns, “were in talks with the police, “ so as, “to be allowed to return to their home in the United Kingdom,” after having been made, “arguidos,”, or formal suspects in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.

Pendant que ces négociations continuaient, "le Foreign Office était en feu sur tous fronts" dans ses efforts pour aider les McCann", comme The Telegraph l’écrit le 10 septembre.
Et l'accord autorisant le retour de Gerry et Kate au Royaume-Uni a été conclu par des contacts directs entre le Foreign Office, les ministres des affaires étrangers, de la Justice et la PJ, avec l'aide de John Buck, à l’époque l’ambassadeur britannique au Portugal.

While these negotiations continued, “the Foreign Office was firing on all cylinders,” in their efforts to help the mcCanns.” As the Telegraph wrote on September 10th.
And the agreement authorising Gerry and Kate’s return to the United Kingdom was concluded by direct contact between the Foreign Office, the ministers for foreign affairs, the prosecutor and the PJ, with the help of John Buck, at that time British ambassador to Portugal.

Justine McGuiness et David Hughes, membres de l'équipe de conseillers des McCann, ont également joué un rôle important dans ces contacts.
Une source de PJ a expliqué que si le couple avait essayé de quitter le Portugal avant les interrogatoires qui ont eu lieu entre 7 et 8 de septembre, le cabinet du Procureur avait instruit les inspecteurs de PJ de les arrêter et était prêt à les constituer "arguidos" imposant des restrictions plus sévères à leurs mouvements. Les autorités portugaises ont accepté un accord verbal, après que le Foreign Office a garanti que le couple reviendrait au Portugal, toutes les fois que le cabinet du Procureur demanderait leur présence.

Justime McGuiness and David Hughes, member of the McCanns’ team of advisors, also played an important role in these contacts.
A PJ source explained that if the couple had tried to leave Portugal before the interrogations, which took place between September 7th and 8th, the Prosecutor’s office had instructed the PJ inspectors to arrest them and be ready to constitute them, “arguidos,” imposing more strict restrictions on their movements. The Portuguese authorities accepted a verbal agreement, after which the Foreign Office guaranteed that the couple would go back to Portugal, any time the Prosecutor’s office requested their presence.

Le changement soudain d’attitude des McCann, prétendent rentrer à nouveau au Royaume-Uni, après qu’ils ont promis qu'ils ne partiraient jamais sans Madeleine, s’est produit deux mois après qu’une équipe spéciale de la police britannique soit venu à Praia da Luz, avec Eddie et Keela, les chiens dressés pour détecter l'odeur du sang et des cadavres.

Mais, un mois avant qu’ils soient constitués "arguidos", le porte-parole de la PJ, Olegário de Sousa, avait déjà indiqué, dans une entrevue a la BBC, le 10 août, que la police suivait une nouvelle ligne d'enquête qu’inclus la possibilité de que Madeleine était morte.

The sudden change in the McCanns’ attitude, intending to return to the United Kingdom, after having promised that they would never leave without Madeleine, happened two months after a special British police team went to Praia da Luz, with Eddie and Keela, the dogs trained to detect the odours of blood and corpses.

But, one month before they were constituted, “arguidos,” the PJ’s spokeman, Olegário de Sousa, had already indicated, in an interview with the BBC, on August 10th, that the police were following a new line of enquiry, which included the possibility that Madeleine was dead.

Duarte Levy & Paulo Reis.

SOS Madeleine McCann 8/06/08

SOS Madeleine McCann 2/06/08: the McCanns have the winning triple in the right order.

Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Richard Branson: voted by influential business leaders as the three most influential people in the UK, after the Queen. It's the winning triple!

Les McCann ont le tiercé gagnant dans l’ordre

Un sondage effectué au Royaume-Uni parmi un millier d’hommes d’affaires dans le cadre d’un sommet internationale (Leaders in London International Leadership Summit) révèle que les trois personnalités le plus influentes du pays (après Sa Majesté la Reine) sont Tony Blair, Gordon Brown et le milliardaire Richard Branson.

