Sunday, October 27, 2013

Madeleine McCann: No Stone Unturned?

Same article without highlights here.
Madeleine clues hidden for 5 years

The new prime suspect was first singled out by detectives in 2008. Their findings were suppressed. Insight reports
The Sunday Times Insight team
27 October 2013

THE critical new evidence at the centre of Scotland Yard’s search for Madeleine McCann was kept secret for five years after it was presented to her parents by ex-MI5 investigators.

The evidence was in fact taken from an intelligence report produced for Gerry and Kate McCann by a firm of former spies in 2008.

It contained crucial E-Fits of a man seen carrying a child on the night of Madeleine’s disappearance, which have only this month become public after he was identified as the prime suspect by Scotland Yard.

A team of hand-picked former MI5 agents had been hired by the McCanns to chase a much-needed breakthrough in the search for their missing daughter Madeleine.

10 months after the three-year-old had disappeared from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz, and the McCanns were beginning to despair over the handling of the local police investigation. They were relying on the new team to bring fresh hope.

But within months the relationship had soured. A report produced by the investigators was deemed “hypercritical” of the McCanns and their friends, and the authors were threatened with legal action if it was made public. Its contents remained secret until Scotland Yard detectives conducting a fresh review of the case contacted the authors and asked for a copy.

They found that it contained new evidence about a key suspect seen carrying a child away from the McCanns’ holiday apartment on the night Madeleine disappeared.

This sighting is now considered the main lead in the investigation and E-Fits of the suspect, taken from the report, were the centrepiece of a Crimewatch appeal that attracted more than 2,400 calls from the public this month.

One of the investigators whose work was sidelined said last week he was “utterly stunned” when he watched the programme and saw the evidence his team had passed to the McCanns five years ago presented as a breakthrough.

The team of investigators from the security firm Oakley International were hired by the McCanns’ Find Madeleine fund, which bankrolled private investigations into the girl’s disappearance. They were led by Henri Exton, MI5’s former undercover operations chief.

Their report, seen by The Sunday Times, focused on a sighting by an Irish family of a man carrying a child at about 10pm on May 3, 2007, when Madeleine went missing.

An earlier sighting by one of the McCanns’ friends was dismissed as less credible after “serious inconsistencies” were found in her evidence. The report also raised questions about “anomalies” in the statements given by the McCanns and their friends.

Exton confirmed last week that the fund had silenced his investigators for years after they handed over their controversial findings. He said: “A letter came from their lawyers binding us to the confidentiality of the report.”

He claimed the legal threat had prevented him from handing over the report to Scotland Yard’s fresh investigation, until detectives had obtained written permission from the fund.

A source close to the fund said the report was considered “hypercritical of the people involved” and “would have been completely distracting” if it became public.

Kate and Gerry McCann: now officially not suspects, say the Portuguese authorities. Oakley’s six-month investigation included placing undercover agents inside the Ocean Club where the family stayed, lie detector tests, covert surveillance and a forensic re-examination of all existing evidence.

It was immediately clear that two sightings of vital importance had been reported to the police. Two men were seen carrying children near the apartments between 9pm, when Madeleine was last seen by Gerry, and 10pm, when Kate discovered her missing.

The first man was seen at 9.15pm by Jane Tanner, a friend of the McCanns, who had been dining with them at the tapas bar in the resort. She saw a man carrying a girl just yards from the apartment as she went to check on her children.

The second sighting was by Martin Smith and his family from Ireland, who saw a man carrying a child near the apartment just before 10pm.

The earlier Tanner sighting had always been treated as the most significant, but the Oakley team controversially poured cold water on her account.

Instead, they focused on the Smith sighting, travelling to Ireland to interview the family and produce E-Fits of the man they saw. Their report said the Smiths were “helpful and sincere” and concluded: “The Smith sighting is credible evidence of a sighting of Maddie and more credible than Jane Tanner’s sighting”. The evidence had been “neglected for too long” and an “overemphasis placed on Tanner”.

The new focus shifted the believed timeline of the abduction back by 45 minutes.

The pictures of a man who may have taken Madeleine were drawn up in 2008 The pictures of a man who may have taken Madeleine were drawn up in 2008. The report, delivered to the McCanns in November 2008, recommended that the revised timeline should be the basis for future investigations and that the Smith E-Fits should be released without delay.

