PETER VERRAN/ HEWLETT.

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Hmmm.

PV. "I soul searched for 2 days before contacting the police as I knew this would bring trouble to myself and my family , I did not know at that time just how much trouble to our whole lives and the price a human being pays for wanting to help a family find there missing child, I know I would want anyone with anything to come forward in the hope of finding my child , I would not turn around and make out that a person trying to help was now there new suspect and I had left things out of my statement and that I did not mention I had been in Portugal around the time , and my van had gone missing around the same time , all un true statements and facts.
I have a major paper, and 2 local ones willing to run a story of liable if I will give them access to the lawyers and they will run the story and clear my name "

PUBLISH OR BE DAMNED SIR!.

PV. I just want justice and the truth about everything to come out , not what was reported , and I probable have more information as I have been interviewed by every police force , private detectives and press than any other person involved.
The media have told of things not true and misleading , the met , Scotland yard or any others in in this case , have everything , knew every thing and knew I was not wanted , and the family could have talked to me and never did.
was this to keep it in the news at the expense of an innocent family

PV. Where is the justice, why has an innocent man been hounded and his family by the press , the family’s detectives I don’t understand them , is it just to keep this case in the news , if they wanted to talk to me they could have at any time , instead they point the finger at an innocent man publicly which could destroy a case.

PV. As I have said I have been to the police , talked with the head of the force and they have not wanted to speak to me or needed to all the information they said I did not disclose was total lies , they had it all so why has my whole life been shattered.
So today since this first came to light in 2009 when I gave a statement, I have been banned from the r.b.l. The citizen’s advice , and not welcome anywhere as suspicion has its own driving force.

I have just been used and abused since and I only tried to help
....................................................................

"I have just been used and abused since and I only tried to help"

JOIN THE CLUB MATE!

EVERYONE IN THIS FORUM HAS BEEN ABUSED, AT SOME TIME OR OTHER, FOR ONLY TRYING TO HELP THE MCCANNS FIND OUT THE TRUTH RELATING TO THE MYSTERIOUS 'DISAPPERANCE' OF THEIR, THEN, THREE YEARS OLD CHILD!

A long time since that particular dead paedophile, Raymond Hewlett, has been mentioned. I guess many people have been waiting for him to be put back in the frame, if nothing more proveable has turned up.

This morning I had an email notification of a PM to one and all from a senior administrator of UK Justice Forum, a board which spans the whole spectrum of opinion on the McCann case. It explained a new discussion board lay out. I quote the meat of it here verbatim.

'Please note that the Peter Verran discussion now has its own board which will allow for several additional topics to be added.

Peter has asked me to tell you all that he is very willing to answer any reasonable questions about his encounters with prime Madeleine suspect Raymond Hewlett.'

I did read what this seemingly disturbed soldier wrote on the UK Justice site, but his meaning, his intentions, and just about everything else, except for his being in distress, seemed difficult to fatiom and decidedly opaque.

Distressed or disgruntled soldiers putting an oar in to complicate matters, seem to be legion. Remember the one from the SAS who wished to 'tell all' about the death of Princess Diana. Of course, in both cases, what they said could be true... or not...

I had a quick read there earlier today and don't know what to think.
He's honest, or he's lying, or it's the moment to bring [a dead] Hewlett back on the carpet again ...?

Châtelaine wrote:I had a quick read there earlier today and don't know what to think.

He's honest, or he's lying, or it's the moment to bring [a dead] Hewlett back on the carpet again ...?

I hesitate to accuse yet another person, but there's evidence that Verran has at the very least mixed some truth with some lies.

Why he has sprung to life is because of the following article in the Daily Mail, 25 June this year:

THE DAILY MAIL ARTICLE - 25 June 2013

Maddie mystery of ex-soldier and his camper van: Police contacted Army for information days before confirming they had identified new 'persons of interest'
 
•   While former guardsman Peter Verran has not been accused of any wrongdoing, the timing is significant

•   McCann family also wants to speak to him about his whereabouts at the time of Madeline's disappearance

Scotland Yard is investigating claims made by a former soldier in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Days before confirming they had identified new ‘persons of interest’, officers from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command contacted the Army seeking information about Peter Verran.

While Mr Verran has not been accused of any wrongdoing, the timing is significant

Ex-Guardsman Mr Verran first came to the attention of police in 2009 when he emerged to dispute the alibi of British child abuser Raymond Hewlett, 64.

Hewlett was living in the Algarve just an hour’s drive from where the youngster disappeared.

However, in publicly pointing the finger at Hewlett, who denied abducting Madeleine, Mr. Verran apparently neglected to mention the disappearance of his own camper van within months of Madeleine’s disappearance, or the fact he had been in Portugal.

Those details, disclosed in documents held by the Royal British Legion, show he sought emergency funds from the organization after claiming his van and all his possessions had been stolen.

The documents also reveal he travelled through Portugal.

When Mr Verran came forward, he was interviewed by Leicestershire Police, and by private investigators working for the McCanns, as an informant.

Mr Verran told of a conversation he had with Hewlett in September 2007 after they met at a Moroccan campsite.

Hewlett admitted to owning a white Transit-style van around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance – the van was similar to one seen parked near the Ocean Club.

Hewlett, who died in 2010, said in a newspaper interview that a blue Dodge truck was his only vehicle at the time.

A source close to the McCanns said Mr Verran made no mention of his camper van being stolen, or the time he spent in Portugal, to private detectives working for the family. It is not known what the former soldier told police.

Daily Mail 25 June 2013 [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]  

 
++++++++++++++++

In 2010 I wrote a 49-page detailed article about Raymond Hewlett and his apparent connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Four pages were about Verran.

This is what I wrote - I have had to edit a few parts for legal reasons:
 
-------------------------------- 

Ener Peter Verran

Then we get on to the main source for nearly all the stories connecting Hewlett to the Madeleine McCann case: Peter Verran. This is how the Press Association article explained his involvement:


“A former soldier who met Hewlett at a campsite in Morocco in May 2007 told the Sunday Mirror he admitted parking a van close to the McCann's complex on several occasions. Peter Verran, 46, said: ‘He brought Madeleine up straight away. He said his three-year-old daughter looked like her. He was worried that because there had been reports that Madeleine may have been spirited away to Morocco, people might think his child was her. Then he suddenly said, 'Madeleine's not in Morocco'. I asked him what he meant and he said he knew Praia da Luz really well. He knew the Ocean Club complex where the McCanns had been staying. He said he’d been there many times and had often parked his van close to the apartment. He said he knew the layout of the place, the flat and the restaurant where the McCanns and their friends had been eating when Maddie disappeared. He had a lot of detail about the layout. He said there was no way that the child could be taken without the parents seeing. He said they were lying’.”


We are required to believe, then, that Peter Verran was reporting this alleged conversation with total accuracy. One important point at least was incorrect; it appears that Hewlett did not travel to Morocco until 10 June, thus Verran could not have met him in Morocco in May.

Strangely, also, the final two important sentences of what Hewlett said somehow got buried in the welter of front-page tabloid stories that followed in the weeks to come. From what we now know of the precise alleged circumstances of the alleged abduction, perhaps Hewlett was right to say: “There was no way that the child could be taken without the parents seeing. They were lying”.

We are then given some particulars about Peter Verran. He was an ex-Scots Guard, and previously lived in Telford, Shropshire, and Blackpool. In passing, we might note that Hewlett too was a Scots Guard for nine months, and that he too lived in Blackpool and Shropshire for a while. Indeed his wife and his children now live in Shropshire. In other articles, we learn that he was in the British Army for six years before going on to work with people with learning disabilities.  Another article said he now had an antiques business in Fowey, Cornwall. He was said to be in Morocco ‘on honeymoon’.

