The analysis for the PJ of the timelines of events given by members of the Tapas 9 and others

Introduction by Tony Bennett on the Reports from the 'Brigade for Information' Analysis September 2007:

"This is a translation by ‘Ines’, who writes in another place, of an analytical report compiled by the ‘Brigade for Information’ in September 2007 for the PJ (the report consists of 14 pages).

This report was based upon an analysis of the timelines given to (a) the PJ and (b) the Control Risks Group [employed by the McCanns] by 5 members elements of the ‘Tapas 9’, by the client support service staff from Mark Warner and from other statements, these statements having been collated for an English analyst. Also included are various chronologies of communications complied by the British police who were in Portugal in co-operation with the PJ.

My comment on this report would be that it is a shallow analysis of the many contradictions in the ‘Tapas 9’ account of events, but nevertheless useful in touching on some at least of the many contradictions.

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THE REPORT

From the analysis of the timeline it was possible to conclude:

On 3rd May at about 6.00pm (when she left the Kids’ Club) 10.00pm when her mother gave the alert, nobody apart from the parents, Kate and Gerry, saw Madeleine. During the checks carried out, Matthew, at 9.00pm, only checked outside the apartment by the shutters and at 9.30pm entered the apartment, but did not confirm whether Madeleine was there (unless David saw her between 6.30pm and 7.00pm at Gerry's request).

Discrepancies in the statements

- During Gerry's first questioning (Folio 34) he said that at 9.05pm when he went to his apartment to 'check' the children, he entered by the main door; during his second questioning (Folio 891) he changed this by saying he had entered through the patio doors.

- During Gerry's first questioning he said that Kate, at 20.00pm, when she went to the apartment, entered by the locked front door. When she entered she noticed the door to the children's bedroom was opened inwards, the window was open and the shutter was raised (if this had happened, she would not have noticed this scene after entering. She would have noticed this before entering the apartment, as she would have passed the window of the children's bedroom).

- During his second questioning, Gerry said that Kate entered through the patio doors.

- During Kate's questioning she said that she entered through the patio doors.

- During Gerald's second questioning, he says that he was playing tennis on 3rd May between 6.00pm and 7.00pm. At about 6.30pm David arrived at the tennis courts and then went back to his apartment. Presuming that it was certain that David would return to play tennis, Gerald asked him to check whether all was well with the children and Kate.

- During his questioning (Folio 66) David Payne was not asked about this request, it is not known whether he was with Kate and the children between 6.30pm and 7.00pm.

- During his questioning, Matthew (Folios 52 and 905) stated that at 9.00pm when he 'checked' from the outside of the apartment, the shutter was closed. But when he entered the apartment at 9.30pm, he said there was ‘more light than usual’ in the children's bedroom, that the curtains were closed and that it occurred to him that the shutter might be open (note how he did not find this circumstance strange, when it should be considered absolutely abnormal). Gerald himself, when Matthew returned to the restaurant and said everything was fine, stated that he thought the shutter was closed.

If the child being carried by the man referred to by Jane was Madeleine, then the alleged abductor (given the tiny space of time between Gerry's exit from the apartment and the moment when Jane claims to have seen the man) would have to have been inside the apartment when Gerry went there at 9.05pm and 9.10pm, and especially because Matthew, at 9.00pm carried out an external check and guaranteed that the shutter of Madeleine's bedroom window was shut.

If it was not Madeleine that Jane saw, although she certainly created that impression, the disappearance of Madleine could have occurred after that time, between Gerry’s exit and Matthew's entrance at 9.30pm, or between the latter’s entrance and Kate's arrival at 10.00pm.

Moreover, Gerald and Jez Wilkins were talking close to the apartment and 25 metres [30 yards] away from the place where the man carrying the child would have passed. Both stated not having seen Jane pass before them and neither did they see the man.

The brigade team made charts and analysed phone calls made by the ‘Tapas 9’ between 21 April 2007 and 6 May 2007.

Conclusions (Regarding phone calls)

The analysis we undertook did not, in truth, reveal major contradictions or raise major questions, except perhaps the existence of diverse numbers contacted (sometimes regularly) by some of the members of the group and the owners of those telephone lines. Presumably because the numbers did not correspond to national telecommunications operators’ numbers, these people could not be identified. Knowledge of this information could eventually be useful.

Restricting this information just to the McCann couple, once we established that no communications that could be seen as suspicious were detected from the other members of the ‘Tapas 9’ group, the following calls are notable:

1. Gerald (TM 4477********), the numbers:

- 4478******** from which 14 text messages were received on the eve of the disappearance 2 May 2007 and another 4 messages on 4 May 2007.

- 4479******** the only number to contact the girl's father during the afternoon of the disappearance (12.24pm).