An opinion poll of a thousand businessmen, conducted in the UK at an international meeting (Leaders in London International Leadership Summit) reveals that the three most influential people in the country (after Her Majesty the Queen) are Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and the millionaire Richard Branson.

Un tiercé gagnant qu’ont retrouve, dans l’ordre, derrière les parents de Madeleine, la petite britannique disparue dans un des villages le plus paisibles de la cote sud du Portugal.

Les résultats de ce sondage ont le mérite d’aider à comprendre comment - et éventuellement pourquoi - un couple en apparence anodin, continue à narguer la justice de deux états souverains et démocratiques, allant jusqu’au point de se refuser à aider les enquêteurs, portugais et britanniques, à élucider le destin de Madeleine, leur propre enfant.

A winning triple who are found, in that order, behind the parents of Madeleine, the little British girl who disappeared in one of the most peaceful villages on Portugal's south coast.

The results of this opinion poll have the advantage of understanding how - and eventually why - an apparently ordinary couple, continue to flout the law of two sovereign and democratic states, going as far as refusing to help the Portuguese and British investigators, to clear up what happened to Madeleine, their own child.

Depuis la disparition de Madeleine, en mai 2007, ses parents, Gerry et Kate McCann, ont reçu un support hors normes des deux hommes le plus influent outre-manche : l’ancien Premier-Ministre Tony Blair et son collègue de parti Gordon Brown, l’actuel occupant du 10 Downing Street. C’est d’ailleurs l’appui des deux premiers qui aurait motivé l’implication financière du troisième.

Since Madeleine's disappearance, in May 2007, her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, have received the most extraordinary support from the two most influential men on that side of the channel: the former Prime Minister tony Blair and his party colleague Gordon Brown, the present occupant of 10 Downing Street. Moreover, it is the support of the two premiers that would have motivated the financial involvement of the third person.

Ont retrouve Tony Blair et Gordon Brown à l’origine des instructions donnés à l’ambassadeur John Buck et au consul Bill Henderson, - les deux plus hauts fonctionnaires de la diplomatie britannique au Portugal au moment de la disparition de Madeleine - leur ordonnant de prêter main forte à Gerry et Kate McCann.

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were the source of the instructions given to the ambassador John Buck and to the consul Bill Henderson - the two highest officials of the British Diplomatic service in Portugal at the time of Madeleine's disappearance - ordering them to give strong assistance to Gerry and Kate McCann.

C’est l’ambassadeur John Buck, qu’avait fait le voyage de Lisbonne à l’Algarve après avoir alerté le Ministère des Affaires Etrangères portugais et le Directeur de la Police Judiciaire à propos de la disparition, avant même que la GNR ou le Département d’Investigation Criminelle (DIC) de la PJ à Portimão soient appelés sur place par un appel passé de l’Océan Club vers 22 :45.

It was the ambassador John Buck, who had made the trip from Lisbon to the Algarve after having alerted the Portuguese Foreign Minister and the Director of the PJ about the disappearance, before even the GNR or the Department of Criminal Investigation (DIC) of the Portimao PJ had been called to the scene by a call made from the Ocean Club towards 10.45pm.

Un acte de disparation

Etrangement, John Buck quitte ses fonctions au Portugal, mettant une fin à sa carrière au sein de la diplomatie britannique, le 10 septembre 2007, le lendemain de la fuite de Kate et Gerry McCann vers le Royaume-Uni après avoir été désignés comme arguidos (suspects).

A disappearing act.

Strangely, John Buck left his post in Portugal, putting an end to his career in the British diplomatic service, on September 10th 2007, the day after the fleeing of Kate and Gerry McCann to the United Kingdom after having been designated as arguidos (suspects).

