Mon Aug 04, 2008
The comments of Goncalo Amaral and his removal from the investigation
We have the very powerful evidence of Goncalo Amaral, the man in charge of the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance for the first four months, who told us all that there was heavy British government interference with his investigation - and then was apparently removed from the investigation largely for spelling this out. His main public relations assistant said exactly the same thing and was also removed from his association with the investigation.
Mr Amaral said this in a TV interview on 31 July 2008:
Quote
”Those who knew me socially got an opinion based on my connection with the so-called ‘Maddie Case’. During the investigation, and after being removed from it, I was the target of the most terrible accusations from the British press, some local commentators and a man named Clarence Mitchell, whose role is not very well understood. On the eve of the publication of the book you already know about, this gentleman was sending me threats: "that I should take care" - I was stunned!
Let me make it clear that I consider this to be an unacceptable tone, coming from a citizen of the oldest democracy in the world. Take care, why? Because I might step on a banana skin while walking? Is Mr Mitchell concerned about my health? I do not think so. We all perceive his threatening tone.
In Portugal, we are not used to people speaking that way. Nor is this the view we have of the British people, but there are always some people that fall short of their standards. A criminal investigation need not be politically correct, nor fear veiled threats”.
Unquote
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The statement by the British Ambassador to Portugal, Mr John Buck, on 8 May 2007, just 5 days after Madeleine 'disappeared'
Statement to the media by John Buck, British Ambassador to Portugal, Praia da Luz, Algarve, Portugal, 08 May 2007
"Ladies and gentlemen, Good evening. As you know I spent quite a lot of time with the McCann family on Friday [NB 4th May, the day the McCanns were also being interviewed by the Portuguese police] and over the weekend and also supporting our Consular staff here in the Algarve. I wanted to come down today to see Kate and Gerry again and to continue to support our Consular staff who've been dealing with this case continually now for a number of days. I also wanted to assure myself personally that the necessary links between British and Portuguese experts here on the ground are working well and they are.
"As you know we have had three family liaison officers from the Leicestershire Police here with the family acting as a point of communication with the Portuguese Police. As I think you also know additional experts arrived today to work with their Portuguese colleagues on this investigation. I don't want to say anything in detail about the investigation but it might be helpful if I said a word or two about the background.
"This is and must remain a Portuguese Police investigation. As you know the Portuguese Police operate under Portuguese law and Portuguese law puts constraints on what they can say publicly and the information they can release. Against that background I have been in touch closely over the last few days with Cabinet Ministers here in Portugal, with the Prime Minister's Office and with the Portuguese Police authorities. They all assure me that everything possible is being done to ensure the safe return of Madeleine.
"We continue to work closely with the Portuguese authorities. They are very pleased with the collaboration with the British authorities. They are in close touch with Interpol and Europol and I and I know Kate and Gerry, with whom I've just been speaking for the past hour, are very grateful for their efforts. Thank you very much".
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The British government was directly involved in brokering an agreement for the Doctors Gerry and Kate McCann ro rerurn to the United Kingdom
As the Daily Telegraph reported on 10 September 2007, as the Doctors McCann were returning to England: "As those negotiations [with the Portuguese authorities about the McCanns returning to England] were going on, the Foreign Office was 'firing on all cylinders' in its efforts to help the McCanns. The agreement that allowed Gerry and Kate to go back to the U.K. was reached through direct contacts between the British Foreign Office, the Portuguese Justice and Foreign Office Ministers and Portuguese Judiciara, with the help of John Buck, the U.K. Ambassador in Portugal at the time. Justine McGuiness and David Hughes, members of the McCann team of advisers, played also an important role in those contacts".
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Gerry McCann’s 9 ’phone calls to the future Prime Minister of the U.K
We know on the record that Gerry McCann spoke to the current British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, 9 times on the telephone in late May.
The despatch of a Cabinet-level official to oversee public relations in the case
One of the government’s most highly-paid ‘spinners’ of information, Mr Clarence Mitchell, is despatched almost immediately to Portugal to conduct public relations for the McCanns. His job is as Head of the Media Monitoring Unit for the Central Office of Information. He is seconded to the Foreign Office for the special assignment of handling press relations about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
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The despatch of another top government official, Sheree Dodd, to help with the McCanns’ PR
The former Daily Mirror journalist and long-serving senior government spokeswoman, Ms Sheree Dodd, was deployed as a ‘media liaison officer’ for the McCann family in addition to Mr Mitchell.
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British Embassy staff who were suspicious about the McCanns were transferred to other posts away from the Embassy.
Staff at the British Embassy who were suspicious about the McCanns' claims were, according to a number of sources, removed from their posts and transferred elsewhere. See for example this Spanish newspaper for German-speakers:
http://www.saz-aktuell.com/newsdetail~k ... review.htm:
One heading in that newspaper ran as follows: "British diplomats who found Drs Kate & Gerry McCann suspicious were removed from Portugal", "A government involved more than normal - The Maddie case gets a new political dimension".
