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All important events from June 2008
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Maddie cop rap The News
of the World (No online link, appears
in paper version only)
01/06/2008
BRITISH cops were blasted last night for refusing to interview
a witness who saw a man matching a key suspect in the Madeleine McCann kidnap riddle.
Grandmum Wendy North was holidaying at a Portuguese Villa when she spotted the "furtive"
man at a petrol station near Praia da Luz, where Maddie vanished over a year ago.
Back home Mrs North phoned Leicestershire police and was told they couldn't visit
her but to FAX them details.
Two weeks later Mrs North has heard nothing.
She said "I might be wrong but it deserves to be checked thoroughly."
The cops declined to comment.
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Gerry McCann candidate for election
to board of BSCMR BSCMR
BSCMR Board Election 2008
There has been a BSCMR Board election taking place during the spring
of 2008. The new Board will be in place from 1 June 2008-31 May 2010. The announcement of the new Board will take place
at the BSCMR AGM on 3 June in Manchester.
The aims of the BSCMR are to:
- promote clinical practice and research into cardiovascular magnetic resonance and to disseminate the useful results of
such research
- further the advancement of education in cardiovascular magnetic resonance for the public benefit.
The BSCMR is a Charity and is affiliated to the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS).
*
Dr Gerald McCann was amongst 9 candidates nominated for a position on the board
and this was put to the membership of the BSCMR (The British Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance).
Positions
up for Nomination were:
Chairman Elect.
Treasurer.
Deputy Treasurer
Other members (3 Positions)
The full list of candidates:
Henry Dargle
John Greenwood
Grant
Heatlie
Francisco Leyva
Gerry McCann
James Moon
Reza Razavi
Penny Sensky
Mark Westwood.
Three
recommendations have been put forward:
Chairman Elect - Henry Dargie
Treasurer - Francisco Leyva
Dept. Treasurer
- Reza Razavi
The voting paper made the following statement:
Gerry McCann.
Gerry graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1992. His interest
in non-invasive cardiology began during an intercalated BSC in physiology and sports science, followed by lecturing in cardiovascular
and exercise medicine. Gerry completed an MD on cardiopulmonary exercise testing in aortic stenosis. After moving to Leicester
in 2000, Gerry developed an interest in cardiac imaging and was awarded a European Society of Cardiology clinical training
fellowship in cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) undertaken in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. As well as receiving comprehensive
clinical training, Gerry was involved in several research projects resulting in publication.
Gerry was appointed as
a consultant cardiologist at Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, in 2005 and works closely with four radiologists on a dedicated
CMR scanner offering a comprehensive clinical service. Our cardiac imaging fellow has recently secured a teriary consultant
post in CMR. Gerry has been awarded a British Heart Foundation grant to assess the effects on left ventricular hypertophy
in aortic stenosis on symptom development and funcional capacity, and other projects are under consideration.
Gerry
is a member of the British Cardiovascular Society, the British Society of Echocardiography, the Society for Cardiovascular
Magnetic Resonance and the European Society of Cardiology working group on CMR. Last year he was the Royal College of Physicians'
representative on the Health Protection Agency committee that produced a report on computed tomography scanning in asymptomatic
individuals. He sees the BSCMR as the body to promote CMR training and research in the UK. We must work closely with the other
imaging specialists, however, the BSCMR is an ideal organisation to promote multicentre trials in the CMR, to demonstrate
the efficacy and cost effectiveness of CMR compared with other imaging modalties. As well as the accuracy of the test, cost-effectiveness
and long term effects of radiation exposure must be considered as cardiac imaging continues to develop as an integral component
in the patient management algorithm.
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Friends are the PJ trumps 24horas
Witnesses came to the Algarve to reinforce testimony that contradicts
the McCanns
03 June 2008
Thanks to Joana Morais for translation
In a secret visit to Portugal, three people who had dinner at the
Tapas Bar shattered the McCanns and Jane Tanner versions
Fiona Payne, her mother Dianne Webster, and the husband David Payne are
the main trumps of the Public Ministry that will lead the parents of Madeleine McCann, the missing girl, on the 3rd of May
2007, from an apartment in Praia da Luz, Algarve, to be accused of the crimes of exposition and abandonment since they left
the girl alone that critical night. It is a crime that is punishable up to ten years of prison and allows the respective
preventive arrests, like 24horas announced last week.
These three witnesses returned to Portugal, on the 11th
of July 2007, with travel paid by the Portuguese State, and were accommodated in a hotel unity of Portimão. They were questioned
by Gonçalo Amaral’s team, the superior coordinator who was removed from the case, and they contradicted the McCann’s
version regarding what went on in the night of the disappearance.
Remember that Kate, Gerry and the other two couples
with whom they had dinner, assured that they were taking turns in the vigilance to the children. A fact that was contradicted
to the authorities in the above-mentioned secret travel by Fiona Payne and that had already been put in question in two
previous statements, given on the days that followed to Maddie's disappearance, by her mother and her husband.
Jane Tanner Contradicted
"Fiona Payne gave three statements
to the authorities, as well as Matthew Oldfield and his companion, Rachel. Dianne Webster's statement [Fiona's mother] was
very solid and there was no need to question her again”, revealed to 24horas a judicial person in charge
connected with the process. In accordance to the same source, "other persons who had dinner with the McCanns - Jane Tanner,
her companion, Russell O'Brien, Matthew Oldfield and his wife, Rachel – gave contradictory statements". And the judicial
person in charge exemplifies: "Jane Tanner always said that she went out from the restaurant to see her oldest daughter. Fiona,
David and Dianne guaranteed to the PJ that she never left the restaurant before the alarm was given by Kate. This information
was corroborated by several workers of the Tapas Bar restaurant”. These witnesses also stated that Gerry McCann did
not even go to check on the children, when he went away of the restaurant, and that he only stayed at the apartment of Praia
da Luz entrance.
The only person who stayed in Tapas Bar
Dianne
Webster, of 63 years old, mother of Fiona Payne (36 years), was one of three people who were available to return to Portugal to
help the authorities in the reconstruction of the facts taken place on the 3rd of May 2007.
She was the only one that was quiet and calm when Kate McCann entered
in the Tapas Bar shouting "they’ve taken her!". The authorities were suspicious of her attitude and she told them that
she did not believe in the version of the McCanns. She also pointed out to the PJ that each couple was responsible for their
own children and that no one entered in the apartment of the friends [in each other's apartments].
FACTS
SECRET. The McCannS organised a "secret" dinner with all the friends with whom they
had dinner at the Tapas, in the Praia da Luz, Algarve, before the rogatory letters sent for England were carried out.
ACCUSATION. The accusation to the McCanns is almost concluded
and it should be known before the 14th of July, the end date for the extended term to incriminate or not the British couple.
The judicial authorities are still considering if they will not constitute more arguidos, since the McCanns were not the only
ones leaving their children alone.
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Madeleine McCann's family to go on holiday
a year after disappearance Telegraph
By Andy Bloxham
Last Updated: 2:15AM BST 04/06/2008
The parents of Madeleine McCann are to go on their first holiday
together since she was kidnapped in Portugal just over a year ago.
The parents of Madeleine McCann are to go on their first holiday together since she was kidnapped in Portugal just
over a year ago, according to reports.
Kate and Gerry McCann, who are both 40, decided to take the break for
the sake of their other children, twins Sean and Amelie, who are two, according to a family friend.
Madeleine was abducted from the family's apartment in the coastal resort
of Praia da Luz, on the Algarve in Portugal, last May.
The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "It will be incredibly
painful to contemplate going away without Madeleine but this is the reality they are faced with.