The Press Association reported that West Yorkshire Police Officers would question Hewlett first, then the McCann Team’s investigators hoped to do so.

Then there was a quote from Clarence Mitchell: “Mr Hewlett has denied any involvement in Madeleine's abduction. Our investigators hope he will see sense and co-operate by giving them whatever information needed so they can eliminate him from the investigation. It's clear the man is ill and it is clear he has information that our investigators need. It is also clear that our investigators will be speaking to him in the near future”.  Mitchell was quoted as saying that he hoped the British police would ‘facilitate’ an interview with Hewlett for the McCann detectives.

Mitchell was 100% wrong in saying that the McCann Team’s investigators ‘will be speaking to Hewlett in the near future’. They never did, in fact. Mitchell also claimed that it was ‘clear’ that Hewlett had information that would assist the McCanns. That, too has not been established. Hewlett and his wife did however go on to speak to journalists.

The Press Association report continued by quoting a spokesman for West Yorkshire Police: “We have made contact with the German authorities. We are just waiting for clearance so we can actually go and speak to him regarding that incident”.

They added that on Friday 22 May: “The McCanns' private investigators flew back to the UK from Portugal, where they have been chasing up information received from the public since a blaze of publicity around the second anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance. It is understood the leads include the names of a number of suspects”. It gave the impression of an active investigation hot on the heels of several ‘suspects’. The press lapped up and recycled these seemingly promising reports of many new ‘leads’.

Sunday Mirror, 24 May

A story by-lined by Simon Wright in the Sunday Mirror on 24 May developed the story [SNIPPED for legal reasons].  This time the Sunday Mirror article added these details:

•             Hewlett had been outside the McCanns’ apartment ‘many times’ and knew about the layout of the Ocean Club complex in great detail

•             He had parked his van ‘close to the complex on several occasions’

•             Peter Verran, who at the time had been on a campsite at Chefchaouen, Morocco, was now quoted as saying that Hewlett was ‘obsessed with the Madeleine McCann case’; it was said that he had spoken ‘exclusively’ to the Sunday Mirror. He claimed that he met Hewlett at ‘the toilet block’ where Hewlett immediately started talking about Madeleine and said he also had a three-year-old daughter.

Peter Verran is then quoted as saying: “[Hewlett] said it was common knowledge among locals that Praia da Luz in general and the Ocean Club in particular was a magnet for Romanian gipsies who abduct and then sell children”. As far as we are aware, that claim is totally without foundation. No-one has been able to trace any credible media reports of gipsies stealing very young children to order.

Next, Simon Wright slants his story to make Hewlett’s actions sound very suspicious. Verran is quoted as saying: “I asked [Hewlett] why he'd left and come to Morocco. He told me he'd had to leave Portugal in a hurry. He said he'd packed his family up in half an hour and just driven out of the area. That was just after Maddie was taken”. Here we have classic examples of tabloid journalism. The double claim of ‘leaving in a hurry’…‘half-an-hour’ to pack up, combined with Hewlett allegedly fleeing to Morocco ‘just after’ Madeleine was taken, would have created an obvious suspicion in the minds of readers that Hewlett was directly involved in abducting Madeleine. 

A honeymoon for the Verrans: dining together with the Hewletts

As we hear more of Verran’s story, it is clear however that his information about Hewlett did not come merely from a conversation in the toilet black, as we heard earlier.

Verran told the Mirror: “Me and Nisrine would eat meals with Hewlett's family…the kids were a bit weird. They were very withdrawn and couldn't speak properly. They never went to school and spent all day playing in the mud”.

We can deduce from this that there was on ongoing relationship between Mr and Mrs Verran and Mr and Mrs Hewlett and their family, where they were happy to eat together while the Hewletts’ ‘very withdrawn’ children ‘played all day in the mud’. Indeed, Verran is quoted later as referring to ‘the three months they were all together’. This would be the period June through August (see below), though the Sunday Mirror on 21 June told us that the Verrans “shared a Moroccan campsite with Hewlett between June and November 2007”.  Unfortunately Verran never gave us the date he first encountered Hewlett in Morocco. It is reasonable to assume that it was after 10 June when Hewlett said he travelled to Morocco from Portugal.

One would like to know a lot more about what brought these two families seemingly quite close together. As the Verrans were said to be ‘on honeymoon’, it was clearly a long honeymoon, maybe lasting until November if the Sunday Mirror report is correct, and a strange one if they were regularly dining with the Hewletts.

And it is clear that the relationship continued after they parted company in August. The Verrans say that they returned to Britain in November 2007 and ‘had occasional texts or phone calls from Hewlett’ after Hewlett told them he was ‘back in Tavira’. Verran then adds that, in June 2008, he rang the Hewletts only to be informed that he had throat cancer. Then, at some future date, Verran continues: “He called to ask for money and I sent him £50. I couldn't bear the thought of his kids starving. I even offered to pay for him to come back to the U.K. I didn't get a reply and we lost touch”. Sending Hewlett £50 seems inconsistent with Verran’s claim (see below) that ‘Hewlett was never short of money’.  

Verran then adds how shocked he was to learn about Hewlett’s past as a serial molester of teenage and younger girls: “Suddenly this week he was in the newspapers linked to Maddie's disappearance. I could hardly believe my eyes. It was such a massive shock. It makes my blood run cold. We haven't been able to sleep much since the news broke. I just thought he was an odd drifter. I pray he hasn't had anything to do with it”.

Then we have a classic bit of media spin. Verran is quoted as saying: “He went on and on about the McCanns and kept telling me all his theories about what he thought had happened. Looking back, maybe it was a way of making sure we didn't think he had anything to do with it”.

Once again, the reader could be forgiven to thinking there was something deeply suspicious about Hewlett theorising about the Madeleine McCann case, whereas in fact at this time (June 2007) millions across the world were following and discussing the case eagerly - and many were giving generously to the McCanns’ fund in the hope that the funds could be used to find Madeleine. Suspicion of Hewlett in the reader’s mind would be increased by reading the following quote from Verran: “Most of the time he stayed on the campsite. He was never short of money…I don't know where he got his money from. He said he'd made cash from car boot sales”.

Further on in the article we are told: “One day in August 2007, Hewlett announced he and his family were leaving. He said his wife's visa had run out and his passport was out of date. They packed up and left quickly”.

The Mirror gave details of his previous criminal record, but added that he was apparently wanted for questioning by two police forces: “Hewlett is also wanted for questioning by West Yorkshire Police over a child sex attack in 1975 and by Greater Manchester Police investigating the 1975 abuse of an eight-year old girl”. It was perhaps all the more remarkable that the Thompson knew where Hewlett was, but the combined efforts of West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester police forces had been for years unable to locate him.

One question arises: Did Peter Verran genuinely come up with all this new information about Hewlett just because he read a newspaper article that very week? [REST SNIPPED for legal reasons]


+++++++++++++++

Verran's outburst on the UK Justice Forum has been short-lived. After a scarcely believable sob story lurching from woe upon woe to more woe upon woe, he has added nothing to his 2009 stories in the press, has refused to answer a string of reasonable and pertinent questions about his stay in Morocco and his murky past, and has now cried off - claiming he is too upset to answer any more questions because of 'domestic issues to sort out'. 

As I recalled in my article, he and his new wife were in Hewlett's caravan day after day, for about three months, drinking and smoking, and Verran kept in touch with Hewlett after Hewlett had left Morocco. That's not a great recommendation for relying on what Verran says about anything.

Tony Bennett wrote:

Peter Verran is then quoted as saying: “[Hewlett] said it was common knowledge among locals that Praia da Luz in general and the Ocean Club in particular was a magnet for Romanian gipsies who abduct and then sell children”. As far as we are aware, that claim is totally without foundation. No-one has been able to trace any credible media reports of gipsies stealing very young children to order.

