The way the con continued

The pair being questioned on oath about the  London Bridge sale

The attempt to deceive the UK public, the original con that they hoped would save them, continued even though that public was beginning to find out, unofficially,  what was going on. It was therefore vital that the information remained "only rumour", to use a favourite phrase of Kate McCann.

So they denied everything as long as they possibly could and made sure they never gave any hint of confirmation themselves that the police were hot on their trail, however bizarre their attempts became in the light of reality. With nothing officially confirmed they still had prospects for the future – once they'd got out of Portugal.

I'll leave aside completely the simultaneous work the pair were doing with their spin machine and lying to journalists using their various agents and shills – a huge subject in itself. No, this is just their spare time stuff.

Below is a well-known selection of events in August 2007. Each event is followed by extracts from Gerry McCann's blog entries to demonstrate how accurately he conveys the truth for the UK public.

August 2 2007 Gerry & Kate McCann had their place turned over by the police and were left with only the clothes they were wearing. The game was up.

August 2 Gerry McCann’s blog Today was a bit of a write off for me as I was laid low with a probable viral illness which meant I could not stray too far from the house! I did manage to get through some e-mails, telephone calls and some paperwork. Feeling a bit better tonight so hopefully be back to normal tomorrow.

August 3 It is exactly 3 months since Madeleine was abducted. Kate and I had an early start as we drove to Huelva, 50Km over the border from Portugal in Southern Spain. We were meant to go yesterday but had to cancel because I was ill.

August 6 Police asked Gerry McCann to meet them and then seized his car and took it for forensic testing.

August 6  Today was again very busy. Lots of e-mails and telephone calls to family and friends who have been involved in the campaign to find Madeleine.

August 7 Of course all possibilities are being considered and the police have to be certain before eliminating any of the scenarios. It is absolutely right that we are subject to the same high standards of investigation as anyone else. Kate and I have, and will continue to assist the police in every possible way.

August 8 Kate & Gerry McCann interrogated, accused by police of lying and covering up their actions with regard to the child. Suggestions they could face a murder charge. Both of them in hysterics.

August 8 Kate’s parents left early this morning…At our meeting with the Portuguese police today we reaffirmed that we have to believe Madeleine is alive until there is concrete evidence to the contrary. It is this belief that has driven everything we have done in relation to publicising Madeleine's disappearance over the last 3 months.

August 11 PJ officer arrives to tell them that dog searches suggest death in apartment 5A. Tears, breakdown, hysterics.

August 11 Just another day but a significant milestone that we prayed we would never have to face without Madeleine…In the afternoon we went to a local swimming pool and play area with the kids and their cousins. They had a great time swimming, playing with tennis balls and generally messing around…There was a statement from the Portuguese police today regarding the recent activity in the investigation and media speculation. They confirmed that there are new leads and that we are not suspects in Madeleine's disappearance.

August 20 The McCanns go and see criminal lawyers to defend themselves against the charges which are obviously coming,

August 20 I had a predominately quiet but productive day. I spent most of it at the computer or on the phone. We keep in regular touch with both the Portuguese and British police but there has been no major news in the last couple of days.

September 2 The police tell them they will be formally interrogated in the coming days and to bring a lawyer. Shouts, tears, hysterics.

September 2 Another relatively quiet family day.My mum and sister arrived this morning after we had been to church. This afternoon we took the kids to a friend’s house with a pool. Kate and I went for a short run and then we all had a swim and a couple of treats brought all the way from Glasgow!

September 5 We were surprised to find increased media presence in Praia da Luz again today. We were followed down to church, then to the shops and back to our accommodation which is very unusual, apart from the build up to the 100 days. All the excitement seems to be over the results of the recent forensic tests that again have created a huge amount of speculation.

The rest of the story is all too well known. I will leave readers with just one more paired entry.

September 7 Unable to face the prospects of jail Kate & Gerry McCann discussed fleeing across the border but decided against.

September 10 On Saturday we asked the Portuguese police if they had any objection to us coming back to the UK. We had assured them that we will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation and of course will return as requested and for our own emotional reasons.