Avant lui deux autres diplomates britanniques avaient déjà abandonné leurs fonctions, le consul Bill Henderson et Sheree Dodd, envoyé par le Foreign Office sous demande expresse de Blair. Elle sera remplacée par Clarence Mitchell après avoir fait état de quelques discordances à propos des McCann, leur comportement et leur manque de coopération avec les enquêteurs portugais et ceux de la police britannique.

Before him, two other British diplomats had already left their posts. the consul Bill Henderson and Sheree Dodd, sent by the Foreign Office at Blair's direct request. She would be replaced by Clarence Mitchell after having called attention to a few discrepancies in relation to the McCanns, their manner and their lack of cooperation with the Portuguese investigators and those of the British police.

Bill Henderson crée la surprise et annonce sa démission, il prend sa retraite à la fin du mois d’aout, quelques jours avant le début des interrogatoires qui ont conduit le au couple McCann à leur statut d’arguidos.

Après leur départ, Celia Edwards deviens consul britannique pour l’Algarve. C’est elle qui accompagne Kate et Gerry McCann pendant leurs interrogatoires à la Police Judiciaire en septembre 2007.

Bill Henderson surprised everyone by announcing his resignation; he took his retirement at the end of August, a few days before the start of the interrogations which led to the McCann couple's status as arguidos.

After their departure, Celia Edwards became British consul for the Algarve, It was she who was with Kate and Gerry McCann during their interrogations with the PJ in September 2007.

John Buck est remplacé par Alexander Wykeham Ellis, l’ambassadeur que s’est présenté à Portimão le jour même du retour des inspecteurs de la PJ après un voyage à Enderby. Marié à une portugaise, avec une profonde connaissance du Portugal ou il à exercé fonctions entre 1992 et 1996, il arrive de Bruxelles ou il travaillait avec le Président de la Commission Européenne, Durão Barroso.

John Buck was replaced by Alexander Wykeham-Ellis, the ambassador who turned up in Portimao on the same day as the PJ inspectors returned from a trip to Enderby. Married to a Portuguese woman, with a good knowledge of Portugal where he had been in post between 1992 and 1996, he went on to Brussels where he worked with the President of the European Commission, Durao Barroso.

A plusieurs reprises, Tony Blair à utilisé ses prérogatives et contacts pour permettre au couple McCann d’être reçu par les autorités des pays choisis pour lancer le Fonds Madeleine, notamment au Vatican ou ils ont rencontré le Pape Benoit XVI et logé dans la résidence officiel de l’ambassadeur britannique, Francis Campbell, un privilège qui n’est accessible qu’aux hôtes de marque.

On several occasions, Tony Blair used his prerogatives and contacts to enable the McCanns to be received by the authorities in the chosen countries to launch the Madeleine fund, notably at the Vatican where they met Pope Benedict XVI and stayed at the official residence of the British ambassador, Francis Campbell, a privilege which is reserved for distinguished guests.

C’est Blair en personne qu’en juin dernier, dans un entretien téléphonique avec le couple, fait question de maintenir et renforcer son aide disant que les McCann ne doivent pas hésiter à faire appel à lui pour tout où il puisse leur être utile. Un appui qui se maintien encore aujourd’hui, malgré la situation des parents de Madeleine face à l’enquête officiel à la disparition de leur fille.

It was Blair in person, during a telephone conversation with the couple in June last year, who talked about maintaining and strengthening his assistance, saying that the McCanns should not hesitate to call him about anything he could help them with. This support is maintained, in spite of Madeleine's parents' situation in the official enquiry into their daughter's disappearance.

Avec l’arrivée de Gordon Brown, le support du gouvernement britannique deviens plus intense mais aussi plus visible, et le nouveau premier ministre n’hésite pas à reconnaître qu’il parle personnellement au téléphone avec Gerry McCann à propos de l’enquête, comme il le fait à la fin mai. Le même jour, de manière quasi officielle les autorités britanniques font pression auprès de la PJ afin que celle-ci divulgue publiquement plus d’informations à propos de l’affaire.