Interesting stuff Tony. I'm minded to believe that there's something not quite right about PdL. Mostly just because of where it is, past Lagos and a heck of a long way from Faro airport, I can't really see why assorted drifters and deadbeats would ever just be "passing through". And as For Mark Warner, I can't understand why they didn't set up shop in, say, Vilamoura or somewhere similarly accessible.

I cannot for the life of me understand why ANYONE would agree to talk to "McCanns Private Investigators"

Why so many of them did and why the Police allowed it. Are they all fools, the Police included?

The minute I read that someone has spilled their guts to an ex suspects employee I disregard their statement.

If someone knocked on my door asking me to repeat sensitive information and he didn't have a warrant card he would be on his bike and reported to the Police.

littlepixie wrote:I cannot for the life of me understand why ANYONE would agree to talk to "McCanns Private Investigators"

Why so many of them did and why the Police allowed it. Are they all fools, the Police included?

The minute I read that someone has spilled their guts to an ex suspects employee I disregard their statement.

If someone knocked on my door asking me to repeat sensitive information and he didn't have a warrant card he would be on his bike and reported to the Police.

littlepixie wrote: "Why so many of them [talked to the private investigators] and why the Police allowed it. Are they all fools, the Police included?"

REPLY: From 7 September 2007 to 20 July 2008, the McCanns were formal suspects concerning the disappearance of Madeleine. A period of over 10 months. During that time, Leicestershire Polie promoted the McCanns' private website and fund, encouraging the general public to (a) report information to the McCanns and (b) give money to the McCanns' private fund. So far as I am aware, there has never been a case like it in the history of the world i.e. where two suspects have been promoted and helped by the police forces of their country 

Tony Bennett wrote:REPLY: From 7 September 2007 to 20 July 2008, the McCanns were formal suspects concerning the disappearance of Madeleine. A period of over 10 months. During that time, Leicestershire Polie promoted the McCanns' private website and fund, encouraging the general public to (a) report information to the McCanns and (b) give money to the McCanns' private fund. So far as I am aware, there has never been a case like it in the history of the world i.e. where two suspects have been promoted and helped by the police forces of their country 

Extremely difficult to believe this could be true, yet we all know it is.

  

chris wrote:

Tony Bennett wrote:REPLY: From 7 September 2007 to 20 July 2008, the McCanns were formal suspects concerning the disappearance of Madeleine. A period of over 10 months. During that time, Leicestershire Polie promoted the McCanns' private website and fund, encouraging the general public to (a) report information to the McCanns and (b) give money to the McCanns' private fund. So far as I am aware, there has never been a case like it in the history of the world i.e. where two suspects have been promoted and helped by the police forces of their country 

Extremely difficult to believe this could be true, yet we all know it is.

  

The whole thing from beginning to end, every last bit of it has all been one completely huge WTF???

And this is why it is taking £ squillions and too many police staff, lawyers etc to deal with.

I am beginning to think this is what Gerry's wider agenda was - create a stupid scenario and waste everyones time and money!!

Smokeandmirrors wrote:
I am beginning to think this is what Gerry's wider agenda was - create a stupid scenario and waste everyones time and money!!

I can foresee an entirely different type of justice system having to be devised due to the fallout from this case. Maybe it's a stalking horse for the removal of trial by jury, something along those lines?

Clay Regazzoni wrote:

Smokeandmirrors wrote:
I am beginning to think this is what Gerry's wider agenda was - create a stupid scenario and waste everyones time and money!!

I can foresee an entirely different type of justice system having to be devised due to the fallout from this case. Maybe it's a stalking horse for the removal of trial by jury, something along those lines?

Well I certainly hope it brings about changes of the type where witnesses/suspects (McCanns in this case) are prevented from interfering with justice and investigation, and where a solitary child doesn't cost two countries what must be in the region of £20m+ when there are so many other individual citizens don't get the help or medical care they need because of budgeting issues. I find it all rather perverse that some people are, in this country, are denied life saving drugs that cost a few thousand, yet the same Government can spend £6m+ on a review that has no guaranteed outcome. I find it scary the price the authorities place on peoples heads is so wildly varied TBH.

Smoke and Mirrors I agree with you totally. It's a disgrace and there should be a public enquiry to establish why!

Smokeandmirrors wrote:
Well I certainly hope it brings about changes of the type where witnesses/suspects (McCanns in this case) are prevented from interfering with justice and investigation, and where a solitary child doesn't cost two countries what must be in the region of £20m+ when there are so many other individual citizens don't get the help or medical care they need because of budgeting issues. I find it all rather perverse that some people are, in this country, are denied life saving drugs that cost a few thousand, yet the same Government can spend £6m+ on a review that has no guaranteed outcome. I find it scary the price the authorities place on peoples heads is so wildly varied TBH.

 

I was able to access that link yesterday. Now it's asking me to log in or register...

It does make you wonder if they are;

a/ criminal masterminds

b/ being helped

c/ not guilty

notlongnow wrote:It does make you wonder if they are;

a/ criminal masterminds

b/ being helped

c/ not guilty

It certainly makes many of us wonder about a great many things.

Whilst the vanishing of a three year old little Madeleine really is a terrible thing to happen in this day and age, as is all ill that befalls little children around the world, it really has become quite a symbolic and important story. The internet age has meant that many people from around the world and from vastly different personal backgrounds have been drawn together to share and exchange views that are much bigger than this case alone. It really is like a window to a broader landscape, and in some ways it feels like a privilege to live in an era where individuals around the world can come together to begin to shed light on some of the more disturbing machinations of the powers that be, and the inequality of arms that is permitted to exist within the Justice system. We have the way this case is being investigated (or not investigated correctly as the case may be), juxtaposed with a story very recently of a forced caesarian and removal of a baby because the mother had bipolar. Such stark contrasts in the application of the law serve to show us how tenuous our entitlement to truth and justice really is. It is disturbing, but we are blessed that we are able to start to see the world for what it is.

Smokeandmirrors wrote:
It certainly makes many of us wonder about a great many things.

Whilst the vanishing of a three year old little Madeleine really is a terrible thing to happen in this day and age, as is all ill that befalls little children around the world, it really has become quite a symbolic and important story. The internet age has meant that many people from around the world and from vastly different personal backgrounds have been drawn together to share and exchange views that are much bigger than this case alone. It really is like a window to a broader landscape, and in some ways it feels like a privilege to live in an era where individuals around the world can come together to begin to shed light on some of the more disturbing machinations of the powers that be, and the inequality of arms that is permitted to exist within the Justice system. We have the way this case is being investigated (or not investigated correctly as the case may be), juxtaposed with a story very recently of a forced caesarian and removal of a baby because the mother had bipolar. Such stark contrasts in the application of the law serve to show us how tenuous our entitlement to truth and justice really is. It is disturbing, but we are blessed that we are able to start to see the world for what it is.

Smoke and mirrors, I am not a religious type at all. But I sometimes think that this case represents something fundamental, nothing less than a battle of good against evil in the World.

Clay Regazzoni wrote:

Smokeandmirrors wrote:
It certainly makes many of us wonder about a great many things.

Whilst the vanishing of a three year old little Madeleine really is a terrible thing to happen in this day and age, as is all ill that befalls little children around the world, it really has become quite a symbolic and important story. The internet age has meant that many people from around the world and from vastly different personal backgrounds have been drawn together to share and exchange views that are much bigger than this case alone. It really is like a window to a broader landscape, and in some ways it feels like a privilege to live in an era where individuals around the world can come together to begin to shed light on some of the more disturbing machinations of the powers that be, and the inequality of arms that is permitted to exist within the Justice system. We have the way this case is being investigated (or not investigated correctly as the case may be), juxtaposed with a story very recently of a forced caesarian and removal of a baby because the mother had bipolar. Such stark contrasts in the application of the law serve to show us how tenuous our entitlement to truth and justice really is. It is disturbing, but we are blessed that we are able to start to see the world for what it is.

