Leicestershire Constabulary

Leicestershire Constabulary, promptly assigned as the UK coordinating force in the case of missing Madeleine McCann,  until the intervention of the country's finest - the Metropolitan Police in May 2011.

Understandably some might say, as the McCann family lived in the suburbs of Leicester but .... taking into consideration their lack of experience in cases of missing children - what was the real reason for their involvement?  The very fact that Leicestershire Constabulary published the 'official' Find Madeleine website details is questionable to say the least.  From the very beginning Leicestershire Constabulary were hot on the case, Stuart 'call me Stu' Prior being the main tour de force, closely followed by Bob Small - or maybe the other way round.  Whatever, it was only a matter of hours before Leicester were winging their way over to Praia da Luz in support of the McCann dilemma - an unprecedented move if I might add

There has never been any doubt in my mind that the McCann parents made Madeleine a 'ward of court' for the sole intention of getting their grubby little trotters on information relative to the investigation that would otherwise remain confidential.  Lo and behold, in July 2008 only one year after Madeleine's disappearance, there they are taking Leicestershire Constabulary before the courts in a bid for confidential information relative to the investigation.

Well, ostensibly their venture was an epic failure but this could be down to legal implications rather than an unwillingness by Leicester cops to cooperate.  Net result was 81 pieces of information which in reality was information the McCanns fed the investigation in the first place.  Fodder for thought methinks!  It was however reported by main stream media that both Clarence Mitchell and the McCanns were well and truly buoyed by this partial success - all those sightings were to be passed to the campaigns private investigators, Metodo3, for investigation.  Hmmm!

The Mail had this to say..

The parents of Madeleine McCann today won the right to see key documents held by British police relating to her disappearance.

Leicestershire Police agreed to hand over 81 pieces of information gathered as part of the investigation into her disappearance.

They relate to evidence given by witnesses in the early days after Madeleine vanished and are thought to involve tip-offs and possible sightings.

The couple had taken the force to the High Court in their battle to have the documents disclosed but withdrew the legal bid after they were granted limited access to the evidence.

Mr and Mrs McCann hope they will contain vital information to help their own hunt for Madeleine, who disappeared 14 months ago.

They plan to hand over the files to their team of private investigators immediately so that any new leads can be followed up without delay.

They were not at the hearing in London today because they are on holiday with their other children, twins Sean and Amelie, the court was told.

It is their first family holiday since their eldest child vanished from their holiday home in Praia da Luz last May.

Their spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, speaking outside court, said: 'This is important information.

'They are potentially 80 new leads for our private investigators to work with and that will be done as an absolute priority.

'Bearing in mind this is from people who contacted Kate and Gerry and the police in the early stages of the investigation, this is very good news for the investigation.'

He added that the McCanns hoped they would be given access to even more information once their 'arguido' status is lifted by Portuguese police.

'We all hope that will happen very soon, if recent reports in Portugal are to be believed', Mr Mitchell said.

Although reluctant to fight with police, the McCanns are desperate to gather as much material as possible as they continue to hunt for their daughter.

At today's hearing in the High Court's family division, the judge revealed she had not asked them to attend because she thought they had 'suffered enough'.

'I wished to ease their burden,' Mrs Justice Hogg told the court, before issuing an impassioned plea for Madeleine's abductor to show mercy and come forward.

She said: 'There is, of course, one person who knows what has happened to Madeleine and where she may be found.

'I ponder about that person - whether that person has a heart and might understand what it must be like for Madeleine to have been taken and secreted from her parents and siblings and those she loved and felt secure with.

'I ponder whether that person has a conscience or any feeling of guilt or remorse or even cares about the hurt that has been caused to an innocent little girl, and whether that person has a faith or belief and what explanation or justification they might give to God.

'I entreat that person, whoever they may be, to show mercy and compassion and come forward now and tell us where Madeleine is to be found. I hope she will be found soon, alive and well.'

Mr Mitchell said the McCanns would be 'strengthened and touched' by the judge's comments.

'It was immensely kind. In the context of the courtroom, it was a statement she did not have to make. It was extremely supportive and very generous and kind. I know Kate and Gerry will be incredibly touched,' he said.

The result today is only a partial victory for the McCanns because they are only being given access to 81 pieces of a massive 11,000 pieces of evidence held by the British force.

Their lawyer, Tim Scott QC, said they related to phone calls made to the McCanns' solicitors and passed on to the Leicester control room at the start of the inquiry.

He told the court today that there was no proof Madeleine was alive although 'there is not a scrap of evidence that she is not'.

The McCanns' case arose after they were given a wide order by the High Court requiring anyone on whom it was served to disclose relevant information on the case.