"Nothing has been booked yet, but one thing's certain – they won't
be going to Portugal."
The family have spent only an occasional few days away from their home
in Rothley, Leics, since returning from the Algarve on September 9, after Portuguese police made them official suspects.
A friend of the family told the Daily Mirror: "Everyone needs
a holiday – Kate and Gerry included.
"It's now 14 months since Madeleine was taken. Behind the scenes, there
remains a lot of action to try and find her, but for Kate and Gerry life has returned as close to normality as they're likely
to get.
"After all they've been through, they want to give the twins a decent
break to try and enjoy time as a family."
Kate and Gerry McCann to go on first holiday since kidnap Daily Mirror
Exclusive
By Stewart Maclean
4/06/2008
Kate and Gerry McCann have made the difficult decision to go on holiday again - just over a year since their daughter
Madeleine was snatched.
It will be the first break for the family since her disappearance in
Praia da Luz, Portugal, and even arranging it will stir up painful memories.
But friends say the McCanns feel they should do it for the sake of their
two-year-old twins, Sean and Amelie.
Madeleine was abducted last May from the family's apartment on the Algarve
coast, just days before her fourth birthday.
The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said details of the weeklong
holiday would remain secret.
He added: "It will be incredibly painful to contemplate going away without
Madeleine, but this is the reality they are faced with. Nothing has been booked yet, but one thing's certain - they won't
be going to Portugal."
The family have rarely spent more than a weekend away from their home
in Rothley, Leics, since returning from Portugal on September 9.
And a friend of the couple, both 40, said: "Everyone needs a holiday
- Kate and Gerry included. It's now 14 months since Madeleine was taken. Behind the scenes, there remains a lot of action
to try and find her, but for Kate and Gerry life has returned as close to normality as they're likely to get.
"That includes taking a holiday and they're considering their options
at the moment. The plan is to get away from it all for a few days this summer.
"After all they've been through, they want to give the twins a decent
break to try and enjoy time as a family."
The couple were dining with seven friends at a poolside tap as bar when
Madeleine was snatched from their apartment a short distance away.
They stayed in Portugal for several months after her disappearance, but
returned here after Portuguese police made them official suspects.
McCanns plan to take first holiday since Madeleine vanished Daily Record
Jun 4 2008
KATE and Gerry McCann are planning their first family holiday since Madeleine vanished.
The couple told friends they are ready for a break with their twins Sean
and Amelie, two - 14 months after their sister disappeared during their Algarve holiday last May.
A friend said: "Everyone needs a holiday, Kate and Gerry included.
"Behind the scenes, there remains a lot of action to try and find her,
but for Kate and Gerry life has returned as close to normality as they're likely to get.
"That includes taking a holiday."
They plan to spend a week away during the summer to give the twins a
normal family break.
It will be the first time Kate and Gerry have booked a holiday since
Madeleine vanished from their flat in Praia da Luz.
Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "It will be incredibly painful
to contemplate going away without Madeleine but this is the reality they are faced with.
"Nothing has been booked yet but one thing's certain - they won't be
going to Portugal."
Mitchell also slammed as "absolute, ludicrous, lies" new Portuguese police
claims that three of the so-called Tapas Seven had broken ranks to give evidence against them.
McCanns plan family holiday The Sun
By Staff Reporter
Published:Today 04/06/2008
GERRY and Kate McCann are planning
to go on holiday again – for the first time since their daughter Maddie vanished.
The McCanns have refused to say where they are going but confirmed they will not be
returning to Portugal where the toddler went missing.
Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said no details of the McCann’s week-long
holiday with their three-year-old twins Sean and Amelie would be released.
Mr Mitchell said: "Kate and Gerry have always felt that they did not want to have
a holiday under the circumstances, but clearly at some point, as much for the twins as for themselves, they may choose to
have a break.
"That decision, however, will remain entirely private.
Fight
"One thing I can say is that it will not be Portugal. It would just create a huge
media bun fight, and they don’t want to do that."
But if a trip is being considered, it is "not imminent", said Mr Mitchell.
The McCanns were dining in a nearby tapas bar in a resort in Praia da Luz, in the
Algarve, with friends when Madeleine disappeared from their apartment on May 3 last year.
Gerry and Kate, both doctors, stayed
in the country while officials searched for the tot, but finally returned to their detached home in Rothley, Leicestershire,
in September after being named as official suspects.
The McCanns have said they want to provide as normal an upbringing as possible for
their other children.
That may now include taking the twins away - but the couple would be desperate to
do so out of the media spotlight.
Mr Mitchell said: "If they choose to have a holiday that is their decision and they
would obviously have privacy in the same way as you or I."
McCanns plan first family holiday since Madeleine vanished 'for the sake of
twins' Daily Mail
Original version:
By Neil Sears
Last updated at 2:45PM on 04th June 2008
The parents of missing Madeleine McCann are planning to go on holiday again for the first
time since she disappeared.
And although Gerry
and Kate McCann are refusing to say where they are going, they have confirmed that the one place they will definitely not
be visiting is Portugal.
The couple were on
holiday in the country's Algarve region last May when Madeleine, then three, disappeared from the apartment bedroom she was
sharing with her younger brother and sister, twins Sean and Amelie, two.
As the fruitless police investigation dragged on, the family remained in Portugal until September
- when Mr and Mrs McCann, both doctors, then finally returned to their detached home in Rothley, Leicestershire, after being
named as official suspects.
Yesterday the couple's
spokesman Clarence Mitchell said no details of the family's week-long holiday would be released.
Mr Mitchell said:
'Everyone needs a holiday - Kate and Gerry included. It's now 14 months since Madeleine was taken.
'Behind the scenes,
there remains a lot of action to try and find her, but for Kate and Gerry life has returned as close to normality as they're
likely to get.
'That includes taking
a holiday and they're considering their options at the moment. The plan is to get away from it all for a few days this summer.
'After all they've
been through, they want to give the twins a decent break to try and enjoy time as a family.'
The McCanns went
to Praia da Luz with a group of family friends, and were dining in a nearby tapas bar when Madeleine disappeared from their
apartment.
They eventually fell
under official suspicion themselves, but have fiercely denied any involvement in their daughter's disappearance.
Updated version:
By Neil Sears
Last updated at 10:41PM on 04th June 2008
The parents of Madeleine McCann are to take their first holiday since her disappearance 13
months ago.
Gerry and Kate McCann,
both 40, refused to say where they were going.
But they confirmed
it would not be Portugal.
The couple were on
holiday there with their three children when Madeleine, then three, disappeared from a bedroom at the family's rented apartment
in the resort of Praia da Luz.
She and her younger
brother and sister, twins Sean and Amelie, had been left unsupervised while their parents went out to a nearby tapas bar for
dinner with family friends.
The McCanns, both
doctors, stayed on for months at Praia da Luz during the police hunt for Madeleine last summer.
They finally returned
home to Rothley, Leicestershire, last September after police named them as official suspects in the case.
Yesterday the couple's
spokesman Clarence Mitchell said no details of the week-long holiday would be released.
The McCanns will
take the break with the twins, who are now three.
He added: 'It will
be incredibly painful to contemplate going away without Madeleine, but this is the reality they are faced with.
'Nothing has been booked yet. But one thing's certain - they won't be going to
Portugal.'
A friend of the family
said: ' Everyone needs a holiday - Kate and Gerry included.
'It's now 13 months
since Madeleine was taken.
'Behind the scenes,
there remains a lot of action to try to find her. But for Kate and Gerry life has returned as close to normality as they're
likely to get.
'That includes taking
a holiday and they're considering their options at the moment.