An entry that provides a satisfactory conclusion to a remarkable performance that continues – just – to this day.

Six days that fooled the world

 

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Shill, [noun, verb]. One who poses as a satisfied customer or an enthusiastic gambler to dupe bystanders into participating in a swindle.

1. To act as a shill for (a deceitful enterprise).

2. To lure (a person) into a swindle.

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Would you admit you bought London Bridge from this pair? Would you?

The six year con

Six years now and not one single fact to back up the hysterical media claims that began on May 4 2007 when  Kate McCann, Gerry McCann, Michael Wright, Philomena McCann and Trish Cameron started lying systematically to the media. Not one.

The chief shills

Michael Wright lied on May 4 when he told the public that the parents had been "spun against" and he was defending them. They had not been "spun against" by anybody, as the public record proves.  Gerry McCann, during the night of May 3/4 encouraged him to contact the media with the lies.

Michael Wright, the "they're diamond geezers" shill

Trish Cameron lied on May 4 when she said that the parents had been stalked by an abductor during the week and that apartment 5A had been broken into by an abductor. She had been contacted by Gerry McCann on the night of May 3/4 and given the fairy story to publicise.

Trish Cameron on the right, the "why it's for sale" shill

On May 6 Philomena McCann began deliberately lying about the police investigation to the media, claiming lack of response, inadequate searching,neglect and inefficiency. Not one word of these claims was true: they were lying inventions of Kate & Gerry McCann, passed on to Philomena specifically for outside broadcasting, despite the police pleas for silence. 

Philomena  McCann, the "don't believe the cops"shill

These actions of the five people are not claims or my opinion: they are established, on the record, proven facts.

The media fell for every one of the lies. The conspiracy to cover up and lie about the events of May 3 onwards was completely successful and the family shills, aided by the two principals feeding them what they wanted publicised, went onto radio and television further embroidering their baseless claims.

The end of the affair

The Madeleine McCann Affair was essentially over by May 10. The actual course of events and of the investigation had been completely drowned out by the lies which the media simply multiplied and amplified for the next twelve weeks until, in early August, some of the facts could no longer be denied. Until then the McCann family's stranglehold on UK media reporting, and hence knowledge of the truth of the investigation, had been maintained 100% with all of them insisting, day after day, that the police had no suspicions about the couple.

May 10. The day that Mr Bakhurst, head of BBC news 24, wrote his revolting paean to the lying family, having been completely taken in. He and his staff knew of the early and complete refutation of  the lies about "the poor search effort" and the invented "intrusion evidence" by Mr Hill, eyewitness and Mark Warner manager, who quoted the refutation evidence publicly.

They chose to ignore or muffle it, as did the other media organizations.The BBC knew on May 10 of  other versions of what was actually going on. We don't know where they came from or how truthful they were because the BBC deliberately chose to suppress them.

Why? Conspiracy? Corruption? Political pressure? Believe that if you like and go on feeding little lying Glasgow Gel's self-image as a power behind the scenes.

Psst! I've got this bridge on my lorry

All of them suppressed, and still suppress,   any inner doubts  because of just about the oldest human weakness, after sex and apples,  of  all: the weakness that makes people go on trying harder and harder to buy London Bridge once someone has completely convinced them that it really is for sale. Given that initial conviction, as every conman knows, the punter is forever in too deep to get out. Shame, sheer embarrassment, unwillingness to believe in your own stupidity, pride. They were all comprehensively conned and they can never admit it, as Crimewatch will demonstrate yet again. 

To complete the con Gerry and Kate McCann have time after time disguised the truth of what happened on the night of May 3/4, claiming repeatedly that media interest came as a  "surprise" to them after they had returned from Portimao police HQ on the afternoon of May 4. The truth, again a matter of record,  is that they initiated  the media interest by the use of the "green light" later described by Kate McCann: the method of using third parties and co-conspirators to circulate lies to the public. Even giving evidence to the House of Commons Gerry McCann  misled the committee under oath  with exactly the same part of the "fairy tale".