- 4413******** to which Gerry made a long call (of more than 11 minutes) at 11.40pm on 3 May 2007 and which he contacted again at 12.05am, 12.13am and 12.21am, receiving a return call from the same number of 2 minutes 28 seconds duration at 12.27am, which was the last contact registered between these two particular numbers.

2. Kate (TM 4479********), the numbers:

- 4479******** the only number to contact Madeleine;s mother by SMS on the afternoon of 3 May 2007 at 12.31pm and 12.34pm, the following communications being two short calls (6 and 29 seconds respectively) made by Gerry to his wife after the disappearance at 11.14 pm and 23.17pm.

- 4479******** ' for which there is a register of 20 messages between the number and Kate's mobile and also 5 calls during the early morning on 4 May 2007 at 3.07am, 3.23am, 3.28am, 8.34am and 8.52am with a duration of 3 minutes, 3 minutes and 4 second, 6 minutes and 56 seconds, 1 minute and 1 second and 1 minute and 15 seconds, the first and last two of these calls (the shortest) were made by Kate.

- 4415********,
- 4417********
- 4411******** for being numbers with which relatively long conversations were held in comparison to the others.

This letter is part of the report. Translation:

Subject: Group timeline after Madeleine's disappearance

Date: 14 August 2007

"Dear Sirs,

This report contains a summary of the 'timeline' that shows the movements of the group after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann from apartment G5A in the Mark Warner resort in Praia da Luz on 3rd May 2007. It is centred on the McCann family and the group of friends who travelled with them on holiday to Portugal.

This 'timeline' was created based upon translations of statements made by individuals of the group to the Portuguese police, from statements made in English to the 'Control Risks Group' by five individuals of the group and by Emma Knights, Manager of Client Support Services for Mark Warner, from various statements and questioning of Mark Warner staff made to the Portuguese and British police and from questioning carried out at that time.

At about 10.00pm when Kate McCann/Healy returned to the apartment to check on the children, the rest of the group were at the Tapas bar/restaurant except for Jane Tanner, who was in her apartment G5D as, Evie, one of her children was unwell.

When Kate discovered that her daughter Madeleine was not in the apartment (G5A), she ran back to the Tapas bar to alert the rest of the group.

Dianne Webster remained at the table whilst all the others rushed to the apartment. Gerry McCann and Kate Healy were the first to return to their apartment, where Kate had left the patio doors completely open and the twins were fast asleep in their beds.

Gerald searched the apartment and stated that the window of the children's bedroom was open and the shutter raised. He checked the shutter before continuing to search outside.

All the men from the group began to search the immediate area.

David Payne ran from the McCann's apartment towards the Millennium area. Then he turned in the direction of the church. He searched the rocky areas of the beach/coast and checked the stands and boats. He then returned to the Ocean Club reception, passing the Millennium area. David then checked the area around the walls together with Matthew Oldfield.

Russell O'Brien was in the McCanns' apartment for a moment only, rushing out to search the perimeter of the apartment. Then he went to look for Madeleine with Matthew Oldfield. They went in the direction of the beach. He searched the perimeter of the tennis courts and the paths leading to the beach. Russell searched the gardens and all of the surrounding area. He searched the eastern part of the beach, zigzagging back along the roads to the McCann's apartment. All the time more people were joining in the search and Russell knew the police had been contacted.

Afterwards he searched the adjacent apartments to the east of Kate and Gerry along the Rua da Ramalhete and more apartments to the east. On some occasions David Payne was with him.

When Matthew saw that Madeleine was not in the apartment, he went to the 24 hours reception to ask them to telephone the police. Matthew spent most of the night searching the neighbouring areas for Madeleine without success. Matthew searched the road between the apartment and the creche. He searched between the apartment and the Millennium restaurant, also along the beach and finally a cemetery as well as the road leading back to the apartment. Part of this search was carried out with David Payne and Russell O'Brien and part was carried out alone. Matthew talked to an Indian insurance salesman and saw Nathan, the director of the beach concession.

Fiona Payne was the only woman from the group to help in the searches. Fiona searched the periphery of the complex alone. When she returned, she spent the rest of the night with Kate.

After waiting at the restaurant table for five minutes, Dianne Webster went to the McCanns' apartment where she entered the children's bedroom and saw Kate with the twins. Kate insisted on the fact that the window and shutters were open when she saw the children. Dianne went outside to see if she could raise the shutter from the outside and found it to be impossible. Dianne stayed in the McCanns' apartment for about 5 minutes and then returned to the restaurant to fetch her bag, the McCanns' camera and the baby monitor. She then immediately returned to the McCanns' apartment. Gerry and Kate were in the apartment as well as Fiona. Fiona asked Dianne to stay with Lily and Scarlet to check that they were O.K. Dianne returned to the Payne’s apartment and stayed there for the rest of the night.