It is known that Ms Sheree Dodd, mentioned above, changed her job some time in the summer of 2007 - and there were certainly reports that she did not 'buy' the McCanns' account of events.
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The British government arranging for the Doctors McCann to see the Pope
On his own admission, in a video-recorded interview, Mr Mitchell boasts of having arranged for the Doctors McCann to visit the Pope in late May.
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Gordon Brown’s pressure on the Portuguese police to publicly release a description of a non-existent abductor
We have the evidence on the record that the Portuguese police felt forced by overwhelming pressure from Gordon Brown himself - yes, personally - to co-operate in releasing a statement about a possible abductor, despite the fact that at that time (and still!) they had no credible evidence of, nor description of, any abductor - and had already begun to suspect the parents of involvement in Madeleine's 'disappearance'.
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The British government arranging for Dr Gerry McCann to visit the White House and meet U.S. Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales
Gerry McCann was able in July, while on a short visit to the United States, to visit the White House and meet personally with then Attorney-General of the United States, Alberto Gonzalez. Those visits could only have been arranged with British government help.
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Foreign Secretary David Miliband admits to having a number of telephone conversations with the Doctors McCann - but won't say how many
During 1997, Mr Clarence Mitchell, full-time PR spokesman for the Doctors McCann, claimed that after the McCanns were made 'arguidos' [formal suspects], they had not recieved any help from, or even been in contact with, any senior Ministers of the British government.
However, an enterprising member of the public decided to ask a question about Mr Mitchell's claim under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Here are extracts from the reply from the Foreign and Commonwealth Ofice:
"I can confirm that the Foreign Secretary has communicated with the McCann family on a number of occasions. However any further details relating to this have been withheld under Section 36(2)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act which, if disclosed, would or would be likely to, prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs...we had to apply a 'public interest test' to determine whether or not the information should be released. We recognise that there is a public interest in transparent and open government...but we have to balance this with the need to reassure British nationals in need of Consular assistance that we will protect details relating to their situation. In this instance there is clearly an expectation that the details of all communications were confidential and would not be [made] public...For this reason, we consider that the public interest in maintaining this exemption outweighs the public interest in release.
"The Foreign Secretary has not communicated with either Clarence Mitchell or the [private company Helping to Find Madeleine]: Leaving No Stone Unturned Ltd".
It should be noted, however, that from May to September 2007 Mr Clarence Mitchell was seconded to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, for which Mr Miliband was the Secretary of State.
It should also be noted that Gerry McCann's brother John McCann was reported to have claimed that he had also spoken to Mr Miliband. Mr John McCann was a founder Director of the company 'Helping to Find Madeleine: Leaving No Stone Unturned Ltd and continues to be a Director.
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Gordon Brown was told that Goncalo Amaral would be removed from the case before Amaral himself even knew
Goncalo Amaral revealed publicly that Prime Minister Gordon Brown had been told that he [Amaral] would be removed from the investigation into Madeleine's 'disappearance' two hours before he himself was informed. This appears to be very powerful evidence that the British government wanted him removed from the investigation. And why might that be? The only possible reason could be that Amaral and his team were getting closer and closer to obtaining the necessary evidence to prove that the McCanns' claim of Madeleine being abducted was a lie. The impetus behind the investigation was not maintained after Amaral was removed from the enquiry.
Here let it be noted that in 2005, Amaral and his Portimao team of detectives had successfully prosecuted the evil killers of 8-year-old Joana Cipriano, resulting in their receiving lengthy jail terms. The killers were Joana's mother and uncle. Both initially claimed that Joana had gone missing and might have been abducted. The uncle later admitted to the brutal killing of poor Joana - together with Joana's mother - and disposing of her body in a car and conveying the car to a Spanish vehicle crushing company.
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British government refused to supply Madeleine McCann's medical records
On page 81 of Goncalo Amaral's book, 'A Verdade da Mentira', Chapter 4, he claims that the Portuguese police officially requested from the British government that the medical records of Madeleine Beth McCann be supplied to them. Either the Department of Health, or the Regional Health Authority for Leicestershire, frustrated the request, delayed replying to the Portuguese police, and ultimately refused to co-operate. Given that that medical information could have been helpful to the investigation, why was it not produced?
The case of Madeleine being discussed by Gordon Brown with the Portuguese Prime Minister and Portuguese President of the European Union at the E.U.’s ‘Lisbon Summit’ in October 2007
Again we have it on the written record that the case of Madeleine Mcann was specially discussed between Jose Manuel de Barroso, the Portuguese President of the European Commission, the Portuguese Prime Minister, Jose Socrates, and Gordon Brown, at the European Union's Lisbon summit in October, when the Lisbon Treaty was signed. What could all that have been about? Was it just: "How are you getting on with finding Madeleine's abductor, Prime Minister?" No, I think the discussion involved a great deal more than that.
SUMMARY
It is therefore obvious that the British government was very actively involved in this investigation, right from the start. Other citizens of the U.K. or indeed of other countries whose child goes missing in mysterious circumstances have nothing like the same level of involvement from their government.
Tony Bennett, 4 August 2008
Truthformadeleine
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