The potential abductor seen by the Smiths is now the prime suspect in Scotland Yard’s investigation, after detectives established that the man seen earlier by Tanner was almost certainly a father carrying his child home from a nearby night creche. The Smith E-Fits were the centrepiece of the Crimewatch appeal.

One of the Oakley investigators said last week: “I was absolutely stunned when I watched the programme . . . It most certainly wasn’t a new timeline and it certainly isn’t a new revelation. It is absolute nonsense to suggest either of those things . . . And those E-Fits you saw on Crimewatch are ours,” he said.

The detailed images of the face of the man seen by the Smith family were never released by the McCanns. But an artist’s impression of the man seen earlier by Tanner was widely promoted, even though the face had to be left blank because she had only seen him fleetingly and from a distance.

Various others images of lone men spotted hanging around the resort at other times were also released.

Nor were the Smith E-Fits included in Kate McCann’s 2011 book, Madeleine, which contained a whole section on eight “key sightings” and identified those of the Smiths and Tanner as most “crucial”. Descriptions of all seven other sightings were accompanied by an E-Fit or artist’s impression. The Smiths’ were the only exception. So why was such a “crucial” piece of evidence kept under lock and key?

The relationship between the fund and Oakley was already souring by the time the report was submitted — and its findings could only have made matters worse.

As well as questioning parts of the McCanns’ evidence, it contained sensitive information about Madeleine’s sleeping patterns and raised the highly sensitive possibility that she could have died in an accident after leaving the apartment herself from one of two unsecured doors.

There was also an uncomfortable complication with Smith’s account. He had originally told the police that he had “recognised something” about the way Gerry McCann carried one of his children which reminded him of the man he had seen in Praia da Luz.

Smith has since stressed that he does not believe the man he saw was Gerry, and Scotland Yard do not consider this a possibility. Last week the McCanns were told officially by the Portuguese authorities that they are not suspects.

The McCanns were also understandably wary of Oakley after allegations that the chairman, Kevin Halligen, failed to pass on money paid by the fund to Exton’s team. Halligen denies this. He was later convicted of fraud in an unrelated case in the US.

The McCann fund source said the Oakley report was passed on to new private investigators after the contract ended, but that the firm’s work was considered “contaminated” by the financial dispute.

He said the fund wanted to continue to pursue information about the man seen by Tanner, and it would have been too expensive to investigate both sightings in full — so the Smith E-Fits were not publicised. It was also considered necessary to threaten legal action against the authors.

“[The report] was hypercritical of the people involved . . . It just wouldn’t be conducive to the investigation to have that report publicly declared because . . . the newspapers would have been all over it. And it would have been completely distracting,” said the source.

A statement released by the Find Madeleine fund said that “all information privately gathered during the search for Madeleine has been fully acted upon where necessary” and had been passed to Scotland Yard.

It continued: “Throughout the investigation, the Find Madeleine fund’s sole priority has been, and remains, to find Madeleine and bring her home as swiftly as possible.”

Insight: Heidi Blake and Jonathan Calvert
Source Sunday Times (paywall)

45 comments:

Anonymous said...


16 NOVEMBER 2008

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/detective-set-to-publish-mccann-book-in-britain-1020498.html

Anonymous said...

Rebekah Brooks (McCanns) LEVESON INQUIRY May 11th 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7IvuVhWCXw

Anonymous said...

Classic quote.

This was a sham from the start and they knew it. And that's why they shouted us down - because they didn't want public opinion to grow against them because they knew they didn't have the facts to back it up. – Tim Robbins

This also applies to the McCann case.

Anonymous said...


So the E Fit in the #mccann case that looked like Gerry McCann has as if by magic became Samuel Eto'o! What a joke!

https://twitter.com/stumpyspurs/status/397151105542795264/photo/1

Himself said...

Oh Maren, oh Maren, what must you think of us?

Anonymous said...

Not bad at all.

139 RETWEETS
31 FAVORITES

https://twitter.com/stumpyspurs/status/397151105542795264/photo/1

Anonymous said...

The Fraudhunter
‏@KingfulKenny

And for balance, here's a picture of two people seen not holding onto Madeleine McCann on the night she disappeared pic.twitter.com/eHLyLmMC5Y

https://twitter.com/KingfulKenny/status/389734564102299648/photo/1

Anonymous said...