'The plan is to get
away from it all for a few days this summer.
'After all they've
been through, they want to give the twins a decent break to try to enjoy time as a family.'
The McCanns have
always fiercely denied any involvement in their daughter's disappearance.
After returning to
England Gerry McCann eventually resumed work as a hospital doctor.
Both parents continue
to insist they have no reason to believe their missing daughter has died.
They say they are
hopeful Madeleine, who would now be five, will one day be returned to them alive and well.
But in a recent TV
documentary they admitted they were well aware that internet gossips and poison pen writers continue to blame them for Madeleine's
disappearance and criticise them for everything they do.
The McCanns have
repeatedly insisted they believed Madeleine, and the twins were safe in the apartment.
They were eating
only 50 yards away with their friends, the socalled Tapas Seven, and say they checked on the children regularly.
Last week the McCanns
pulled out of a planned reconstruction of Madeleine's disappearance because of suspicions about the motives of Portuguese
police.
*
Comment: The Mail very often rewrite
their articles with updates but the change in this article is quite significant:
First version contains this paragraph:
'As the fruitless police investigation dragged
on, the family remained in Portugal until September - when Mr and Mrs McCann, both doctors, then finally returned to their
detached home in Rothley, Leicestershire, after being named as official suspects.'
In
the second version, the paragraph above has been completely removed and replaced with these two:
'She and her
younger brother and sister, twins Sean and Amelie, had been left unsupervised while their parents went out to a nearby tapas
bar for dinner with family friends.
'The McCanns, both
doctors, stayed on for months at Praia da Luz during the police hunt for Madeleine last summer.'
That is quite a shift
of emphasis from the implied inaction of the 'fruitless' investigation, that was 'dragging on', to the description
of the Portuguese police's active 'hunt' for Madeleine.
The updated version
also contains veiled criticism of the McCanns for leaving their children unsupervised whilst they 'went out
to a local tapas bar for dinner with friends'.
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McCanns: We will never go back to
Portugal Daily Star (No online link, paper
version only)
By Ian Trueman
05 May 2008
MADELEINE McCann's parents yesterday vowed that they will never return to Portugal.
Kate
and Gerry spoke out amid rumours they are planning their first holiday since their daughter vanished in The Algarve last year.
Insiders
claim the heartbroken couple, both 40, had earlier ruled out any talk of a vacation.
They are now planning to take
their two-year-old twins, Sean and Amelie, away on a "secret" break but refuse to visit Portugal.
Maddie disappeared
nine days before her fourth birthday in Praia da Luz in The Algarve in May 2007.
The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell
yesterday refused to confirm or deny that Gerry and Kate McCann were planning any trip in the "imminent" future.
But
he confirmed: "One thing I can say is that it will not be Portugal. It would just create a huge bun fight and they don't want
to do that." He added: "It will be incredibly painful to contemplate going away without Madeleine, but this is the reality
they are faced with.
"Kate and Gerry have always felt that they did not want to have a holiday under the circumstances.
"But
clearly at some point, as much for the twins as for themselves, they may choose to have a break.
"That decision, however,
will remain entirely private."
A friend said doctors Kate and Gerry plan to "get away for a few days this summer".
The
pal added: "After all they've been through they want to give the twins a decent break to try and enjoy time as a family."
Madeleine disappeared from a holiday apartment on May 3 while her parents dined in a nearby tapas bar with friends.
Since
they returned home to Rothley, Leics, in September, the McCanns have said they wanted to provide as normal an upbringing as
possible for their other children.
The McCanns stayed on in the holiday resort for several months after Madeleine disappeared,
but returned home after Portuguese police made them official suspects.
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Parents of Maddie in Strasbourg SOS Maddie (French language site)
Duarte Levy
13 June 2008, Thanks to 'FrenchEuropean' & 'Anne' for translation
Kate and Gerry McCann have confirmed this afternoon that they will make the trip next Tuesday to the European Parliament
in Strasbourg, where the authors (the 5 MEPs) of a declaration calling for the creation of a European alert system for missing
children will try to persuade 182 MPs to sign the document
The McCanns played no role in drafting the statement
- an initiative of five parliamentarians - but the couple had made its submission to Brussels, despite protests from several
MPs.
The document adds nothing new to the intentions of Parliament or the creation of a European warning system that
has been under consideration for several years.
France, which took the rotating presidency in July, regardless
of the statement made in Brussels on April 10, had already made known its intention to approve a European system similar to
that which exists in France.
"Until now we have 211 signatures and we need the signature of 393 MEPs, a simple majority
in Parliament," said the spokesperson of Kate and Gerry McCann, Clarence Mitchell.
The couple had planned to meet several
MEPs in private before concluding their day with the usual press conference.
Introduced to Parliament by the Conservative
Edward McMillan-Scott, vice-president of Parliament, Gerry and Kate McCann, arguidos in the investigation into the disappearance
of their daughter Madeleine, had already been heavily criticised in Brussels by several parliamentarians, deeming the visit
of the couple inappropriate.
Recently, the couple had found a way not to make the trip to Portugal to participate
in the reconstruction of events surrounding the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine, as the Portuguese authorities had
demanded.
The McCanns are there for nothing
A statement
originally submitted on April 10 at the European Parliament in Brussels was not prepared or suggested by the McCanns but the
parents of Madeleine, with the support of the British Government, have won the right to attend despite their status as
arguidos in Portugal.
Edward McMillan-Scott, Roberta Angelilli, Glenys Kinnock, Evelyne Gebhardt, and Diana Wallis
are the five MEPs who originated the document which proposes emergency cooperation between the member states of the European
Union to find missing children.
The document calls on member states to conclude cooperation agreements with all the
border states in order to give itself the means to launch early warning in the territories concerned.
Despite the importance
of the guidelines proposed by the document, it is still far from an agreement among all member states.
Yesterday, France
- a country where the device Abduction Alert has already proved its efficency, organized a mock abduction in collaboration
with Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The exercise was conclusive and allowed four organizers to test their reaction,
but also working with the media.
The policies of Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Germany and the Czech Republic participated
as observers. The United Kingdom, who were invited, chose not to participate
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By Martin Fricker
14/06/2008
Kate and Gerry McCann will go back to the European Parliament next week in a last-ditch effort to persuade MEPs to back
their missing child alert system.
The couple visited Strasbourg in April and begged for support for a scheme that would automatically alert police in all
EU states as soon as a child goes missing.
But only a quarter of MEPs have signed up so far - and they need at least half of the Parliament's 785 members if it
is to become law.
And they need the signatures by the end of the month.
The McCann's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "We remain confident we will get them. It's normal for MEPs to wait until
the last minute to."
The family say Madeleine, four, who vanished in May 2007, may have been found if there had been alert system.
Get your MEP to sign by writing to them at European Parliament, Correspondence with Citizens, GOL03A012, L-2929 LUXEMBOURG.
McCann couple goes to Strasbourg for a last ditch stand Gazeta Digital
By Duarte Levy and Paulo Reis
14.6.08
Gerry and Kate McCann will be in Strasbourg next Tuesday in order to try to secure enough support from Members of the
European Parliament for a "written declaration" concerning the creation of a European Amber Alert system covering all 27 EU
states. But, in fact, this idea was originally proposed by the EU Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, Mr Franco
Frattini, in 2006: a detail never mentioned by the McCanns, their media advisers nor by Clarence Mitchell. Mr Frattini proposed
that each country should establish an EU alert system, but it was not an initiative for the European Parliament’s legislature.
However, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Bryan, a UK top ranking police officer, who is the Association of Chief
Police Officers head of missing people, told the media in May 2007 that "there was no need to emulate the US system of immediate
information broadcasts once children have been reported missing."