And of course the other shill "I bought one and it works"

By the afternoon of May 10 Gerry McCann knew that the police had made him, his wife who was "unavailable" for interview and the seven friends the prime suspects in the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann – he heard Oldfield crying hysterically in the police interview room as he was accused of being part of a faked abduction. Yet – read the blogs for August for an insight into a disgusting liar's methods—he went on hiding the truth from the British public.

And even now the BBC go on suppressing  the information that they were given – you know, those "rumours".

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Legal note. I do not throw accusations around carelessly, Evidence exists for all the factual claims made above.

It could be argued for three of those named above that the evidence does not justify  the claim that they “lied”, i.e. that they passed on information that they knew to be untrue.

Yes, it could be so argued. In which case the following questions arise:

1. On such a serious matter did they make any attempt to satisfy themselves as to the truth of their accusations – a number of which were defamatory of the Portuguese police – before initiating media contact?
2. Did Gerry McCann or Kate McCann state that the information given over the phone was true?
3. Did any third parties confirm the truth of these claims before they were made public?
4. In the light of these claims being exposed as untrue, particularly in the light of the harm done to reputations by them,  have any of the three ever repudiated their original claims?
5. Does the evidence given under oath by two of the three in McCanns v Amaral 2013 include any retractions or give any pointers as to their record, motives and intentions as truthful witnesses of fact? 

If no retraction has been given then their failure to retract known untruths is tantamount to continuing the intention to deceive.By this footnote I am bringing the refutations to their attention.

Then let's  see where it goes from there.

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From those wonderful people who gave you Jimmy Savile

 

Kevin Bakhurst – we kill "rumours"

A Corrupt and Debased Organization

So who were the biggest players to help Kate & Gerry McCann subvert the Portuguese investigation by deliberate misreporting and  censorship of material that they didn't agree with? Using feeds provided by the two main suspects (as we now know), their family and their professional media advisors.

Right at the top stands BBC television. Anyone considering complaining to the BBC in coming weeks may like to remind them of their flagship “blog” The Editors posted on May 10 2007, you know the day that Gerry McCann “re-remembered” his first police statement, Mathew Oldfield struggled to give a coherent account to police officers of his “hear no evil, see no evil” visit to 5A and Kate McCann rehearsed her September 7 refusal to answer questions by making herself unavailable to help the police. The “fairy story”, as it was described in court, had already broken down.

While these dramatic events were taking place what was the BBC up to? Let Mr Kevin Bakhurst, controller of BBC News 24, tell you in his inimitable  own words, in his post entitled, don’t laugh, Avoiding Intrusion. Got your vomit bowl to hand? Good, here we go:

Always believe in the fairies, children

News 24's Jane Hill has been in the Algarve since Saturday morning as part of a sizeable BBC team and we have strived to try to get the tone right as well as the amount of coverage. Both in the Algarve and here in the UK, we have liaised closely with Madeleine's family and the British authorities on the wishes of the family and the facts and tone of the reporting. [As I said these two were already the prime suspects]

Early on, both ITV and Sky joined an informal pool operation in the Algarve around the family [as is now well known the suspects’ family had been actively briefing against the police for the previous six days] where we only showed Madeleine's parents and family by consent so as to try to avoid intrusion. The BBC helped to organise the televised statement by Mrs McCann which was pooled to British and Portuguese TV stations. Even in these difficult circumstances, the McCann's [BBC grammar] know that publicity for Madeleine is important as the search goes on.

We have called Madeleine by her full name (not Maddy), at the request of the family because it is what they call her. We passed on the accurate details of Madeleine's pyjamas, at the family's request, correcting the police's initial description. [The BBC is correcting the PJ's inaccuracies. Will they do the same with  Scotland Yard in Crimewatch? Any bets?]

For several days there were many developments that we reported as they unfolded and large audiences watched News 24 over the Bank Holiday weekend, concerned for Madeleine. For the last couple of days, there have been fewer concrete developments (at time of writing) and the temptation for some seems to have been to report unsubstantiated rumours of which there are many to try to keep the story going - particularly when there is self-evidently high audience interest in the story itself. We have looked into many of these rumours on the ground and that is all they have so far turned out to be. [Well, well. So the BBC suppressed reporting of certain “unsubstantiated rumours” – as they call them— seven days after the disappearance. Who tried to substantiate them? Where did they come from?]