Defence witness Mr dos Santos, who worked with Mr Amaral in the early Nineties and remains in close contact with him, spoke at the hearing this afternoon.

He said: Everything that's in the book appears to be in the case files. It's not fictional. They are the conclusions of a factual analysis by Goncalo Amaral as the head of the police investigation.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2487987/Madeleine-McCanns-parents-suspects-Portuguese-detectives-didnt-abandon-case.html

Anonymous said...

http://dailym.ai/16DFrxr

and another thing..., In the sun,
You can easily find what the book has to say on the internet. It makes interesting reading.............


http://goncaloamaraltruthofthelie.blogspot.nl/

Anonymous said...

Comment and another thing..., In the sun, whooshed. Too many green arrows.

Himself said...

Good morning dear heart.

And on it goes.

But bear in mind, there is still a possibility, as you noted elsewhere, the Portuguese (authorities) have turned against one of their own.

So Amaral could still get thrown to the dogs. Nothing in this case, as well you know, runs along normal lines.

You can bet the farm, that somewhere along the line, political pressure will have been applied to Mrs judge.

OT
I put this in the latest post, because I was gong to link to it.

or just diverting through previous unseen parts of the Netherlands.

I couldn't for the life of me find it, blog search or Google search.

Without asking you to wade through everything, you wouldn't know where to find it would you?

Later Chuck, later.

Himself said...

On a normal day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg8fLCyF-ps

Anonymous said...

On a special day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O_PN771Hfk

Himself said...

Thanks Chuck, I wouldn't have any problem watching that again.

OT something I just stumbled on.

Home schooling Deutchland

http://bit.ly/1bdHGHO

AS ever, a can of worms. Enter Adolf, enter God.

Anonymous said...

http://ind.pn/18s7iD0
It is our right to use the willow cane

Batshit crazy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Tribes_communities

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/in-germanys-twelve-tribes-sect-cameras-catch-cold-and-systematic-childbeating-8807438.html

Anonymous said...

#PoetsCorner

I saw a man
It was Gerry McCann
He was the git
In the latest e-fit

I thank you #mccann

https://twitter.com/PhilipIndigo/status/403500404815585281

Himself said...

LOL, but yes.

Anonymous said...

Smith sighting

In 2008 private detectives with Oakley International, a company hired by Madeleine's Fund, questioned the consistency of the Tanner report and became more interested in the Smith sighting. Oakley prepared e-fit images (right), one based on Martin's description and the other on Mary's. Madeleine's Fund decided not to release them. This was in part because Martin Smith came to believe that the man he had seen was Gerry McCann – something Scotland Yard ruled out because witnesses placed Gerry in the tapas restaurant at 22:00 – and so releasing the e-fits risked feeding the conspiracy theories about the McCanns, which were at their height in 2008. When Scotland Yard became involved in 2011 and ruled out the Tanner sighting, they came to believe that it was the Smith sighting that gave them the approximate time of Madeleine's kidnap, and in October 2013 they released the Oakley International e-fits to coincide with a BBC Crimewatch reconstruction of the disappearance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Madeleine_McCann



Isn’t it strange H, that they never released an artist's impression of the Smiths sighting like the artist’s impression of the Tanner sighting, to wit, a faceless man carrying a child.

Not that difficult. Just some minor adjustments as for the man’s carrying style and the girl’s pyjamas. Smiths sighting: face 60%-80%, but carrying style 100%.

Releasing a Smithman artist’s impression of a faceless man carrying a girl lying against the man’s left shoulder, in a vertical position, would not involve any risk as for feeding the conspiracy theories about the McCanns, would it Scotland Yard?

Well, it was a risk of course. It didn’t match the Tanner sighting.

I bet Jane Tanner had a very interesting conversation with Scotland Yard.


Himself said...

Yes it is strange isn't it?

Just a quick reply Chuck, I'm about to chill.

How well do you understand the workings of Wiki? As in who wrote what?

Don't fret if it's not in your repertoire, I can search it myself tomorrow. (possibly)

Later Chuck, later.

Anonymous said...

How well do you understand the workings of Wiki? As in who wrote what?

You must have read my mind. I was asking myself the same question. I think they make a summary of the information and articles which they refer to.