With Gordon Brown's arrival, the support of the British government became stronegr but also more visible, and the new Prime Minister did not hesitate to admit that he personally spoke on the phone with Gerry McCann about the enquiry, as he did at the end of May. On the same day, the British authorities put unofficial pressure on the PJ for them to disclose more information about the case.

C’est lui qu’à plusieurs reprises prends l’initiative d’interpeller les journalistes a propos du cas McCann, mettant en évidence ces contacts auprès des autorités portugaises. C’est d’ailleurs ce qu’il fait le 9 juin 2007 à l’occasion de la visite du Premier-Ministre portugais José Socrates à Londres dans le cadre de la présidence tournante de l’Union Européenne.

It was he who, on several occasions, took the initiative of calling journalists about the McCann case, citing his contacts with the Portuguese authorities. He also did this on June 9th 2007, on the occasion of Portugal's Prime Minister José Socrates' visit to London, in the context of the rotating European Union Presidency.

Devant le 10 Downing Street, Gordon Brown fait question, devant les média britanniques, de souligner que l’affaire McCann à été discuté avec José Socrates à qui, dit’ il, aura été demandé un maximum de coopération pour aider Kate et Gerry McCann.

In front of number 10 Downing Street, Gordon Brown took questions from the media, stressing that the McCann case was discussed with José Socrates, from whom, he said, the greatest cooperation had been requested in assisting Kate and Gerry McCann.

(I will complete the translation later today!)

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

2/06/08

(Right! I'm back at 6.45pm!)

En septembre, juste après leur désignation comme arguidos, le couple McCann fait appel à Gordon Brown et David Miliband, le ministre des affaires étrangères, leur demandant d’intervenir car ils se disent victimes "d'une injustice". D’ailleurs, le Foreign Office est décrit, le 10 septembre, comme "en feu" dans ses efforts pour aider les McCann.

In September, right after being designated arguidos, the McCann couple made calle to Gordon Brown and David Miliband, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, asking them to intervene, calling themselves victims, "of an injustice." Meanwhile, the Foreign Office was described, on Spetember 10th as being, "fired up," in their efforts to help the McCanns.

A Lisbonne, en octobre 2007, bien que Kate et Gerry McCann étaient (et sont) toujours arguidos dans l’enquête de la disparition de leur fille Madeleine, c’est encore Gordon Brown qui surprend les journalistes pendant une conférence de presse annonçant qu’il va une fois encore aborder la situation des McCann et l’état de l’enquête mené par la Police Judiciaire en coopération avec la police britannique.

Au même moment, au Royaume-Uni, un officier de police fait état des difficultés rencontrées auprès de l’Home Office concernant la partie britannique de l’enquête.

In Lisbon, in October 2007, even though Kate and Gerry McCann were (and are) still arguidos in the enquiry into their daughter Madeleine's disappearance, it was again Gordon Brown who surpirsed journalists during a press conference by announcing that he was, once more, going to approach the McCann situation and the state of the enquiry led by the PJ in cooperation with the British police.

At the same time, in the United Kingdom, a police officer reported difficulties encountered with the Home Office concerning the British part of the enquiry.

Un conseil astucieux

Malgré une opinion publique de plus en plus contraire aux McCann, qui a même obligée certains médias à ne plus accepter des commentaires à propos de l’affaire, en décembre, au moment de la signature du Traité de Lisbonne, c’est une fois encore David Miliband et Gordon Brown qui profitent de l’occasion pour aborder le sujet avec plusieurs membres du gouvernement portugais, notamment José Socrates, cette fois ci loin des médias et dans le plus grand secret.

Wise advice.

In spite of public opinion being more and more against the mcCanns, who even obliged certain media to no longer accept comments on the case, in December, at the time of the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon, it was again David Miliband and Gordon Brown who took advantage of the opportunity to approach the subject with several members of the Portuguese government, notably José Socrates, this time away from the media and with the utmost secrecy.