We all sincerely hope that there is a positive outcome for Madeleine and the McCanns and we will continue to try to provide the high volume of coverage and updates that the audience obviously wants, whilst respecting the family's privacy and needs and whilst striving to separate real developments from rumours. [Ah. More "rumours" to be killed off.]

What a disgusting exhibition!

Read it again after you’ve washed out the vomit bowl. They can’t even plead ignorance of what was going on: "rumours"! They knew there was already another narrative in opposition to Woolfall and the family's inventions  and they chose to cheat and fool the public because of their own lamentable failure to investigate the story objectively. Exactly the same as their behaviour with Jimmy Savile – but in many ways even more serious.

Mr Bakhurst featured in the Pollard report into the Savile affair before "moving on".

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Please feel free to copy this unedited BBC original should you wish to re-circulate it

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Come on Pedro!

 

Much to look forward to – if you're honest

It will take a long time to work through the implications of the new situation regarding reporting on the conduct of Kate & Gerry McCann in Portugal, as discussed in my previous post. Let me repeat, it will offer no protection at all for those who choose to speculate with home -made theories about the McCanns' May 3 2007 actions. Quite rightly.

But let’s look at a potential example, one of hundreds.

When the transcripts of this case are released I’m quite sure “we” will get them translated, either via the Gift Relationship or a whip-round. “They” can wait for Kate McCann’s translations to appear on Facebook: good luck with that one. They'll just have to go on using MSM clippings from the likes of Kier Simmons and Brunty, won't they – unless they get Pedro Silva to translate them.

[Long silence broken by muffled guffaws]

Silence in Court!

Ex-police officer Mr Moita Flores’s quoted opinion in the libel trial (assuming the official transcript, translated by Pedro Macsilva, confirms the unofficial reports)  that Kate & Gerry McCann “made up a fairy story” can be safely quoted anywhere on the Net or outside it. Even in cheap leaflets. Even by M/S Butler.

The question “how come a fairy story to the police by a couple concerning the fate of their own daughter was taken so seriously by the British media while the real course of the investigation was deliberately muffled?" can then be posed as a matter of public importance, pointing out the various statements of Mr Alex Woolfall and Mr Clarence Mitchell, and the financial rewards they received for their actions, that might help answer it.

The fact that this may “add to the unhappiness” of the couple may be true. It will also be legally completely irrelevant. The protection thus afforded will not be available to those usual suspects who, in response, gratuitously libel Flores on the Net as a “hater”. Then the McAlpine factor kicks in for Flores to use or not as he wishes.

Readers will be pleased to note that had the McCanns not sought to pursue an ex-public servant so wilfully in another country then all this absolutely privileged material would not exist, leaving the Archiving Summary, that flawed and debatable document, unchallenged as the last word on the case. Serves them very, very much right.

Meanwhile the completion of the Interrupted Investigation, as Goncalo Amaral, not me, christened it, moves smoothly onwards.

Autumn Quiz

Regarding the AS, here’s a little question for debate as the autumn evenings draw in: the Archiving Summary which did the interrupting follows the form and content of the PJ report which it claims to be evaluating, even to the number of pages. With one exception.

Why do you think that Mr Menezes and his colleague changed the meaning of the PJ report by taking its climax and conclusion – the reconstruction section – and replacing it with a B-Movie I love Kate paragraph  while shifting the recon. section several pages back so that it became a subsidiary finding, not a critical conclusion. Answers on a postcard?

Much to look forward to.

Boring legal note

Sorry about the mystery

There was a possibility that the writer might be giving evidence in the Portuguese libel proceedings later in the month. That being the case it would have been grossly unfair to comment on or criticise witnesses for the claimants who testified before me and as a result I stopped writing about the case, without giving the reasons. I will not be giving evidence so refraining from comment is no longer necessary.