Who provides the information?

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_Wikipedia?r2as=1#slide=2

Himself said...

Just captured these from iplayer program about Hastings Pier.

Do they mean anything to you?

http://twitpic.com/dvf9h9

xxx

Anonymous said...

http://twitpic.com/dvf9h9

Well I'll be buggered!

The Tornados, Golden Earrings, Golden Earring.

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/george-kooymans-mn0000944796

Good musicians, but I never liked lead singer Barry Hay, both voice and person. The guitarist George Kooymans is a better singer. Only my opinion of course.

The world is a village, I tell ye H

Anonymous said...

http://blacksmithbureau.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/who-are-you-kidding.html

Himself said...

My thoughts, his words.

1,500 views last 30 days.

https://www.youtube.com/analytics?o=U#;fi=v-ItxJ6LuhStY

Anonymous said...

http://bit.ly/1mjhGUU

Anonymous said...

why did the #mccann s NEVER promote the 'smith family' sighting in same way they promoted tanner sighting ?!

http://bit.ly/1mJrynh


Where was Smithman's specially commissioned watercolour sketch? FBI-trained!

http://bit.ly/1mQllJ5

Anonymous said...

http://bit.ly/1t3IKZk

Anonymous said...

Mark Robinson @robboma3
That awkward moment when the e-fit image of the guy that kidnapped your daughter looks like you! #crimewatch #maddie
9:47 PM - 14 Oct 2013

http://madnewsuk.com/2013/10/15/police-claim-an-overwhelming-response-after-madeleine-mccann-crimewatch-appeal/

Anonymous said...

Hi H,
Not a PB fan, but I disagree with JB. http://bit.ly/1pgGhaF

because

All UK based media outlets were represented at the meeting, as well as media organisations from Portugal, America, and others.

http://content.met.police.uk/News/Update-on-Madeleine-McCann-disappearance/1400024170613/1257246745756

We all want the same outcome - to do everything possible to try to find answers for the McCann family.

!! - >>

Are #McCann's going to help Portuguese police with the search for a body? At the very least Gerry could give them a clue IMO

http://bit.ly/Som5J9

Anonymous said...

https://twitter.com/metpoliceuk/status/469442231376805888

Stop wasting OUR money on these people. At best, they neglected their children and are not deserving of my taxes

Oh please.....it's a farce and you know it is.

Ludicrous,stop trying to find evidence to fit phoney abduction,do u think we the public were born yesterday.

Himself said...

Good afternoon Maren, thank you for all your stuff.

Just a quicky because I have just fall en out of bed and I do have stuff to do. Yes shameful, I know.

Simple question, I can't see my own tweet on the plod thread, can you?

Odd that?

Himself said...

It's all right Chuck, I found it elsewhere. It's just that I thought I had replied in that string of tweets.

I'll say no more. Tha knows.

Anonymous said...

@13 February 2014 20:27

Isn’t it strange H, that they never released an artist's impression of the Smiths sighting like the artist’s impression of the Tanner sighting, to wit, a faceless man carrying a child.

----------------------------------

G #McCann pushing Tannerman as the "abductor" at book launch. Shame that this never happened with the Smithman efit.

http://bit.ly/1o6kmqb

Gerry McCann pushing Tannerman as the "abductor" at book launch. Shame that this never happened with the Smithman carrying style and a child in a long sleeved top.

Himself said...

Hello Chuck, are you well?

I spent a pleasant afternoon with Mother, ending up, dining al fresco. (Two chicken wraps at MacDonalds lol)

I have to make the most of her Maren, she's 94 and getting a bit shaky, and I do wonder how much longer she will go on?

I was just having a search for artificial ivy. I'll be pushing up the daisies by the time this lot pushes up the trellis.

I think tomorrow might see me over the back fence (the wooded area) with a spade and a pry bar, and see if I can wrestle some off the trees. I'm sure they won't mind.

As for the Circus, what can I say, where is supposed to end?

Anywhere but an arrest of the McCanns?

I suppose I better go and check on the girls, like most adolescents, they plod along, and then one day they put such a spurt on.