Smoke and mirrors, I am not a religious type at all. But I sometimes think that this case represents something fundamental, nothing less than a battle of good against evil in the World.

I agree. Personally, my interest in the case is the whole wider perspective it has offered up. As you say it seems to be good versus evil, them and us, truth against lies, freedom versus control. This case and what I have learned from being part of this online community, have changed my life forever at a philosophical level. There are contributors to these online discussions to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for what they have helped me to learn. There are some positives to be gained from all this and some people have taken great personal risks and paid a high price to try and bring openness to the public and I really respect that.

Smokeandmirrors wrote:

Clay Regazzoni wrote:

Smokeandmirrors wrote:
It certainly makes many of us wonder about a great many things.

Whilst the vanishing of a three year old little Madeleine really is a terrible thing to happen in this day and age, as is all ill that befalls little children around the world, it really has become quite a symbolic and important story. The internet age has meant that many people from around the world and from vastly different personal backgrounds have been drawn together to share and exchange views that are much bigger than this case alone. It really is like a window to a broader landscape, and in some ways it feels like a privilege to live in an era where individuals around the world can come together to begin to shed light on some of the more disturbing machinations of the powers that be, and the inequality of arms that is permitted to exist within the Justice system. We have the way this case is being investigated (or not investigated correctly as the case may be), juxtaposed with a story very recently of a forced caesarian and removal of a baby because the mother had bipolar. Such stark contrasts in the application of the law serve to show us how tenuous our entitlement to truth and justice really is. It is disturbing, but we are blessed that we are able to start to see the world for what it is.

Smoke and mirrors, I am not a religious type at all. But I sometimes think that this case represents something fundamental, nothing less than a battle of good against evil in the World.

I agree. Personally, my interest in the case is the whole wider perspective it has offered up. As you say it seems to be good versus evil, them and us, truth against lies, freedom versus control. This case and what I have learned from being part of this online community,  have changed my life forever at a philosophical level. There are contributors to these online discussions to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for what they have helped me to learn. There are some positives to be gained from all this and some people have taken great personal risks and paid a high price to try and bring openness to the public and I really respect that.

I wholeheartedly agree with both of these comments here. I must have gone around with my eyes closed in the past. But no longer.

Verran's thread on UK Justice forum has been removed. I can't find it anywhere. Luckily, I took screenshots for future cross-checking purposes :-) Too much whooshing in this case.

ProfessorPPlum wrote:Verran's thread on UK Justice forum has been removed. I can't find it anywhere. Luckily, I took screenshots for future cross-checking purposes :-) Too much whooshing in this case.

 Plum old mate could you upload the screenshots ?

Before Peter Verran asked John, the owner of the UK Justice Forum, to remove the various threads about him, I c + p'd all the threads.

I did so because Peter Verran is a 'person of interest' for people on this forum. he's a person of interest (a) because he has given 'legs' to the whole tale woven by the McCann Team about Raymond Hewlett, and (b) because there is evidence that he has on occasions not told the truth. It's of note that he and his (new) wife spent time in  the company of Raymond Hewlett, day in, day out, for about two to three months in Morocoo, June to August 2007. My 2010 article about him is on the other Peter Verran thread. I've placed this here primarily for reference:

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 
Peter Verran speaks on the UK Justice Forum in December 2013 


VERRAN

Dear UK justice forum members,

My name is peter verran , I came forward to the police , the family's detectives , and the press after returning to the uk after a trip abroad and seeing that I had known the main suspect at the time in the abduction case , and that he was a known paedophile , I was horrified as I had taken my son on this extended trip abroad and to have been near him, this was six months after I returned to the uk.

I soul searched for 2 days before contacting the police as I knew this would bring trouble to myself and my family , I did not know at that time just how much trouble to our whole lives and the price a human being pays for wanting to help a family find there missing child, I know I would want anyone with anything to come forward in the hope of finding my child , I would not turn around and make out that a person trying to help was now there new suspect and I had left things out of my statement and that I did not mention I had been in Portugal around the time , and my van had gone missing around the same time , all un true statements and facts.

I have a major paper, and 2 local ones willing to run a story of liable if I will give them access to the lawyers and they will run the story and clear my name .

My life has been destroyed and that of my family, my elderly mother had to move , we have been moved three times since this nightmare started , I lost some dear family over this and some good friends , I am an ex soldier with spinal injury's that are degenerative and I will end up in a wheel chair from the neck down , and have chronic post traumatic stress disorder , I get a war pension as my injury's are active duty related ( not like the man who they said was of the same regiment as myself he did not even finish his training, only men of the highest standard makes a guardsmen) , all that has happened since coming forward has made my life hell , all because I had the heart to come forward.

I am willing to talk about any part of my understanding of what happened and what I think about the whole experience and what its done.

p verran

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VERRAN

I am willing to give honest reply's

This is some thing to think about " I did not kill her and she is not in morocco " words of Raymond Hewlett to me months after the little girl went missing

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JOHN (Forum Owner and Moderator) (Posts: 6002)

Site Moderator

Its always difficult knowing where to start Peter.  Maybe you can give us some background as to how you came to be in Morocco, where you stayed and for how long etc...   How did you meet Hewlett and what did he have to say for himself.

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VERRAN

I am sorry I have been ill and I understand I need to give a account off why I was abroad, how I met the man and his family who became a main suspect at the time , what  was said by him , ( not what papers reported) andwhat I feel about him myself , and how its effected my family and myself since, and why I am telling this in this forum and what I want from it.

please give me a few days I am still ill and will have a big challenge to write this.

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JOHN

Good to hear from you Peter and sorry to hear that you are not well at the moment.  I do hope that you feel better soon.

I suggested that an introduction as to your trip to Morocco might be the best way to start off.  Why Morocco, who with, for what reason and for how long and in your own words.  The Press embellish these stories and put their own slant on them usually so it is always best to hear from the actual person.

A lot of members want to ask you questions as to your encounter with Hewlett and what he really said about Madeleine.  Your decision to speak out has caused quite a stir already!

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VERRAN

DEAR UK Justice Forum,

I am now feeling better , to explain exactly why I went to Europe and what has happened since, ( and still is this week ) happening due to my speaking out.

This will mean exposing myself fully and leaving myself no option but to put myself in danger , but I feel everyone has the right to know everything in order to be able to make clear some things that perhaps the media has been misleading and others not talked about at all.

This will take a week or two as there is so much I feel needs told.

And then I will see if humanity and justice still excises.

Rachael I hope that is the response you were looking for in my reply to why I was there and as to why I wan to be part of this  justice forum.

There are things un told or miss told.

And I would like to draw attention to the fact this mans oldest son perhaps the" wisest child "was supposed to have fallen of the truck and died in Spain and was buried by the road, I did know his wife and she was a very paranoid woman and the kids were always locked in safe in the back.

He told so many lies when he did not need to , the only reason when your on the road like him to lie about how he got there and left is to cover some thing.

So for coming forward to try and help a family in grief when they named the man as their main man of interest and trying to help, I have lost my son as now, been hounded by the press , my mum had to move from here village I can no longer drive or be in a car, and have to use a electric scooter so seeing my son is impossible  ,  and as two councillors told me to keep being there for him and to be his rock as his mum could not do it, I have failed him, he is not able to just call me as his mum is total in control so I don’t even get to speak to him now, she will not bring him to see me , years I dedicated to see he had the best start in life and this is what speaking out to try and solve some questions that needed someone to tell has cost me a child, and then the piece in June in the daily mail has put me my family and our whole lives at risk again, and I am now the number 1 suspect , and its ok to print these things from the family’s source.