End of an Era

But there was a further reason for reconsidering the way in which we post about the case. It was obvious back in February, when the parents' attempt to settle the case failed, that a twin phase of the case was, at last, coming to an end: the phase of strangled MSM coverage in which the latter only published material favourable to Kate & Gerry McCann and that in which responsible Internet analysis of the case was continually at risk should lawyers for the McCanns choose to follow the Lord McAlpine route.

The foundation of those threats was current UK libel law and the way in which lawyers for the parents used the Archiving Summary as a formal legal summation of the case. As is well known Carter Ruck threatened commentators on the case using precisely this tactic.

Even after the Portuguese appeal court ruling, which was not reported in the UK MSM, it could still be argued in overseas jurisdictions that the Archiving Summary was a fair and above all neutral assessment of the evidence, or absence of it, against Kate & Gerry McCann. Even as late as the Bennett case the judge appears to have taken that view, at least provisionally. But then he didn't have a lawyer to correct him.

All this is now in the past. The notes to the 2013 libel act, brought in by our MPs after a long struggle by campaigners to whom we a debt of gratitude,  under the heading “Reports etc. protected by privilege”* states:

50.Subsection (1) replaces subsection (3) of section 14 of the 1996 Act, which concerns the absolute privilege applying to fair and accurate contemporaneous reports of court proceedings. Subsection (3) of section 14 currently provides for absolute privilege to apply to fair and accurate reports of proceedings in public before any court in the UK; the European Court of Justice or any court attached to that court; the European Court of Human Rights; and any international criminal tribunal established by the Security Council of the United Nations or by an international agreement to which the UK is a party. Subsection (1) replaces this with a new subsection, which extends the scope of the defence so that it also covers proceedings in any court established under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom, and any international court or tribunal established by the Security Council of the United Nations or by an international agreement. [my italics].

The current hysteria in the MSM is a reflection of this change, which also means that the official transcript and judgement of the libel case when it is available will have absolute privilege, including those comments, already made by the judge, judicially limiting the validity of the Archive Summary.

This won’t help people on forums who wish to propose (not purport, Gerry, please, not purport) theories of McCann guilt of their own invention: it may even make it more dangerous for them. But it does mean that the stranglehold over public interest debate and comment, including via printed books, is finished and that responsible public examination of the investigation of the case and the parents' role in it, as long as it uses truthful evidence, will be protected, whatever the result of the Scotland Yard inquiry.

Much to think about for the way we go about things in future but the main thing is – hooray!

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"Absolute privilege" means that accurately quoted material from an absolutely privileged source cannot be defamatory.

Beyond the Sneers

 

Dr McCann fighting his way through photographers in Lisbon 

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David Smith has been granted exclusive access to the facts here and in Portugal. He  reveals what is really going on in the “case of the century” and how even now Kate has hope.

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Beyond the Sneers

Portugal's ruling party listening to the trial on videolink

For weeks Kate & Gerry McCann have had to suffer ridicule and humiliation in their on-going attempts to achieve justice for their daughter. Heartless Portuguese "journalists" have mocked the sad little clutch of family members and hangers-on as they waited uneasily  in the vast corridors of the Lisbon courts, corridors which once echoed to the sound of Salazar's victims pleading for their lives.  They have looked shocked, bewildered, at the onslaught of ridicule and disbelief that has greeted their evidence, uttered in good faith and with touching loyalty in those merciless blood-stained chambers. The garrottes, which once stood by the prosecutors' bench  as a reminder of what awaited the victims, even for parking offences, have now been – temporarily? – stored away in the grim cellars or sold on EBay to clear Portugal's vast debt, but nobody is fooled. Here the couple's long Calvary continues.

Nor is it just the families who suffer. Ken Roach, hair-shirted conscience of a generation and socialist icon has had to watch his well-educated and quite well-off, actually, daughter biting back the tears as the court burst into loud and prolonged laughter at her attempts to tell the truth as she saw it. Film-makers, even  unsuccessful ones, are, along with journalists, the index of a country's civilization. Who will be persecuted next – nurses? This is a society in denial.