According to the Times on-line edition, "Mr Bryan congratulated the McCanns on doing a 'sterling job' in raising the
issue of how police deal with child abductions, but he said that police would rather use other investigative techniques to
trace children before going public and potentially alerting abductors."
The UK already has a national alert system for missing children, as Richard Bryan told the Times, "that has been in place
since 2003 in Sussex and it was rolled out nationally by 2006. We have only had to use it on three occasions."
Since 2006, Mr Frattini's initial idea has taken shape. In February 2007, the European Commission decided to ask all
member states to reserve a dedicated set of national phone numbers starting with "116". The idea was that they should be used
as a hotline in the event of a missing child. So far, 10 EU countries have adopted the idea, but the UK is not one of them.
On April 21, following a meeting with the McCanns, five Members of the European Parliament (Edward McMillan-Scott, Roberta
Angelilli, Glenys Kinnock, Evelyne Gebhardt and Diana Wallis) submitted a written declaration to the European Parliament concerning
"Emergency Cooperation in Recovering Missing Children." The declaration "calls on Member States to introduce a missing child
alert system" and asks for the creation of a "common organisation to provide assistance and training" to police forces in
the 27 EU countries.
In order to have the "written declaration" sent to the EU President and published, the McCanns still need the signatures
of 182 more Members of the European Parliament to reach the required number of 393. The "written declaration" is just a way
to "launch or relaunch a debate on a subject that comes within the EU's remit", but it has no legal implications for the EU
state members.
Published: 14 Jun 2008
THE McCanns are to visit the European Parliament to bolster support for their child alert scheme.
Doctors Kate, 40, and Gerry, 39 – whose daughter Madeleine, five, has been missing for 13 months – will visit
Strasbourg on Tuesday to promote the Europe-wide campaign.
Spokesman Clarence Mitchell said yesterday: "They want to be there in person to give it the extra push to get it through."
The scheme, which already operates in America, alerts the public and emergency services when a child is snatched.
So far 211 MEPs have pledged support but another 182 are needed to get the motion before the European Parliament.
The pain gives them strength 24horas
Kate and Gerry McCann want to improve the European system against abductions
Text: Luis Fontes
14 June 2008, Translation by 'salsa'
The McCanns want to change the way Europe fights against abductions. And they continue to search for their daughter
using the Spanish Metodo3
The McCann couple are going, on Tuesday, to the European Parliament, in Strasbourg,
to support the creation of an European alert system for missing children.
"They don't want other parents to go through the situation they are going through. They feel that they are doing something
positive with this initiative. The pain of the disappearance of their daughter gives them strength not to lower their arms
[give up]" says Clarence Mitchell, the spokesman of Maddie's parents.
Even because they still have hope of finding
their daughter alive. "The Spanish agency M3 continues to work with other
European investigation agencies searching for clues that may lead to Madeleine McCann",
says Clarence Mitchell.
And the findmadeleine.com fund is not short of money. "The fund is healthy with the money paid by the British papers
as compensation. It is that money that makes it possible for us to pay the
lawyers and the search teams" explains Clarence.
Convincing
members of the European Parliament
The trip to Strasbourg will last just one day - Tuesday - when they will try to
convince 182 members of parliament to sign. "Up to now we have 211 signatures and we need 393, which means quite simply a
Parliament majority" says Mitchell.
During the trip, the couple will meet privately with some European members of Parliament and will appeal to those who
haven't signed yet to do so.
"Kate and Gerry are confident that they will succeed in obtaining the
remaining 182 signatures they need" says the spokesman.
The written declaration was presented by the McCanns and a group of euro-MEP's on
April 10th in Brussels and urges the UE member states to activate an alert system for missing children at the European level,
similarly to what happens in the US and some European countries.
Proposal for the 27
The alert system would make it possible for the police forces to use the media
in the search for the missing child and would establish cooperation agreements with the neighbouring member states to allow
for a quick response at the countries' borders.
Since April, the McCanns and other organisations that support this idea have been writing to European MEPS to enlist
their support.
The MEPS have 2 other Parliamentary sessions, each lasting 4 days, to undersign the document, since if they don't sign
it then the motion may expire.
If the necessary number of signatures is obtained, says Mitchell, the text "will proceed to the [European] Commision,
which has the formal duty of moving the proposal forward to the 27.
FACTS:
HOLIDAYS: The McCann couple will go on holiday after the visit to Strasbourg.
"The days and location will not be disclosed " says the spokesman.
THE CASE: The McCanns believe that only in mid-August will the secrecy
of justice be lifted and they will stop being arguidos.
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McCanns will be able to see all the evidence 24horas
Maddie process becomes public in July
Text: Carlos Tomas
17 June 2008, Translation by 'astro''
From July onwards, the [Maddie case] process will stop being under judicial secrecy and can be consulted by all the
interested parties. The statement was made yesterday to 24horas by Pinto Monteiro, the Republic’s General Prosecutor.
The
most senior officer responsible for the investigations into the disappearance of the little British girl, on the 3rd of May
2007, from an apartment in Praia da Luz, near Lagos, in the Algarve, only failed to name the precise date: "I don’t
know the exact day, but in July the process stops being covered by the judicial secrecy". According to what 24horas
was able to establish, it will be on the 14th of July that the process becomes public – one day before the judicial
holidays.
The prosecutor also insisted in adding that this fact will not affect the investigations. "We won't rest
until the child is found. The fact that the judicial secrecy is lifted has nothing to do with the development of the investigations",
he stated, adding: "Until there is, either from the Public Ministry or from the judicial magistracy, a decision towards an
accusation or an archiving, the process will continue, and so will the mission that has been given to the Polícia Judiciária,
to clarify the case".
In practical terms it will be August
Meanwhile,
Rogério Alves, the McCanns' lawyer, does not hide his pessimism: "I'm not going to comment on the case, but the information
that we have is that we will only have access to the process in August."
He may be correct, given the fact that the
judicial holidays begin on the 15th of July and end one month later. During that period, the courts work only with shift judges.
Which means that only the priority processes, with detained arguidos, will be forwarded.
"The Maddie case is not a
priority. There are no detained persons. There are indices of a crime of neglect and child abandonment, but that accusation
can wait", said a senior officer at the Court in Portimão, where Maddie's disappearance is being investigated.
Deadlines have run out
The process about the disappearance
of Madeleine McCann is being run at the Criminal Court in Portimão. The judicial secrecy on the case expires, according to
what 24horas was able to establish, on the 14th of July, and according to the new legislation, cannot be extended
any further, given the fact that such has already happened twice – 90 days each – at the request of prosecutor
Magalhães e Menezes. He is one of the persons that are responsible for the investigation, which is being carried out by the
PJ.
Judicial authorities that were heard by 24horas admit that with the deadlines on the judicial secrecy
running out, the general prosecutor in Évora, Luís Bilro Verão, who was nominated to direct the process, has nothing solid
in his hands that will allow for the child to be traced…
Madeleine's parents take child abduction alert campaign to Europe 24dash.com
Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com
Tuesday 17th June 2008 - 11.59am
Missing British toddler Madeleine McCann's parents embarked on a series of meetings with MEPs in Strasbourg today in
a renewed effort to secure backing for a Europe-wide child abduction alert system.
Gerry and Kate McCann have until July 24 - the close of the plenary session - to collect the signatures needed to ensure
that their proposal, in the form of a written declaration, is sent to the EU President and published.
They have chalked up 225 signatures so far, leaving them another 168 to collect.
Among those the couple were due to lobby were members of the UK Independence Party (UKIP).