Rachel Mampilly went to see her own daughter before going to meet Jane in her apartment.

When they talked, Jane told her that when she had gone to check on the children she saw Gerry and Jez talking together as well as a man carrying a child. Jane told Rachel that she had not said anything at the time because nobody knew that Madeleine had gone missing and she had not seen the child's face.

Summary

It is difficult to confirm where all the individuals were in the minutes/hours after the discovery that Madeleine was missing. It appears that most of the women remained within or near the apartments. Fiona Payne left and searched around the complex, before returning to the McCanns' apartment where she stayed with Kate. Then Emma Knights (Client Support Director) searched the beach area and asked Kate what Madeleine had been wearing. Shortly afterwards Emma returned to the McCanns' apartment and stayed with Kate.

The men's movements, however, are more difficult to pinpoint.

Gerald was seen and spoken to by Neil Berry and Raj Malu. They heard him calling for Madeleine when they were sitting on Neil's balcony, not far from the McCann's apartments. They both went down to talk to Gerald and helped in the search.

Both David Payne and Matthew Oldfield were seen by Emma Knights when she was on her way to the beach, the search area to which she was assigned by Lyndsey Johnson (Child Care Director and Search Co-ordinator).

At about 1.00am Matthew Oldfield was with John Hill (resort manager) when they knocked on Jeremy (Jez) Wilkins' door to ask if he had seen anything.

At about 11.30pm a white fair haired man aged about 30, one of the friends of the McCann group, was seen by Valerie Kerr and her family when he asked them if they had seen Madeleine. They were near to the chapel. Valerie and Laura returned to their apartment, changed clothes and went to help with the search.

In the confusion following the disappearance of Madeleine it would be possible that one of the men or Fiona Payne 'escaped' to join in the searches again later".

Who - or what - is the "Brigade for Information?"

Chinagirl wrote:Who - or what - is the "Brigade for Information?"

I can't answer that, but taking an educated guess I would say that it's some kind of unit within or outside the police force for analysing information, something like 'The Information Analysis Unit', perhaps.

Tony Bennett wrote:

Chinagirl wrote:Who - or what - is the "Brigade for Information?"

I can't answer that, but taking an educated guess I would say that it's some kind of unit within or outside the police force for analysing information, something like 'The Information Analysis Unit', perhaps.

So you are just making something up then really.

rockyrobin wrote:

Tony Bennett wrote:

Chinagirl wrote:Who - or what - is the "Brigade for Information?"

I can't answer that, but taking an educated guess I would say that it's some kind of unit within or outside the police force for analysing information, something like 'The Information Analysis Unit', perhaps.

So you are just making something up then really.

An unworthy and false accusation.

I clearly introduced the report with these words:

"This is a translation by ‘Ines’, who writes in another place, of an analytical report compiled by the ‘Brigade for Information’ in September 2007 for the PJ (the report consists of 14 pages).

It's a report made public in the PJ files, as you probably know anyway.

'Brigade for Information' is one person's transaltion of the name of the unit.

So you didn't need to accuse me of 'making things up', did you?

rockyrobin wrote:

Tony Bennett wrote:

Chinagirl wrote:Who - or what - is the "Brigade for Information?"

I can't answer that, but taking an educated guess I would say that it's some kind of unit within or outside the police force for analysing information, something like 'The Information Analysis Unit', perhaps.

So you are just making something up then really.

FFS all these pointless, banal attacks on Tony Bennett are becoming increasingly tedious.

It's a scattergun approach marigold.

Loads of accusations in the hope something sticks.

Occasionally they might get lucky

Tony Bennett wrote:

rockyrobin wrote:

Tony Bennett wrote:

Chinagirl wrote:Who - or what - is the "Brigade for Information?"

I can't answer that, but taking an educated guess I would say that it's some kind of unit within or outside the police force for analysing information, something like 'The Information Analysis Unit', perhaps.

So you are just making something up then really.

An unworthy and false accusation.

I clearly introduced the report with these words:

"This is a translation by ‘Ines’, who writes in another place, of an analytical report compiled by the ‘Brigade for Information’ in September 2007 for the PJ (the report consists of 14 pages).

It's a report made public in the PJ files, as you probably know anyway.

'Brigade for Information' is one person's transaltion of the name of the unit.

So you didn't need to accuse me of 'making things up', did you?

You put it in first as if it was a Department of Government. All it is is Google that cannot translate.

I believe the brigade of information could be translated as "the information analysis unit".

It is part of the police force of Portugal.