C’est également du cabinet de Gordon Brown qu’est venue la suggestion de réduire la présence médiatique du couple McCann et la campagne Find Madeleine, comme le confirme une source proche de la famille McCann.

Les conseillers de Gordon Brown sont alors inquiets par la possibilité que les prochaines étapes de l’investigation de la disparition de Madeleine, qui suivait une nouvelle ligne d'enquête, puissent produire des résultats qui pourraient endommager l'image du Premier Ministre, dû à sa relation avec Gerry McCann. Ceci a été révélé par Gazeta Digital et SOS Madeleine le 26 août 2007.

Also from Gordon Brown's office, came the suggestion to reduce the media presence of the McCann couple and the Find Madeleine company, as confirmed by a source close to the McCann family.

Gordon Brown's advisors were then worried by the possibility that the next stages of the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, which was following a new line of enquiry, might produce results which could damage the Prime Minister's image, due to his involvement with Gerry McCann. This was revealed by Gazeta Digital and SOS Madeleine on August 26th 2007.

La générosité du support financier de Richard Branson, qui complète le tiercé gagnant, devient d’autant plus compréhensible quand on connaît ses relations avec Tony Blair.

The generosity of of the financial support of Richard Branson, who completes the winning triple, becomes all the more understandable when you know his relationship with Tony Blair.

D'ailleurs, l'ancien dirigeant du Parti Travailliste et Premier Ministre, un défenseur dévoué de Kate et Gerry McCann a eu l'occasion d'aborder le sujet pendant sa récente rencontre avec Richard Branson sur son l'ile privéé où ils ont été accompagnés par Elon Musk (Paypal), Larry Page (Google) et Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia), parmi d’autres…

By the way, the former leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister, a devoted defender of Kate and Gerry McCann, had the opportunity to approach the subject during his recent meeting with Richard Branson on his private island where they were accompanied by Elon Musk (Paypal), Larry Page (Google) and Jimmy Wales (Wikipedia) amongst others....

Mais l'aide financière aux McCann ne s'arrête pas là. Encore une fois, grâce aux excellents contacts de ses amis, le couple bénéficie de l’aide financière de Stephen Winyard, Brian Kennedy et JK Rowling, elle aussi parmi les femmes les plus influentes du Royaume-Uni.

(I don't know what is happening here today....the software won't stop doing this!)

But the financial assistance to the mcCann couple does not end there. Once more, thanks to his friends' excellent contacts, the coupe are beneficiaries of financial help from stephen Winyard, Brian Kennedy and JK Rowling, who is amongst the UK's most influential women.

Aux portes du ciel

Un autre épisode intéressant et révélateur a eu lieu le 12 septembre, quand Justine McGuinness et David Hughes, conseillers de presse pour les McCann accompagnés du puissant Angus McBride, tiennent des réunions avec les rédacteurs-en-chef de la plupart des journaux britanniques.

At the gates of heaven.

Another interesting and revealing episode took place on September 12th, when Justine McGuinnes and David Hughes, press advisors for the McCanns, accompanied by the powerful Angus McBride, held meetings with the editors-in-chief of most of the British newspapers.

Au cours de ces réunions, il a été expliqué aux rédacteurs-en-chef que le fait que la police portugaise ne pourrait pas retrouver le corps de Madeleine rendrait impossible toute condamnation par un tribunal, même si les McCann étaient formellement accusés et jugés. Les McCann lancent, en même temps, un énorme défi à la police portugaise : "Trouvez le corps de Madeleine et prouvez que nous l'avons tuée." comme le Daily Mail l'a écrit dans son édition du jour.

In the course of these meetings, it was explained to the editors-in-chief that the fact that the Portuguese police could not find Madeleine's body would render impossible any sentence by a court, even if the McCanns were formally charged and tried. The McCanns launched, at the same time, an enormous challenge to the Portuguese police: "Find Madeleine's body and prove we killed her." as the Daily Mail wrote in its daily edition.