The Fight Back Begins

But now, at last, change is coming. In the Spartan but comfortable hotel floor which the family witnesses have taken over for the trial I was able to learn of how, to use Kate McCann's immortal words in Madeleine, "the fight back begins". 

Kate & Gerry are anxious to stress that nobody forced them to go along with Duarte's defence strategy. They shrug their shoulders when asked if she could have done better and insist that she retains their full confidence: that's how the McCanns are – blame Liverpool if you like but Macloyalty remains their middle name. "It's just the way things are," sighs Kate, "you know it starts with the shoplifting at school. Of course it's wrong but everybody there does it so we all pull together. You know what I mean? Loyalty."

But one of the family, speaking without the permission of the parents,  told me afterwards,  "Izzie's got no idea and she destroyed us. Her and that f****** umbrella. And she overcharges like a good 'un."

Another family pal, though, said "M/S Duarte is doing her best under very difficult circumstances. Kate and Gerry respect her contribution and are working well with her."

But, quietly, diplomatically, the McCanns have taken over the defence burden. I can now reveal that Kate McCann’s appearance in court is just the start: SIX new witnesses have been accepted by the judge and will testify in the last week of November. A source close to the family said “the gloves are now off."

Amaral, who refused to discuss the case with me in 2007 and 2009 despite the usual incentives offered will be shocked at the firepower he now faces.

The Fateful Six

I have now seen the six names, although I must stress that the family had no part in giving them to me. This is the list:

David Payne

Paolo Rebelo

The Leicester chief constable 

A member of the British Establishment

Mr Bernado O' Higgins

Mr Peregrine Scrope-Dewurmer

They are NOT alone

Dr Payne represents the group of close friends who accompanied the McCanns on their ill-fated trip in 2007. Much nonsense has been written about their unwillingness to stand up for the tragic couple and their supposed fear of returning to Portugal. The truth is that, desperate though they have been to stand shoulder to shoulder with the pair,  they were assured that staying away from Portugal  was “well within the bounds of good friendship”. Despite this, and at great personal cost to themselves – it is understood that the fund will not pay Dr Payne's air fares – they have agreed that Dr Payne should stand for them all. 

In hitherto unknown testimony Dr Payne will confirm that Maddie was indeed alive and well  at 8.30 PM on May 3 when the parents left her and walked the  few yards to the famous tapas bar. In order to help out with the parents' evening routine he bathed the child. "She was a bit dusty," he remembers, "so she was in the bath for over an hour." In all that time he saw that Kate, who was wearing white,  remained calm and untroubled.

Mr Paolo Rebelo will state that after Mr Amaral was sacked for misrepresenting his lunch expenses his office was fumigated and a new era began. By April 2008, he will say, “we had new evidence suggesting abduction and all of us had now changed our minds. That was why I wrote to the friends telling them there was no need any longer for their reconstruction. I wish to apologize to Kate and Gerry on behalf of the PJ.”

More Apologies

Next will be the chief constable of Leicester who will confirm that the McCanns have “handsomely demonstrated their innocence” and should be freed from the burden of constant suspicion. He will also apologize for not having made this clear sooner.

Mr Bernado O’Higgins is president of Dom Pedro hotels worldwide. He will testify to the dire consequences for Portugal, and indeed other countries in the sunnier parts of Europe, if costs are awarded against the family and their fund.

Mr O' Higgins, one of Portugal's most influential businessmen, will say, " Gerry and Kate and their family have virtually carried our hotel chain through this very difficult recession as they have travelled the world in search of justice. Should the fund be exhausted redundancies will have to follow, particularly in the beauty salons which are highly labour intensive."

A reminder

Next to testify will be a member of the British Establishment. He has not been named but is expected to wear a brown tweed suit, Lobb shoes, carry ancient binoculars with Ascot Royal Enclosure tickets dangling from them and walk with the aid of a nineteenth century Wilkinson swordstick. He will state in a loud, braying SAS officer's voice that "anyone who thinks we and our support are all inventions of Dr Gerald McCann's diseased imagination had better think again" and will discharge meaningful glances at all corners of the court. He will conclude, "We believe in them and their innocence and our reach is long.”