The Euro-sceptic party refuses to sign declarations on a point of principle, but Mr and Mrs McCann hope it will make
an exception in their case.
Speaking after their arrival at the parliament building, Mr McCann said: "This is an important issue and Europe needs
to work together. We want to get as many signatures as possible but there's limited time left."
The couple, from Rothley in Leicestershire, launched the drive for a United States-style Amber Alert in April but now
fear time is running out in their bid to achieve formal recognition of the scheme.
Such a declaration carries no legal weight in the European Union but the McCanns believe it would help them win the moral
argument over whether such a cross-border system is needed.
Madeleine went missing from the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3 last year.
The McCanns believe a European version of Amber Alert - which notifies the public via media across the US when police
confirm a child has been abducted - would have helped the search for their daughter in the crucial hours after her disappearance.
Speaking ahead of today's meeting, their spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: "It's a chance for Gerry and Kate to be
updated on the progress of the declaration so far. While talking to supportive MEPs, it's also an opportunity to reinforce
the importance of such a system being introduced to those who have not already signed."
MEPs from Bulgaria, Cyprus, France and Finland were among those members set to meet the couple.
A number of MEPs approached the McCanns after a parliament vote to express their support for the written declaration,
which sat on a table by the entrance of the debating chamber waiting for members to sign up.
French member Alain Lamassoure, of the European People's Party, is writing a report on the co-operation of the police
and judiciaries across member states.
He said: "I will sign it because it's a very painful issue and clearly a far better co-operation between the judiciary
and police of member states could help prevent or solve these kinds of issues."
Ireland's Fianna Fail party is backing the proposal.
Fianna Fail member Liam Aylward said: "It's a heart-tending case and it captured the imagination of people around the
world.
"If we can influence anybody, we will do."
Finnish MEP and former world rally drivers' champion Ari Vatanen said: "I am a father of four children. I will support
it."
McCanns to finally find out what evidence Madeleine police have against them Daily Mail
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 12:15pm on 17th June 2008
Gerry and Kate McCann will finally be told what evidence police have against them next month, Portugal's most senior
law officer revealed today.
The couple will be given full access to the confidential case files.
The development will be a massive boost to the couple as they arrived in Strasbourg to urge MEPs to back their campaign
for a Europe-wide alert system.
Gerry and Kate believe such cross-border co-operation would have helped police find their daughter when she went missing
from their holiday flat on the Algarve in May last year aged three.
Attorney general Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro told daily newspaper 24 Horas: "From July the (Madeleine) case will cease
to be covered by judicial secrecy, and will be available to consultation by all parties involved.
"I do not know which date, but in July the case ceases to be covered by judicial secrecy."
Access to the confidential police files will allow the McCanns to begin building a defence - and demand that they are
cleared.
24 Horas speculated the judicial secrecy will end on July 14 - more than 10 months after the couple were named suspects.
The McCanns, both 40-year-old doctors from Rothley, Leics, were made official suspects last September but have never
been arrested or charged and vigorously deny any wrongdoing.
Their official spokesman Clarence Mitchell has previously described the endless delays in the process as "inhumane."
Judicial secrecy is normally lifted in Portugal after eight months.
But investigating judge Pedro Frias has previously granted extensions to the period after state prosecutor Jose Magalhaese
Menezes argued the case is "exceptionally complicated".
Madeleine disappeared from family's rented holiday apartment in the Ocean Club, in Praia da Luz, on May 3 last year.
Her parents left Madeleine and twins Sean and Amelie, now two, sleeping while they dined at a nearby restaurant with
seven holiday friends.
The McCanns still face the possibility of charges of neglecting their daughter, who was three when she went missing.
Court documents revealed last month confirmed they could face "abandonment" charges, which carries a maximum penalty
of 10 years.
It is understood for such a charge to succeed prosecutors would have to show the McCanns intended to neglect their daughter.
The police inquiry also covers possible abduction, homicide and concealment of a corpse.
Today a source at the court in Portimao told 24 Horas the case was not a priority.
The source said: "The Maddie case is not a priority. Nobody has been arrested. There is evidence of neglect or abandonment
of the children, but that prosecution can wait."
The Portuguese authorities have previously been accused of using the secrecy laws to cover up their incompetence.
The President of the Portuguese Order of Lawyers, Antonio Marinho e Pinto, said: "There are strong reasons to fear that
judicial secrecy is being used to conceal the fact that the police have gone down a blind alley and don't have a way out."
The McCann's lawyer Rogerio Alves reacted cautiously to the attorney general's statement, saying he understands he will
not have access to the files until August.
Portugal's courts take a month long summer break from July 15.
Mr Alves told 14 Horas: "I'm not going to comment on the case, but the information we have is that we will only have
access to the case in August."
Kate and Gerry McCann to be told why police made them suspects in disappearance of Maddy Timesonline
By David Brown
June 17, 2008
Madeleine McCann's parents will be told next month what evidence the police have to make them official suspects in her
disappearance, it was announced today.
Portuguese Attorney-General, Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro said Kate and Gerry McCann will be given full access to the
case files relating to their daughter’s disappearance last May.
The police inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance shortly before her fourth birthday covers homicide, abandonment, concealment
of a corpse and abduction. All evidence in the investigation has until now been covered by strict laws of judicial secrecy.
However, Mr Monteiro told the 24 Horas newspaper today: "In July, the process stops being covered by the judicial
secrecy."
This will mean that the thousands of pages of witness statements and other evidence will be made available to the McCanns
and their lawyers before being opened to the press and public.
Mr Monteiro said that the disclosure of the evidence would not affect the ongoing investigations or possibility of changes.
"We won't rest until the child is found," he said. "The fact that the judicial secrecy is lifted has nothing to do with
the development of the investigations."
The opening of the files will be welcomed by Mr and Mrs McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire. They have insisted there
is absolutely no evidence against them and the police should concentrate their investigation on stranger abduction.
Mr and Mrs McCann were dining with a group of British friends at a tapas restaurant on the Ocean Club resort in Praia
da Luz when Madeleine was reported missing from her bedroom.
The couple, from Rothley, Leicestershire, hope the release of the files will lead to the lifting of their status as arguidos
(official suspects) imposed last September. Robert Murat, 34, the other official suspect, will also have access to the evidence
which he hopes will clear his name.
However, the release of the information could be delayed for several weeks as Portuguese judiciary starts a month-long
holiday in the middle of July.
The announcement came as Mr and Mrs McCann embarked on a series of meetings with MEPs in Strasbourg in a renewed effort
to secure backing for a Europe-wide child abduction alert system.
The couple have until July 24 - the close of the plenary session - to collect the signatures needed to ensure that their
proposal, in the form of a written declaration, is sent to the EU President and published.
They have chalked up 225 signatures so far, leaving them another 168 to collect.
Mr McCann said: "This is an important issue and Europe needs to work together. We want to get as many signatures as possible
but there’s limited time left."
The couple launched the drive for a United States-style Amber Alert in April, but now fear time is running out in their
bid to achieve formal recognition of the scheme.
Such a declaration carries no legal weight in the European Union but the McCanns believe it would help them win the moral
argument over whether such a cross-border system is needed.
The couple believe a European version of Amber Alert - which notifies the public via media across the US when police
confirm a child has been abducted - would have helped the search for their daughter in the crucial hours after her disappearance.