The police were among those served with the order, sparking serious issues about the conflict between the public interest and keeping confidentiality in investigations.

The Serious Organised Crimes Agency and the Attorney General intervened to advance their own arguments on public policy.

Mr Scott said it became clear that areas of law of great interest to lawyers would have to be considered.

'Gerry and Kate McCann are not lawyers and so far as they were concerned the legal proceedings were moving further and further from the only matter which concerns them - the search for Madeleine.

'The proceedings were in danger of becoming a distraction from, rather than an aid to, that single goal,' he said.

The deal struck with police means the couple will be given contact details and a summary of information given by the early callers.

James Lewis QC, for the police, said it was vital to balance the understandable desire of the McCanns to have as much information as possible against the risks of compromising the continuing criminal investigation, damaging future international co-operation and breaching Portuguese law.

The chief constable has now agreed to provide contact details and a summary of the information provided by those early callers.

Approving the settlement of the case, the judge amended her original wide disclosure order to state that it did not apply to any UK law enforcement agency.

A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Police later said: 'Today in court the public will have been made aware of the immense effort that the UK law enforcement agencies, led by Leicestershire Constabulary, have dedicated to the search for Madeleine.

'Tim Scott QC, appearing for the McCanns, commented that these proceedings could be a diversion from the primary objective, which is the search to discover what happened to Madeleine when she disappeared.

We agree and on that basis we don't intend to comment further at this stage.'

Madeleine, then just three, vanished from the family's holiday apartment in Portugal on May 3 last year.

Her parents launched an international campaign to find her but four months later, they were both made formal suspects in her disappearance.

They have always strenuously denied any involvement and last week it was claimed they were about to be cleared.

There were reports Portuguese detectives had ended their 14-month investigation and found no evidence against the McCanns or the only other formal suspect, British ex-pat Robert Murat.

The couple demanded their names be cleared following the claims and were said to be hoping to be formally exonerated within days.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Eighty one pieces of information for eighty one pieces of silver?

How do these people sleep at night?  A court judge speaking openly in support of two primes suspects in the case of their missing daughter and a multi-faceted ex-government media monitor selling his soul for the want of a farthing?

Humbug!

Saturday 5th May 2007

Now there was a visible police presence in and around Praia da Luz, even if it seemed to consist largely of GNR officers marshalling the media. Later we were aware of searches being undertaken – I have a memory of television images of police on horseback riding across the rugged Portuguese countryside.

All the same, we were reassured to see some UK police that day in the shape of three family liaison officers (FLOs) from the Leicestershire force, which had also officially logged Madeleine as missing. They came to introduce themselves and to outline their dual role: supporting us and our family and acting as a conduit for the flow of information between us and the PJ. After the trouble we’d had getting anyone in the PJ to talk to us, that was a relief, although the FLOs would soon find themselves almost as frustrated as we were in this regard.

The police and judiciary in the country where a crime has been committed have primacy in any investigation. If interviews need to be conducted or lines of inquiry followed in another country, they request such help under mutual legal assistance treaties and protocols, and results are sent back to them. The Portuguese police were apparently reluctant early on to accept any help beyond this from their counterparts in the UK. However, in addition to the Leicestershire FLOs, they did permit forensic psychologists from CEOP, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, and an analyst from the National Policing Improvements Agency to come to Praia da Luz the following week. Even that may have been unprecedented: we understood this was the first time the Portuguese authorities had ever allowed any foreign force into the country to assist in an investigation. In such a situation, an element of pride is bound to come into play, and the relationship always seemed quite tricky. It never amounted to an effective pooling of information, ideas or intelligence.

It appeared that the British officers were told very little about what was going on and that their role was essentially confined to making suggestions or volunteering resources. The local police, not used to disclosing the details of an investigation, were clearly wary of answering all the questions they were being asked. According to what we would hear a few weeks down the line, the Leicestershire officers were told in no uncertain terms that if the PJ declined any ideas they proposed or refused offers of additional expertise they must accept this. If they didn’t, they would be excluded from the investigation completely.

Still, we were very grateful for their involvement, which would substantially improve communications. In the coming weeks we would meet DCS Bob Small, who we found straight-talking and honest. A lot of hard work went on at home as well, where DS Stuart Prior, the senior investigating officer, was kind enough to show our relatives round the incident room – and Gerry, too, later on.

Still, we were very grateful for their involvement, which would substantially improve communications. In the coming weeks we would meet DCS Bob Small, who we found straight-talking and honest. A lot of hard work went on at home as well, where DS Stuart Prior, the senior investigating officer, was kind enough to show our relatives round the incident room – and Gerry, too, later on.

madeleine by KATE MCCANN

[Extract for research and study purposes only]