The most feared couple in Britain

The final witness will be Mr Peregrine Scrope-Dewurmer, president emeritus of the Kennel Club of Great Britain and, be it noted, a friend of her majesty the queen. Mr Scrope-Dewurmer, despite his well-known gambling problems and three bankruptcies, is the world's leading authority on dog communication and Canine Whispering.In devastating new testimony he will confirm that he was present when Glorious Twelfth of Axminster Farm West, otherwise known as “Eddie” was terminated on grounds of ill-health in 2011. Before his injection took effect Eddie's demeanour and doleful barking clearly indicated, Mr Scrope-Dewurmer will say, that he was apologising for his "lapse of judgement" in Portugal 2007.

McCanns, united, will never be defeated

It is a tremendous legal achievement. But why have they had to do all this themselves and so late in the day? Why didn't more people contact the discredited Duarte and tell her to change course? Her disastrous strategy gave an impression that hardly anyone outside their close-knit families cares a fig whether they live or die. Why were they left looking like outcasts, pariahs, when we know how strong their support is? These people rang Gordon Brown! They contacted David Cameron! They sue! They matter!!!

And then, lastly, there is the question of Madeleine. Soon the sneers are going to turn to tears

The writer, an expert on baby monitors, would like to thank friends of the family for their help in writing this article.

Crimewatchery

No more commenting on the libel trial.

Appearance & Reality

OK, the Crimewatch programme will give people knowledgeable about the case the first opportunity to assess the calibre of the Scotland Yard squad's work and approach. The reconstruction they offer can be compared with the Portuguese investigation's establishment of events and any differences noted. And, more important, where the justification for any changes lies.

My second favourite Portuguese policeman, Alipio Ribeirra, described one significant phase of the original inquiry (before the forensic results were known) as "pure investigation", by which he appeared to mean an intellectual analysis of the so-far established facts rather than a physical pursuit.

You're nicked, my beauty

It's probably fair to say that the very real strengths of  the British police, compared with their European counterparts, are not seen at their best when it comes to "pure investigation",  except in certain  critical specialist areas such as anti-terrorism. In the latter, of course,  the  police are actively assisted by the exceptionally highly trained and educated intelligence services.

If we look at the contributions to the McCann case debate from retired Scotland Yard officers, many of them senior, to get an idea of their calibre, the impression they give is quite shockingly bad. Many of them have difficulty in putting their views forward coherently on paper and, like football players, have to be interviewed sympathetically to get their views out at all to the reader. Their analytical abilities, as revealed in their newspaper contributions, are, to put it mildly,  deficient and there is a notable gap between their conclusions  – such as, for example, that favourite the paedophile ring – and  the logical or evidentiary steps leading to them.

Perhaps only the dolts among them are willing to write for the tabloid press. That's a real possibility, of course, but fails to answer the question of how dolts manage to reach senior positions in Scotland Yard.

One shouldn't overemphasize the importance of intellect in policing: the skills typical of a British detective – cunning, physical fitness,  determination, a suspicious mind, powerful and first hand knowledge of the criminal milieu, leadership and the ability to co-operate with experts – suffice in 90% of cases. But "pure investigation"? It is noteworthy that John Stalker, the only Scotland Yard head  of recent times with a reputation for intellectual and analytical rigour, at least by police standards, took a rather different view of the McCann case when he commented in the papers. 

Jean Charles de Menezes after his investigation by Scotland Yard

The foot-in-mouth performances of Mr Redwood at press conferences, the calamitous and amateurish recent spinning (despite an enormous PR force at the Yard),  the blitz of justificatory statistics (38 "persons of interest", 38 000 "documents processed", 38 million "mugs of tea consumed") in their press releases—horribly suggestive of the hapless Roy Hodges listing his latest losing midfield's pass-completion rate – may conceal high-powered work behind the scenes.

Perhaps. We'll get a slightly better idea on October 14 or whenever we finally steel ourselves to watch that voice of the nation BBC TV.