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Kate and Gerry at the European Parliament, to speak about missing children
Text: Rute Coelho, 18 June 2008
Thanks to 'astro' for translation
The McCanns were in Strasbourg yesterday to take care of a petition and ended up reacting, in an irritated manner,
to questions from the journalists about the evening of the 3rd of May 2007
Kate and Gerry were in Strasbourg yesterday, where they convinced 225 MEPs to sign the petition for the creation of a
European alert system for missing children. The problem, for the McCanns, was the press conference that they gave in the late
afternoon. The journalists' favourite dish was not the petition, but rather the couple's behaviour on the evening of the 3rd
of May 2007, when Madeleine disappeared in Praia da Luz, Algarve.
One of the questions was why they left their daughter
alone on the fateful night. The McCanns reacted with a bad temper. The "real issue", they underlined, is the abduction. "We
did not abandon or neglect Madeleine. Someone entered the apartment and took a child. That is the issue. To go over that matter
is very boring", Gerry McCann said. Kate supported her husband, with the same irritation: "The real issue is that a child
was abducted and there is a criminal who is still out there".
Gerry insisted. "We need to focus on the real issue.
Continuously raising that question is unhelpful. Nothing has changed over the last 14 months and I don't understand why we
are talking about that, again".
The couple only calmed down when they were allowed to speak again about the issue that
was on their agenda: the petition to create a European alert system for missing children. Kate and Gerry thanked the 225 MEPs
that have already signed the petition, and exhorted others to do it.
They remembered that 393 signatures are necessary,
half of the hemicycle, until the end of July, in order for the text to be sent to the European Commission and for the communitarian
executive to present a proposal in that sense to the Council. In Brussels' hallways, there are some who accuse the McCanns
of a "media manoeuvre" with this initiative.
"What is the use of this petition? There is already a European law proposal
for the creation of such an alert system. It is on its way to being approved in Strasbourg, and then to be taken before the
European Commission. That proposal, which has been worked upon for quite some time, will then have to be approved by each
member state", a source in Brussels criticized.
"Media manoeuvre"
The
same source remembered that the McCanns have "associated themselves to an initiative that belongs to the European Commission,
in a media manoeuvre".
One of the main promoters of that initiative was Margarida Sousa Uva, the wife of the president
of the European Union, Durão Barroso.
In March, Sousa Uva alerted in Brussels to the "lack of political will" within
the 27 to create an effective alert system. One month later, in April, the McCanns met with a group of MEPs that wrote the
text about the European alert. It was then that they started speaking about the petition.
Numbers
14 of July is the date from
which the Maddie process ceases to be covered by the judicial secrecy. The McCanns heard about that date through 24horas,
yesterday.
4 is the number of European Union member states that have an alert
system: Germany, France, Greece and the United Kingdom. The proposal intends to widen it on 27.
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Madeleine McCann: parents' court bid for information Telegraph
By Gordon Rayner, Chief Reporter
Last Updated: 7:26PM BST 20/06/2008
Kate and Gerry McCann are to ask a High Court judge to order the release of police documents which they hope will kick-start
the search for their missing daughter Madeleine, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
The McCanns hope their application
to Mrs Justice Hogg will result in Leicestershire Police opening their files on scores of reported sightings of Madeleine,
most of which have been passed on to them by police in Portugal, where the four-year-old disappeared in May last year.
Until
now police in Leicestershire, the McCanns' home county, have refused the couple's requests for information about sightings,
saying they are bound by the terms of an agreement with Portuguese police.
But Mr and Mrs McCann, who retain the services
of a Spanish-based detective agency, are anxious to make sure that every possible lead has been checked out, which they believe
the Portuguese police, whose investigation is gradually being wound down, may not be able to do.
The Telegraph can also disclose that Madeleine was made a ward of court last summer at the request of the McCanns, to
empower judges to act in her best interests in any legal dispute such as the case which is about to be heard.
Clarence
Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman, said: "I can state that on the instigation of Gerry and Kate McCann Madeleine is a
ward of the High Court of England and Wales.
"An application has been made on Madeleine's behalf by her parents for
disclosure of certain documents. The hearing is currently scheduled for July 7 in the High Court in London.
"It has
been the stated intention of Gerry and Kate McCann to leave no stone unturned in doing everything necessary to search for
their daughter, as would any parent.
"This application is just part of their search for Madeleine."
Madeleine's
status as a ward of court has never been disclosed by her parents' who quietly made a wardship application in the High Court
just weeks after she went missing.
The couple's legal team had advised them to ask for Madeleine to be made a ward
of court because wardship status gives the courts certain statutory powers to act on her behalf in legal disputes such as
the one which has arisen with Leicestershire police.
They still believe their daughter is alive and hope the police
files may contain information which could yet lead to a breakthrough.
The case is listed to be heard in open court
on July 7 in the Family Division of the High Court in London, and is expected to be contested by Leicestershire Police, according
to legal sources.
Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns' spokesman, said: "Kate and Gerry have always said that they will
do whatever is necessary to find Madeleine and that they will leave no stone unturned in their search for their daughter.
"They
will take whatever legal steps are necessary if there is information out there that can assist their private investigation
into finding Madeleine. Beyond that I cannot make any comment."
Mr Mitchell said the hearing would not involve any
attempt by the McCanns to clear their names by proving they were not involved in their daughter's disappearance from a holiday
apartment in Praia da Luz. They remain official suspects, or arguidos, in Portugal.
In recent months the couple have
become increasingly frustrated at the slow progress of the Portuguese investigation, and they suspect that many possible sightings
of Madeleine have not been followed up at all.
If they are given access to the police files on reported sightings,
each one will be looked into by private investigators retained by the couple.
For the past year the McCanns have employed
Metodo 3, a Barcelona-based detective agency, to carry out an investigation in parallel with the Portuguese police inquiry.
The
agency has checked out sightings as far afield as North Africa and South America – all of which have proved to be false
– using either its own staff or affiliated firms, which it says it can do far more quickly than the police.
In
one instance earlier this year, the agency ruled out a sighting of Madeleine in Chile within three hours of receiving a tip-off,
by employing local investigators to track down the girl concerned. The agency argues that police would have taken days to
achieve a similar result because they would have been hampered by bureaucracy and official procedure.
Earlier this
week Portugal's Attorney General suggested that police files may be opened up at the end of July, but the McCanns fear his
comments may prove to be another false dawn.
Their case is being heard in the Family Division because it involves the
welfare of a child. Mrs Justice Hogg, a specialist in child welfare cases, is the sister of former cabinet minister Douglas
Hogg and the daughter of former Lord Chancellor Lord Hailsham.
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McCanns asked for missing Madeleine to be made ward of court Daily Mail
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 2:01 AM on 21st June 2008
Kate and Gerry McCann will ask a High Court judge to order police to release documents which they hope will help in the
search Madeleine.
It emerged last night their missing daughter was made a ward of court last summer at her parents' request so judges could
act in her best interests in any legal dispute.
The McCanns have now applied to the court to consider ordering Leicestershire Police to disclose their files on scores
of reported sightings of their missing daughter - many of which have been passed on to them by police in Portugal.
The four-year-old disappeared on a family holiday in Praia da Luz last year, sparking a world-wide search.
Until now the McCanns' local police force in the UK has not provided the couple with information about sightings, because
they are understood to be bound by an agreement with Portuguese police.
Mr and Mrs McCann, who have retained a Spanish-based detective agency to work on Madeleine's disappearance, want to make
sure every possible lead has been followed-up.
They hope the police files will contain information about sightings, or leads which may lead to a breakthrough.
The case will be heard in the High Court on July 7 in the Family Division. However, it is not known if it will be heard
in open court because Madeleine is a minor, and has protected status as a ward of court.
Clarence Mitchell, the McCann's spokesman, said: 'It has come to our attention that some details of court proceedings
concerning Madeleine have been made public. This is regrettable.'