Cheese Louise?
xxx

Anonymous said...

http://www.amazon.com/Looking-For-Madeleine-Anthony-Summers-ebook/dp/B00M407EGM

from review by C.O. Franssen

There is no mention of the Fund spending an absurd amount (£37.071) on `website costs' in the first year, nor the two mortgage payments, nor any mention of the substantial amounts spent for hiring campaign manager Justine McGuinness and spokesman David Hughes (these former employees are not mentioned at all), nor the Portuguese Public Relations company 'Lift Consulting' hired by the Fund. Sponsor Kennedy initially paid the costs of hiring PR consultant Clarence Mitchell, but only until mid-2009, after which the Fund has him on a monthly retainer.

Anonymous said...

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/sunday-times-sued-mccanns-over-story-which-wrongly-claimed-evidence-was-withheld-police

It isn’t about a missing girl, is it.

Himself said...

Good morning Maren, did you read Textusa? He/She makes an excellent job of parsing the clip.

Not to mention taking the piss in a right royal fashion.

Anonymous said...

https://twitter.com/summersandswan/status/513928587460636672

Classy, how professional.

RTd by
http://bit.ly/1ucI3iK

Oh well...

http://bit.ly/1reVqLF

Yes please do. Wonderfully suited.

Back to the grind m’dear.

http://thetruthaboutthelie.blogspot.nl/

Good morning H, best regards. M

Himself said...

Good Morning Maren, I'm only a minute behind you with this scintillating bit of reporting.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/torrent-of-hate-for-new-madeleine-book-288012.html#.VB-4f76q4R8.twitter

Which I now discover is, snap!

When you're in a hole, stop digging.

The "Richard & Judy book club" Falls off chair.

http://bit.ly/1ucI3iK Stroll on.

Anonymous said...

£55,000
Peanuts.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/oct/02/gerry-mccann-madeleine-sunday-times-libel-payout

The revelation of the libel damages comes as the Metropolitan police are investigating an 80-page dossier of abusive tweets, Facebook posts and messages on online forums aimed at the McCanns. A spokesman for the couple said newspaper articles helped feed into the abuse from trolls, who felt “vindicated” by them.

Carter-Ruck agreed to act on a no-win, no-fee basis, a system threatened by proposed changes to the law. The £55,000 is to be donated to two charities for missing people and sick children.


It’s about time.


August 10, 2007

On Saturday, the McCanns will mark the 100th day since Madeleine disappeared with the launch of "Don't You Forget about Me", a channel on video-sharing website YouTube.

It will feature videos of missing children around the world to raise public awareness about their disappearance.

"I think it's a fantastic idea," said Gerry McCann of the site, which will be managed and policed by the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in Washington DC.

"It's something tangible that could benefit other people and give renewed interest to other missing kids and (is) a medium that younger people use," said Gerry.

"Tens of millions of people use YouTube. There are over 229 videos of Madeleine on it already, so it's incredible."


http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/madeleine-s-parents-won-t-be-bullied-1.365744#.VC49Lfl_vp8

It's incredible.

Anonymous said...

http://bit.ly/1pvB39W

Anonymous said...

http://bit.ly/1vlD9g0
I concur M

Anonymous said...

February 18, 2013

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/McCanns-Plans-regulate-press-far/story-18182026-detail/story.html#axzz2LFlwDXIm

They [Kate and Gerry McCann] told how journalists who camped outside their home scared their children and left the family feeling hemmed in.



October 1, 2014

http://bit.ly/1vzJAOP

@SkyNews @skymartinbrunt What a great story. 'Are you worried about that?' 'No.' Brilliant reporting, very news worthy!


Those "evil trolls". The irony.

Himself said...

7 October 2014 12:22

Cabro Creations ‏@snoopyfanno1

people Used to say when someone went quiet "Cat got your tongue?" Now it's "Kate got your tongue?" #McCann #BrendaLeyland #Skynews




8 October 2014 09:09

There is no doubt that the McCanns have been repeated victims of poor and shoddy journalism following the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine in Portugal, but in his interview Mr McCann appeared to suggest that the media had no right to even question him or his wife about the night their little girl went missing. . . . .

. . . But we cannot have a media that does not investigate and hold to account. That would be the death of a free press. Chris Boffey


Shoot me Maren.

8 October 2014 09:43

And him. Evil old scroat.

Anonymous said...

22 September 2014 09:36

The "Richard & Judy book club" Falls off chair.

http://amzn.to/ZMMzr9