And the British legion giving out half-truths of confidential welfare information and printing my photo next to the little girl.

Where is the justice, why has an innocent man been hounded and his family by the press , the family’s detectives I don’t understand them , is it just to keep this case in the news , if they wanted to talk to me they could have at any time , instead they point the finger at an innocent man publicly which could destroy a case.

As I have said I have been to the police , talked with the head of the force and they have not wanted to speak to me or needed to all the information they said I did not disclose was total lies , they had it all so why has my whole life been shattered.

The truth never changes with the passage of time.so if anyone can help me sort this out I am happy to talk, if you want to know more please ask.

P verran

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ANNE GUEDES

I've read your posts, Peter. What do you expect from this forum ?

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VERRAN

I just want justice and the truth about everything to come out , not what was reported , and I probable have more information as I have been interviewed by every police force , private detectives and press than any other person involved.

The media have told of things not true and misleading , the met , Scotland yard or any others in  in this case , have everything , knew every thing and knew I was not wanted , and the family could have talked to me and never did.  was this to keep it in the news at the expense of an innocent family

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ELEANOR

I am not sure who you think is to blame for the trouble caused to you and your family, But The Media does tell lies, everybody knows that.  And I am truly sorry if you were inadvertently blamed in any way.

However, I never got the impression that you were personally involved in the disappearance of Madeleine, or that you did anything other than to try to help.

So can you tell us what part you think Hewlett might have had in this? I have long been very suspicious of him at least knowing other people who were involved, so did he say anything to you about them?

I do have lots more questions, but I am not sure if I am allowed to ask them, or if you would be allowed to answer them.

On an entirely personal note,  can you try to put the misery behind you and remember the good things that you have a right to be proud of?  I am ex RN Forces and very proud of that part of my life.

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ANNE GUEDES

We all want justice, here. But only justice says the truth.

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VERRAN

Thank you for some kind words and advice , yes I am very proud of my service in the army and for bringing up good kids, and I am trying to put this behind me , you can ask anything you want please do , you asked what I though of this man and did he have anything to do with it , I was already posting this last post below and then leaving it up to everyone to ask or form a better understanding but to answer your direct question

Yes I do believe he carried the girl from one place to another, and knew when, how, and why and what happened to her (bolding by TB).

From the first time I contacted the police my life got turned upside down, I am now on anxiety medication and have become just about recluse also my family has had to move three times including my elderly mother from the town she grew up in, and daughter, I lost my son which devastated me after devoting many years showing him the right way to grow up to a fine young man.

It was however the papers that caused the most damage, I rebuilt my life from a crazy ex-soldier to a devoted parent and a well-respected and productive member of our community, doing voluntary work with ex-offenders and as a sponsor to help people kick there addiction problems, I worked in many prisons in the southwest starting and running self-help groups, and was well respected for my work.

I lived a life based on honesty open-mindedness and a willingness to learn , I did my duty and serviced in court as every honest person gets called to do , I have a faith which has helped me through these dark times, have and am bringing up four children and a grandson , worked most of my life despite having p.t.s.d.

Since the first newspaper interview my life has changed and I am ashamed that for coming forward with heart felt care and concern for the family and the little girl how I have now been demonised by the press and people.

I challenge anyone to a lie detector test or any other test with any question to ask to prove I never knew this man before, never was near Portugal until November after her abduction, had no part in it and only know what this man said, if this man spoke the truth and did know what happened if he played a part is that the family in some way killed the girl and was covering up his words “ its them and I never killed her , she is not in morocco” , the unburdening of a man who knew he had little time left perhaps , I don’t know and never will now, and the death of his eldest son perhaps the only one at the time able to talk, as most of his children did not really talk at all even in play , falling off the back of his truck and being laid to rest at the side of the road in Spain , makes me very suspicious of him , his wife made sure they were locked in the back if only for a short journey ,it  seems unthinkable to me .

I want this girl found and reunited with her family as any parent would understand , but there seems to be so much false information , positive blood detected by sniffer dogs as good as ours , knowing the night before the little girl had woke when they were out to dinner as the door was open, the next night also the door was open and they just closed it without checking , I don’t know about other parents but if the door was open the night before and If i still went out the following night , if I was a doctor would I have given a medicine to keep her asleep ? , I think not, and I would have defiantly checked and not closed the door when I came to check on the children in the first place, I don’t know how this could have happened.

I am now losing control of arms and legs due to my spine injury’s and will someday not be able to hold, feel, or support/ protect my children, I want the time I have left to be able to go out and go to places and see them have fun and hold them and kiss them as much as I can , so it’s important to me that at least a forum that I feel is fair and a good site hears my truth ,not the media lies about me

Being in Portugal at the time and failed to mention it “ not true “ and they knew it so why did they say it.

That I did not mention being robbed in November “not true “

That I was a man of interest to the investigation again “ not true “

And the one I find most disturbing of all the Royal British legion giving out only some information ( when they had it all ) that said I was in Portugal at the time and I did not mention it again “not true” and to give out personal data protected welfare records to the press, and since it all began withdrew any help and support and was banned from the legion , I have never been charged with anything in 25 years since the army dumped on me and many others that after duty they sent us in made us go over the top and was no longer any use , all we were good for was war, and when that damaged you, back them it was the rubbish dump for you.

So today since this first came to light in 2009 when I gave a statement, I have been banned from the r.b.l.  The citizen’s advice , and not welcome anywhere as suspicion has its own driving force.

I have just been used and abused since and I only tried to help

Where can I find justice

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LYALL

Have you spoken to any solicitors?

If not, Simons Muirhead & Burton are the firm who represented Robert Murat. Perhaps they could help you?

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ELEANOR

Sadly, I don't know where you can find justice, Peter.  I would need to know more than you can tell me on this Forum of how it all unfolded.

But I don't honestly think that any sane person would think that you were involved.  I certainly don't.  You simply tried to help.  And I was very much aware of what was going on at the time.

But you did try to help, and you should be proud of that.  There are others who might have helped and didn't.

Me?  I would have gone for it and b....r the consequences.  And then been pleased that I had remained true to myself.

You had the misfortune to meet a very sleazy character with convictions for paedophilia, so no wonder you were suspicious.  And then he died.  So no chance of ever knowing, as if he was ever likely to say what he knew.  Creeps like him always run with other creeps.

Your son will come back to you, and you have to believe this.  Just leave it lie for the moment.  I will wish it for you, and no one's wishes come stronger than mine.

MESSAGE FROM JOHN, MODRERATOR

Please note that the Peter Verran discussion now has its own board which will allow for several additional topics to be added.

Peter has asked me to tell you all that he is very willing to answer any reasonable questions about his encounters with prime Madeleine suspect Raymond Hewlett.

Please afford of this opportunity!

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JOHN

I will leave it to Peter to elaborate as to how his own reputation was damaged simply because he came forward with information about a potential suspect in the Madeleine case.

The Portuguese police have already attracted much criticism from Gonçalo Amaral and Paulo Sargento for allowing the McCanns private investigators Metodo 3 to pursue Hewlett in his hospital bed when he has already been investigated and cleared.

The conduct of the British Press is yet again morally reprehensible.

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VERRAN

CONT. NEXT POST

 PART TWO

JOHN

The conduct of the British Press is yet again morally reprehensible.

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VERRAN

Dear justice forum ,

I am going to open my soul in order to see this forum be given all the information needed to show how things are a little different to what people had been led to believe, and as this forum has the truth never changes with time.