He added: 'At the instigation of Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine was made a ward of the High Court of England and Wales.
'An application has been made on Madeleine's behalf by her parents for disclosure of certain documents.
'Kate and Gerry have always said that they will do whatever is necessary to find Madeleine and that they will leave no
stone unturned in their search for their daughter.'
The McCanns remain official suspects, or arguidos, in Portugal. They have become frustrated at the slow progress of the
Portuguese investigation and they are concerned possible sightings of Madeleine have not been followed up.
If they are given access to the police files details of possible leads could be passed to Metodo 3, the investigators
hired by the McCanns, to follow-up.
The couple made an application for Madeleine to be made a ward of court weeks after she went missing on May 3 last year.
They were advised to do this because wardship status gives the courts certain statutory powers to act on her behalf in
legal disputes, such as the one that has arisen over the police files.
Earlier this week it emerged the McCanns will finally be told what evidence police have against them next month.
The couple will be given full access to the confidential case files on the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine.
Access to the files will allow the McCanns - desperate to clear their status as 'arguidos' or official suspects - to
begin building a defence and demand that they are cleared.
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EXCLUSIVE Security beefed up after evil threats
By Tom Latchem and Tracey Kandohla
22 June 2008
Maddie McCann's anguished parents have installed panic alarms at their home after a wave of vile threats.
Kate and Gerry McCann got offensive and menacing letters and emails - including two that threatened to kill them.
The couple have installed a state-of-the-art security system at their £600,000 detached home.
The gear, costing "several thousand" pounds, is understood to include CCTV and panic buttons in most rooms to alert cops
in an emergency.
Police are examining the threats in a bid to track down the senders. One of the most disturbing messages suggested an
intruder would target five-year-old Maddie's bedroom.
Doctors Kate, 40, and Gerry, 39, have left the room unchanged since their daughter vanished from their holiday flat in
Praia da Luz, Portugal, nearly 14 months ago.
A source close to the couple said yesterday: "They have had threats made against them which they find both very
worrying and upsetting.
"Unfortunately there are some lunatics out there. There have been lots of offensive and vicious letters, with at least
two talking about killing them.
"Security surrounding Kate and Gerry has been reviewed.
It means they can sleep better at night. They will not let these people break them down."
There was a surge in abusive mail arriving at the McCanns' home in Rothley, Leics, after they appeared in an ITV documentary
last month.
The source said it is feared the couple's high-profile visit to Strasbourg last week will trigger more.
Kate and Gerry were in the French city to campaign for a Europe-wide alert system for abducted children. The strain of
the couple's ordeal was obvious in Kate's gaunt features.
A Leicestershire police spokesman said: "Several letters have been passed to us.
We are investigating threats made against the McCanns."
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McCanns make High Court files bid BBC News
Page last updated at 14:17 GMT, Monday, 23 June 2008 15:17 UK
The parents of Madeleine McCann will ask a High Court judge to order police files on the disappearance of their daughter
to be released.
Leicestershire police have so far agreed with officers in Portugal not to disclose information on the case.
Kate and Gerry McCann hope the hearing on 7 July will give access to details of reported sightings of Madeleine.
Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, disappeared aged three in the resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal, on 3 May 2007.
'No stone unturned'
The McCanns have made Madeleine a ward of court, which allows a judge to act in the best interests of a child in a legal
dispute.
The application to Mrs Justice Hogg is listed for the Family Division of the High Court.
The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "An application has been made on Madeleine's behalf by her parents for
the disclosure of certain documents.
"The case and the judgment may be in public and this will be a matter for the court to decide.
"It has been the stated intention of Gerry and Kate to leave no stone unturned in doing everything necessary in the search
for their daughter, as would any other parent.
"This application is just part of their search for Madeleine."
A Leicestershire police spokeswoman said the force was aware that a court hearing was scheduled and it would be inappropriate
to comment further.
McCanns To Ask Judge To Rule On Files Sky News
Updated:22:03, Monday June 23, 2008
Gerry and Kate McCann are to ask a High Court judge to order the release of police files on their daughter's disappearance.
Madeleine McCann went missing from the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May last year.
Portuguese secrecy laws have since left her parents in the dark on much of the police investigation.
The McCanns and the private detective agency they are employing want to examine the potential lines of inquiry as part
of their own search.
However, police in their home county of Leicestershire, who lead the British arm of the official investigation, have
so far stuck to an agreement with their counterparts in Portugal on the non-disclosure of information.
The couple made their daughter a ward of court, which empowers judges to act in Madeleine McCann's best interests in
a legal dispute.
They hope their application to Mrs Justice Hogg, listed for the Family Division of the High Court on July 7, will give
them access to the police files on various reported sightings.
Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns' spokesman, said: "I am limited in what I can say as matters are sub judice and relate
to a minor.
"I can state that, on the instigation of Gerry and Kate McCann, Madeleine is a ward of the High Court of England and
Wales.
"An application has been made on Madeleine's behalf by her parents for the disclosure of certain documents.
"The case and the judgement may be in public and this will be a matter for the court to decide.
"It has been the stated intention of Gerry and Kate to leave no stone unturned in doing everything necessary in the search
for their daughter, as would any other parent.
"This application is just part of their search for Madeleine."
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McCanns want evidence 24horas (No online link)
Maddie's parents have asked a British court to have access to documents
24 June 2008
Thanks to 'astro' for translation
Kate and Gerry want to consult the process, in order to find out everything about the
sightings. The British High Court will decide.
The McCanns can't be bothered to wait for the date on which the Maddie process
becomes public and have advanced a special request to the British judicial system. The request will be analysed on the 7th
of July in the family section of the British High Court and essentially targets the access to documents that are related to
sightings of Maddie.
According to what 24horas was able to establish, the McCanns intend to pass the information about the sightings
on to the detective agency that they hired, Spanish Metodo 3.
If the court decides that the release of said documents does not harm the investigation, it will then be the Leicestershire
police that will deliver the data to the McCanns.
Until now, the police in this city – the region in central England where the couple live – has not made any
details of the process public, at the request of the Portuguese Polícia Judiciária. According to what was revealed by the
site of British channel Sky News, this diligence by the McCanns was only possible because Kate and Gerry placed the case of
their missing daughter under the guardianship of the High Court, which confers the judges the right to act in the child's
best interest.
Normally, this decision is made when a child is at risk, but in this case, the process was started at the request of
Madeleine’s parents, several months ago.
"Leave no stone unturned"
The McCanns' spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, has confirmed the date of the hearing
to Lusa Agency (July 7) and that the couple has requested access to "certain documents". He refused to offer any further details.
"It was always Gerry and Kate McCann's intention to leave no stone unturned in order to do the necessary to find their
daughter", Mitchell underlined. "This request is only a part of their search for Madeleine".
The 5-year-old girl disappeared on the 3rd of May of 2007, while sleeping in a bedroom at a hotel in Praia da Luz, Algarve,
while her parents dined in the nearby Tapas Bar. Kate and Gerry McCann remain arguidos.
One year later, the Public Ministry has not produced any accusation against them.
Secrecy is ending
The McCanns' diligence with the British justice is practically useless, because
the judicial secrecy on the Maddie case will be lifted in July, according to what the Republic's General Prosecutor himself,
Pinto Monteiro, has confirmed to 24horas (in the edition of June 17, 2008). According to the calculations that we
did, at that time, it will be on the 14th of July that the process becomes public – one day before the judicial holidays.