I enlisted into  the Queens household division of the Scots Guards at the age of 15 and a half years old , after a year of brutally hard training I passed out a fully fit , fighting soldier of the highest  calibre , proud , honourable , loyal to the queen and country and ready to die to protect the realm , my countryman woman and child and defend our country , ( unlike the suspect who the papers said was from the same calibre , men like him don’t get to wear our cap badge and he never did he did no  finished training ).

After training I was sent to Edinburgh castle as a recruitment soldier and for the Edinburgh military tattoo, I got into some trouble with a regimental sergeant majors daughter and as a punishment was sent at the age of seventeen to Northern Ireland to loin my regiment.

I was told my days were numbered as he had friends in the battalion for my involvement with his daughter, it happened I endured harsh treatment and never felt as someone had my back in situations where it’s all you have and its life or death, my parents even got a call asking permission for my posting at 17 as the youngest serving soldier Queens regulations stated the age of 18  they agreed, I was supposed to stay in a secure area in the stores, but due to the hunger strikers and the declaration of no political status for prisoners accused of terrorism 1980 , and being too few soldiers to handle what would happen when this was decided and passed , I ended up in the middle of Belfast patrolling streets were every patrol there was an incident , were as a young boy having hundred and sometimes thousands of people trying to kill you in so many a way , working so long hours in such intense life or death situations and not feeling or being supported by other soldiers left a scare that will never heal , things seen and done at that age had such an effect on me , they keep me awake at night or destroy me in sleep, they sent us after the recommended time to spend in front line duty to the boarders between north and south at a time where it was the most challenging and dangerous when 1 regiment changes over with another , we could not be sent  anywhere  else most of us were shot away and could not handle being sent back to England , it was here that I thought I got away very lightly after an incident involving a bomb and our transport, ( it came to light on my discharge  from the army that two disks I believe were smashed in the blast and had started growing abnormally and would paralyse me , I had six months traction on my neck in the royal naval hospital  but at some point I would end up in a wheel chair, and I know after the blast my world changed , things were somehow painful , I could only hear a bussing sound that has never stopped ( until I had a hearing test later in life and found 75% of my nerves in my left ear were blown completely and I had damage to my right ) , I could not sleep and I was drinking lots , and suffered head pains , all today would have been instantly diagnosed as p.t.s.d. but back in 82 were not picked up, and I could not get my head around what we were doing to me I am Celtic from Cornwall , like my regiment scots , and we were in a Celtic country but a soldier has no say were and why  .

After are tour 80-82 we were supposed to have a good leave period and then posted to the far east, my well-deserved leave was cut short as I was arrested for drunk and disorderly a few days of being home, the rest period was also regulaions ( another sign today of p.t.s.d. ) , a major came down to the court the next morning and it was agreed I would be out of the country that week and the charges  were dropped and I flew out after a few days to nearly no supervision or duty’s as we were an advance party , plenty of time off and loads of money in the far east , it took 2 slow agonising years were I sort of watched my career be stolen from me and mental confusion take over , were I could not sleep because there the nightmares were real, so drinking to stay awake and numb the mind were the only way or that’s all I had, I don’t know if i were a Scotsman or one who had not been victimised due to a mistake when young , would have got the same as myself when asking for help told to “sort yourself out or the guard house “, I do know that there were many like me thrown in the bin as not working correctly  after our tour of Ireland .

This period was 1984 and for a few years to come were very dark for me , I had lost my whole life I despised myself , had a feeling of dishonour and for me honour was instilled in me and drank and took anything to stop the pain , I was having flashbacks by now and become very violent and did something today I am truly sorry for and hurt some people badly , I paid the queens punishment of prison for violence I did not even no I had done and gone to prison for it , but the punishment did not stop when you walk free , it never really goes , there are the ,what if they understood then that  I did not have control or know it had happened till after , but it will not change the fact that due to the madness that was my p.t.s.d. I hurt some dear to me , drink is not a excuse , and the madness of nightmares , flashbacks or hyper vigilance , and the pain in my head just would explode and I ended up being locked up several times, on my last sentence 25 years ago my first child was born and that gave me something to live for.

It was thanks to a very good woman, my girlfriend at that time who saved my life and took me without my understanding to a treatment centre for drugs and alcohol in 1986, that used a twelfth step program and I have been abstinent since then.

I rebuilt my life based on honesty open-mindedness and the willingness to give the program a chance; I did and worked hard took a good look at my life made my amends  and got to a very good point in my life, were I did not go out to hurt anybody , lived honestly , changed my behaviours and had a faith, I was seeing my daughter evenings weekends and holidays , ( my partner made a decision to split just before I came out of prison to leave me for a more stable man, I understand her decision ) had jobs as high as area manager in the drug and alcohol field of work , but always I would start to feel restless and anxious even when things were good and I would hand in notice and go away , to our mountain’s in the uk at  first , then the French / Spanish / Italy / Portugal / morocco    then it became a cycle work hard for the summer and get out and away in the winter , when I was away and alone I could breathe again , and go back and face it all again.

I met a woman shortly after coming out of treatment who as they say 13th stepped me which means taking advantage of a new comer to the self-help group meetings when they are vulnerable  and bedded me and within 6 months was pregnant and I was the dad, I did not know at the time of meeting and as I thought fell in love with was in fact an ex heroin dealer who did 3 years and her children she had 2 had first gone into care but at the time they were living with their father.

My then wife pregnant with my child became depressed telling me her life was not complete without her children , we went away and stayed at a friend’s home in Paris , he went and stayed with his parents , we talked about her past , she told me he was a violent man and the drugs were all his fault, and that she needed her children to feel a woman again, I could understand this and we came home and I set about getting a property suitable and ready for our child and the hope of her two, great a readymade family , I changed jobs so we could be in the country, I became a game keeper and earned the money to support them by other country jobs , chickens , turkey , potato harvest , I worked long hours ( 16 + ) our son was born and we went to court unopposed and her children came to live with us , I will never forget the man who stood in front of me , shrivelled , dead like look , little man , and said not a word , it haunted me and I could not understand him just standing , staring watching he children he had brought up for 6 years walk out he door , ( I found out soon enough why ) so things should have been good , we lived were  she wanted , had what she wanted married me and now because of us had her dad in her life again , but she still was depressed , we went to see a councillor who said we needed to move so the children could walk to school and to take as much pressure as possible from her, that she would not own her responsibility for anything and he thought not willing to change, but move was the only chance, so we moved to a town I went back to a very good job working with adults with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour , but things continued downhill , her dad had been given a diagnosis of a terminal illness and would die, he paid for a top marriage councillor to try and save the marriage , the outcome much the same but I got more of an insight of the problems and I was told I should try and concentrate on myself and my son as see was unable to be a mother or wife due to abandonment issues as a child and a real need to feel right, as she was left to care for her mother alone at a very young age, he mum had mental health issues and took her own life  , her father went off with another woman sending the boys to private school he was a top solicitors in fact I was told when I divorced my wife by my solicitor not to sign a clean break divorce paper they wanted signed a few months after we split up , he told me hold on as my wife would be coming into a lot of money as her father was in fact a millionaire and I stood to gain money  if I waited and not signed, I signed the paper, asked for nothing and had never received anything for our son , I was living a different life wanted no fights and just wanted to get over it, be free and live our lives, I gave up work and became a full time mother and father.