According
to what Rogério Alves, the McCanns' lawyer, told us then, the couple is only counting on access to the process in August,
which could be due to the judicial holidays – which are from July 15 until August 15. During that period, the courts
function only with shift judges. Which means that only priority processes, with detained arguidos, are worked upon. "The Maddie
case is not a priority", a senior official at the Portimão court has guaranteed.
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Street of Shame Private Eye (No online link, appears in paper version only)
It's Groundhog Day at
the Daily Express and Daily Star. Four months after settling a libel action from Kate and Gerry McCann
by giving them £550,000 in damages plus an amazing front-page apology, Dirty Des's rags are facing another legal complaint
over their coverage of the Madeleine saga.
Last week they received solicitors' letters from the so-called "Tapas 7",
the McCanns holiday companions, threatening to sue "in relation to a number of articles".
Once again Dirty Des's legal
department has issued an urgent edict that all Maddy-related material on the papers' websites must be "removed forthwith".
And once again, hacks are bracing themselves for a bumper payout annd an abject grovel.
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Gerry McCann elected to board of BSCMR BSCMR
The
British Society of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance(BSCMR) was formed in 2004 and the Founding Board of Officers consists
of the following leading physicians in the field:
- Professor Henry Dargie, Western Infirmary, Glasgow - Chairman-Elect
- Dr John Greenwood, Leeds General Infirmary, Leeds
- Dr Francisco Leyva, Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield -Treasurer
- Dr Gerry McCann, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester
- Dr James Moon, The Heart Hospital, London
- Professor Stefan Neubauer, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford - BSCMR Chairman
- Professor Dudley Pennell, Royal Brompton Hospital, London - Past- Chairman
- Professor Reza Razavi, Guy's Hospital, London - Deputy Treasurer
The new Board will be in place from 1 June 2008-31 May 2010.
The aims of the BSCMR are to:
- promote clinical practice and research into cardiovascular magnetic resonance and to disseminate the useful results of
such research
- further the advancement of education in cardiovascular magnetic resonance for the public benefit.
The BSCMR is a Charity and is affiliated to the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS).
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* No relevant news published
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* No relevant news published
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McCanns boosted by fresh leads Sunday Star (No online link, appears in paper version only)
Sunday 29 June 2008
Kate and Gerry Mccann have been boosted by a series of fresh leads in the hunt for missing daughter Madeleine.
They have been told of 'several' potential new sightings of the five year old, who vanished without trace
while on holiday in Portugal in May 07.
It has led to a 'widening and deepening' of the private investigation into Madeleine's disappearance.
Last night the family's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said Kate and Gerry remain hopeful that "a breakthrough"
is near.
He said "following the documentary at the anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance there were a lot of calls,
which are still being followed up.
"These include new information, potential sightings , although I cant go into any details."
The privately funded probe into Maddie's disappearance from the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz
on May 3, 2007 has become "wider and much more sophisticated" according to sources.
Metodo 3 the Spanish agency which took on the investigation is being aided by other agencies across the globe.
In addition, doctors Kate and Gerry, both 40, from Rothley, Leics. hope their status as arguidos or suspects
- will be lifted in the next few weeks.
Police files on the case are due to be shared with third parties next month, which could signal an end to
the suspicion which hung over the couple since last year.
Last night Mr Mitchell said the McCanns still believe Maddie is alive.
He added "they continue to work on the assumption that Madeleine is being held somewhere.
"There is no evidence she has been hurt or killed".
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Algarve: Gonçalo Amaral leaves the PJ in order to achieve "plenitude of freedom
of expression" and to defend himself Lusa
Cecília Malheiro, Agência Lusa
30 de Junho de 2008, 15:37
Thanks to 'astro' for translation
Faro 30 June (Lusa) - The former coordinator at the Polícia Judiciária for the "Madeleine McCann" case, inspector Gonçalo
Amaral, told Lusa today that he is retiring from the PJ mainly to attain "plenitude of freedom of expression" and to consequently
be able to defend himself.
Gonçalo Amaral, aged 48, started working as a civil servant at the age of 14, and today
lives his last day at the service of the Polícia Judiciária, after recently having been the most exposed PJ inspector in the
Portuguese and British media, for having coordinated the case of "Madeleine McCann", the little English girl that disappeared
in the Algarve on the 3rd of May of 2007.
In an interview to Lusa, Gonçalo Amaral explained that he is retiring at
the age of 48 in order to "have plenitude of freedom of expression".
"Why do I leave? I leave because I understand
that the only way to acquire the plenitude of my freedom of expression is to leave the police. Because at this moment, to
defend myself, I have to reacquire my freedom of expression", he said.
The exercise of that freedom of expression starts
this month, with the publication of a book about the Maddie case, in case – as it is foreseen – the judicial secrecy
on the process is lifted.
Inspector Gonçalo Amaral, who also coordinated the case of the homicide of the child Joana
Cipriano, told Lusa that he intends to publish a book about the "Maddie" case, as soon as this month.
"Everything depends
on whether or not the judicial secrecy on the [Madeleine McCann] case is lifted", the inspector observed.
Gonçalo Amaral
refers that it is not extraordinary to retire at the age of 48.
"It's not from another world, that I retire at the
age of 48. I started working as a civil servant at the age of 14, I did the maths and I used to tell my colleagues at the
[PJ formation] course that I would retire earlier than them. My calculations pointed at retiring from the police at the age
of 46, but the rules were changed and it ended up not happening like that", he said.
Gonçalo Amaral carried out his
last mission as a PJ agent last Sunday, in Faro, within an investigation that had been going on for three months, through
the Faro directory.
The result was the apprehension of approximately two-and-a-half tons of hashish in Faro, the equivalent
to five million individual doses, at a location known as Praia dos Estudantes.
During the operation, in which Gonçalo
Amaral participated one day before he retires, six men were also arrested and two sports boats were apprehended, which transported
the hashish to land from the "mother boat", of a fishing type.
About his professional future, the inspector says that
"the secret is the soul of the business".
The police agent did nonetheless reveal to Lusa that he would like to do
a stay at a lawyers office in the Algarve, given the fact that he has a degree from the Law Faculty of Lisbon, but never had
an opportunity to do a stay and to apply for the Bar.
"My life will pass through the Algarve. I'm an adopted Algarvian.
Since 1986 that I have practically been living in the Algarve", he said, guaranteeing that his professional life will always
be situated in the Algarve.
Gonçalo Amaral was born 48 years ago in the village of Torredeita, located 10 kms from
Viseu, which he left aged three months, to go to live in Lisbon. He has also lived in Barreiro.
At the age of 22, while
studying electronics engineering at the Instituto Superior Técnico, in Lisbon, he opted to enter the course for PJ agents,
where he was positioned in 12th place among a total of 40 candidates.
The first position was held by "doctor Almeida
Rodrigues, a celebrity within the Polícia Judiciária", Gonçalo Amaral remembered.
In 1997, Gonçalo Amaral started his
night studies for a law degree, finishing with a medium score of 12.
In 1998, after 15 years of profession, he entered
the course for sub-inspector, with over 100 candidates, all from within the PJ, and was classed in first place.
In
2000/2001, he entered the course to become a coordinator with 20 candidates, and within the interns, he finished in the second
position.
The last day for Gonçalo Amaral, the former coordinator of the "Madeleine McCann" case, at the Polícia Judiciária
is today. On Tuesday, he says, he will enjoy the "freedom to speak".
A source with the PJ's Public Relations Cabinet,
in Lisbon, has reported to Lusa that Gonçalo Amaral does not have a substitute yet, but that there is "no obligation for him
to be replaced", as Gonçalo Amaral was not positioned in a leading post anymore.
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With thanks
to Nigel at
McCann Files
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