I had made the decision to follow the councillors advice and leave a really good job to become what would be a full time dual roll man, I called in the social services , health visitor , health centre and explained our position , I was helped and got my son into play group early , I had to go 5 mornings a week , in the beginning it was hard , my son had some scares from the break up and would act out , I just sat in the corner feeling so sad for him and also ashamed he behaved in that way , I got loads of support from other parents who told me it was ok , he would change and all he needed was me to be there for him and let them do the rest , it became a great and wonderful experience for us all to grow together like a family , I did the work for a playground for the children, when we left there to start his nursery early again from the support I received my son was prepared for it , we all had changed and I am grateful still today for the start they gave my son and the gift they gave me , how to understand my son and that with work and time our children can change, at the start for me to take on a 1 year old child who held onto my leg  , I did not know if I could do it , you see my ex-wife took all the main items bought by me from the home , hover , plates , cutlery , washing machine , essential items , and I did not realise she had cleaned out our account and had not been paying bills , she had only just had a large sum left to her in a will from a distant relative but a sum of life changing money  , so there was not even a need to leave me in dept. , no washing machine and essentials but she did and I learned she would make life so hard for us both and would break his heart many times, and I struggled, my son would be awake for months from 4 in the morning till midnight and I had to do everything like hand wash his clothes and bedding , brush floors with him being around my legs he could not be left at all , and sleep was when he fell asleep because he could not go on anymore ,

I had to pay all the dept. collectors and bills for a 4 bed house and it was impossible , we would have £24 to last a fortnight  on food, we had to go to Iceland and have whatever was buy 1 get 1 free , but we managed and we grew together , we lost the house and had to start in a 1 bed emergency flat , I thought my wife was for ever I had changed and was a better person , supported her children as my own , worked hard and gave all I could and believed now I would be fulfilled I never seen it coming or would not except the truth , I let her take anything from the house she wanted , I even packed them , I did not hide from the pain, what she did not take we put on a big bon fire and had a barbeque and started in that little flat alone, new start , new everything, I had not hid from the hurt and pain and know I did all I could to keep a dream alive but it was never to be and the biggest hurt was still to come

Over the next 6 years I she would let him down many times , I could never plan anything as many 11th hour call would come to cancel , she had slapped me in front of our son and that was when I ended it , she did it again in front of the local police station, she made several disturbing incidents around our son, and just did not seem to want her son , she had met a new man who had two kids of his own and my son eventually seen the truth , if I challenged her about seeing her son, (  I needed a break too ) she would go nuts and go to court demanding rights to see him , exactly what I was asking from her , I honestly at the third time of going to court i questioned my sanity , she had been told by me through a solicitor she could have 50%  no contest but it was to be only if it was her choice for 6 years, every time she took me to court I asked for what my son and the family protection think, I won the cases because I had reports from the time of the split from all the professionals I called in to ask for help, letters from play group , nursery , school , social services had no concerns ,and also some damming reports about the effects of broken promises and missed school plays , no expectation for our son around seeing him, she told lies and tried to deceive the family people , after it went against her she withdrew from his life, leaving me to rebuild again but it did make us stronger , I had devoted my life to my son, leaving good relationships because they were not keen on kids , spent my day keeping everything just right , as I look back I can see I was over the top in protecting my son and our life , 5 pressed and hung school uniforms  bit o t t  , shoes like a soldiers shining with polish , breakfast waiting , blood sweat and tears , nights of sickness , they are like germ bombs when they start school , I had quality time with my son when I was not picking up the pieces , but now I can see I put so much pressure on myself to get everything perfect with my son I had created a prison for myself wih her help always looking for a fault , but I never had a bad report day , police , or social service having a problem with my son un like on the rare time he did stay police were called .

In 2006 July in fact I was just starting what was turning out to be a good landscape garden project , it was a nice summers evening the next day I had some top quality turf coming , I was raking a garden to a very fine soil ready to finish off a tough job , clearing and area and laying turf , I was raking , the birds were singing and my legs just folded up under me and I could not feel them.

 Well on the day in 2006 after a year of investigation and m.r.i. scans I went from 21-75 years old in twenty minutes , I was told my spine had come to a point now where my spinal cord was just hanging on in two places and now other bones were doing the same growing and cutting off the spinal cord, it had left my spine the age of a 75 year old , that I would end up paralysed from the 3rd disk down , if I lived from it at all , it could happen next week / month / year but the max of ten years , there was a op they could do , it was a big danger , small chance of improvement , and would need extended rest after , if I made it, I had warfarin for blood that clots and this made it more tricky, some day that turned out to be , I left in a bit of a shock, I had put it so far away in the back of my mind behind locked doors but the surgeon had the key and it was back again , this time , it was happening.

I went home and could feel my life shrink and become now very scary ,  I could not handle the thought of just being a head , mine was still full of the horror of conflict and war and pain,  I had put everything into bringing up my son I had forgotten my neck ,now it was oh so real and the op was out of the question , I had no one to turn to but my faith which grew stronger through all the challenges we had faced  , I could not I know turn to his mother , she was after all the woman that said perhaps you should not be looking after him then if you can’t cope , when I asked her to have our son from the Friday to the Monday as I did not know how I would be after the funeral of my dad , but no she brought him back on the Friday early evening , why because it was the Saturday she had hired a van to clear the house ( he died just after the slap that ended it all ) so I worried about my 7 year olds future , I prayed and worried and carried on until I decided I would buy a camper van and do what I normally do go away , I told my ex-wife what I would like to do travel for 6 mts and would give her the chance of having him , she refused with the words  I can’t drop everything (  no surprise there ) and to be true I wanted to show my son some of the good places and things I had found in the world so was happy.

will now write about how I came to meet this man who through meeting and then finding out later what he was , I now have a better understanding of this man , what at the time not knowing what he was seemed like a normal ish conversation , now seems very sinister and more like a man who knew he had little time left and was burden

Morocco November 2006 

We had a great time visiting the riff and the  atlas mountains, met other British travelers , had camp fires at night , stayed in Berber villages  , my son always taken under the wing of the local s and was taught to play drums and joined the village at night drumming , eating real Berber food with the local men, visiting places normal tourists never get to see, river villages , it was a great experience for the two of us , education and culture , we stayed in rooms were monkeys swung past the window, a real bonding experience , I could not drive far now so we had a guide take over and I could enjoy life a bit , but my spine was starting to show signs of determination and I struggled a bit, but was determined to spend the 6 mts with my son.

We enjoyed Marrakech and our guide was great, the people warm and helpful and we had amassing experiences   , visited fishing villages , went for hammams and local bath better than a Turkish one , we visited little local schools and helped out it was awesome,

We arrived in a place near Agadir in the south of the country by big long sandy beaches were we intended to stay for the rest of the trip as my injuries were getting worse ,it was here we met a young Moroccan woman who befriended us and helped us live in the village and my son took an instant liking to her, she played on the beach with him , went to a zoo, took us to the none rip of tourist traps, I came to love her for the woman she was, well educated just about to finish a degree in hotel management and as I had got to know her now and the life she had been made to live , the way she was treated , and the abuse she had taken, I was proud as see had just nearly got to the point of escape on finishing her degree , when her father stopped her education just before the exam and called her back to her city , in doing this she was still under their control.

We had come to love this woman and decided to go with her to her home and try and help,  her father had a marriage arranged to a rich old man , she was not of this culture and refused and said she wanted me, you just don’t do this , in this she faced a life of hell if life at all, I could not leave a woman I now loved who stood up and faced a fate worse than death, so I took her away , and in May of 2006 married her against the family’s wishes ,they had family and relatives in every aspect of Morocco’s , police, boarder and in places you need permission from to marry but we did and then had to go into hiding until I could get her out safely, the rest of this story I cannot go into for security reasons and I am not allowed to comment on it sorry .

It was at this time I met the man who was at 1 time the main suspect, long before I came to know of his past and history I think 2 or 3 years before I seen him on tv in the uk.ned, and that I tried my hardest to tell police , detectives he had some thing to hide , and the lies he told for no reason , and my personal thoughs

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THE DAILY MAIL ARTICLE

Maddie mystery of ex-soldier and his camper van: Police contacted Army for information days before confirming they had identified new 'persons of interest' 

•   While former guardsman Peter Verran has not been accused of any wrongdoing, the timing is significant

•   McCann family also wants to speak to him about his whereabouts at the time of Madeline's disappearance

Scotland Yard is investigating claims made by a former soldier in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Days before confirming they had identified new ‘persons of interest’, officers from the Homicide and Serious Crime Command contacted the Army seeking information about Peter Verran.

While Mr Verran has not been accused of any wrongdoing, the timing is significant

Ex-Guardsman Mr Verran first came to the attention of police in 2009 when he emerged to dispute the alibi of British child abuser Raymond Hewlett, 64.

Hewlett was living in the Algarve just an hour’s drive from where the youngster disappeared.

However, in publicly pointing the finger at Hewlett, who denied abducting Madeleine, Mr. Verran apparently neglected to mention the disappearance of his own camper van within months of Madeleine’s disappearance, or the fact he had been in Portugal.

Those details, disclosed in documents held by the Royal British Legion, show he sought emergency funds from the organization after claiming his van and all his possessions had been stolen.

The documents also reveal he travelled through Portugal.

When Mr Verran came forward, he was interviewed by Leicestershire Police, and by private investigators working for the McCanns, as an informant.

Mr Verran told of a conversation he had with Hewlett in September 2007 after they met at a Moroccan campsite.

Hewlett admitted to owning a white Transit-style van around the time of Madeleine’s disappearance – the van was similar to one seen parked near the Ocean Club.

Hewlett, who died in 2010, said in a newspaper interview that a blue Dodge truck was his only vehicle at the time.

A source close to the McCanns said Mr Verran made no mention of his camper van being stolen, or the time he spent in Portugal, to private detectives working for the family. It is not known what the former soldier told police.

Daily Mail 25 June 2013 [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

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VERRAN COMMENTS ON THE DAILY MAIL ARTICLE

There you have it it’s not known what I told police, so why give a third of the population who cannot read the impression by my photo next to the little girls the impression I am the man who has done something to that little girl, make claims that are not true about me to the papers, give welfare information about me, and missing out the important things, and point the finger when they know where I was.

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VERRAN

Anyway I stayed until November 2007 were I had to leave my wife in a safe house until I could get her visa, in the end after having all my belongings taken which the police knew all about plus the British embassy , we got a coach to Portugal , we I did see him again at the markets , I contacted the British legion and the embassy in Portugal , went to a self-help A A group found a safe place for us to stay until we found the way to get home , not the embassy or legion could supply the means to get home, it took  5 weeks of  rest and arranging the air fare home but we got back in time for Christmas.

When I was in Portugal I got to see his associates and friends , even the German woman who he said could give him the alibi for the night of the alleged abduction , he had friends , not drifters but people who lived in Portugal, ones who had money , some I would call shady looking , I gave everything I could to the police and the detectives .

I arrived back and set up the embassy and a visa and my wife joined us in may 2008 my wife came to the uk, we have two children and life was good until one day I was watching the news and seen his face and the charges and that he was wanted in the abduction case, for a day and a night I was troubled and did not sleep, I looked deep , you see coming forward would give my ex wife a lot of ammunition if she chose to use it against me , after a holiday were I fell ill and was late back , if you go out the country you only can go for 30 days without permission from the other parent , because we were going for less I did not worry , I was ill we were two weeks late, she stole her chance informed the police of abduction (  rings bells in my ears ) , even though I had a sick note from the doctors , spoke to the police and explained , she managed to get things into court quick , saying I abducted  him in 2006 and again this time , that I was a known friend of a pedophile and had web sites about it ( nice play on words , she was referring to the paper and internet stories of  my interviews ) I was found to have no charge and everything was ok around me being late back, in fact when I got back I spent weeks in hospital with blood clots on the lungs and pneumonia and could not defend the case , she made it all sound as if I was a pedophile and was part of something sinister , I could have proved and fought the case and all would have been made clear the 2006 abduction as see called it was easy to disprove I was stopped by child protection and she gave permission, but I was to ill and weak to fight her deceiving words so when I was still in hospital they took my son to his mothers and after being there for some time as my illness was bad and I did not recover for many months , he was settled , I did not want to make him come back now unless he really objected to it, I said I would let him decide with the help of a guardian , so and they awarded care to her .

I had brought my boy up almost single handed for 12 years and never once had a problem from anyone , unlike her she had the police to her as when my son had been staying at her place on rare occasions , because at 5 years old she let him out with a 15 year old boy who together were worrying sheep, she didn’t even know where he was, they found him over a mile away in a park, her partner had been cautioned on assault on a minor my son, she had had her two kids taken into care as she did time for heroin dealing , and there are a few things I won’t write out of respect of our son.

I have not had any problems with anyone till I came forward , but I knew she would use it against me , I lost my boy that I brought up from 6 mts old , it destroyed me but I could fight no more.

I have come up against people who have linked me to the case , we have had to move three times, the papers hounded my elderly mother and she moved in the end, my own family has pulled away since this came to light, and people shun you , turn and stare point and make angry faces, had treats on our life , even had home office alarms fitted in the house at times, I have two older children and two younger ones, will they grow up being bulled and abused because of me coming forward to help.

Now the mail has me as the number 1 of interest and things have now started in our new town, how long before we have to move , when will this nightmare stop, I am losing my health and my spinal injury is getting worse and its only time before I am in a chair or worse , I want my name cleared for the sake of my children and wife.

I have offered the daily mail when I did agree to talk to them a lie test or any other thing they want of me, I have two papers willing to take the mail for slander or the other one liable is it , if I let them have complete access to the solicitor, which I would if I could afford to do it, I have a daughter starting her married life off in a good job and she has been affecte We kitted out the van with everything , good beds , school equipment , telescope, star book , toys , music , TV , dvd , everything , tarpaulins , table chairs all the comforts of home , informed schools , social worker as at that time my wife was only seeing our son because she really had too , the social worker had to persuade her to keeping contact for our sons  sake , her partner had slapped my son across the face and he had come home from a day visit crying and  hid under a bed , she tried to make light of it by saying it was play and an accident, but my son told me her partner was angry and  wanted him to eat some peas and my son refused , he threatened my son, my son went to leave the table and got slapped hard , he spent the rest of the time hiding till he came home, it went to a video interview with the police and he was cautioned , the social worker thought it was a good idea to travel and draw a line under the mess of the past.

We took a dog with us when we set sail in September 2005, I got a lap top , phone so he could stay in contact with his mum , she came to say good bye and we set sail for Spain , free at last , quality time with my son and perhaps the last time I would be able to travel , and find some way to prepare for what could happen in the future , I could never imagine it would be a world of nightmares , it still is today , we made our way through the mountains of Spain and ended up in tariffa  southern Spain all this took two months , deciding due to weather to enter morocco in November 2006 .

I will give you the part from morocco until today in the next post , I hope his explains why I went to morocco in the first place , and leave you to take in  all this information, I will tell you how I have had to move 3 times , lost my son 2 years ago to his mother , my mother having to move , how its destroyed my family and how it is today.

Please can you hold off from questions till I post next one please.

Not ever going near Portugal or knew the man before, and i did not like the family detectives have insinuated have my van stolen months after she went missing , and I told the family’s detectives everything they needed to know about the man and the case ,I  even drove 200 miles to meet them, spent two hours with them , they gave me expenses that didn’t cover all my money spent as I had to stop and stay in a hotel over night as my injuries were worse and I could not do it all in 1 days drive , and by this time I had been blessed with a young son which made things a little more tricky, I had to have my mother look after my older son who was  in school , and I knew or had a fear by coming forward I would lose someone dear to me, and  it turned out to be true.

The British legion who talked to the papers broke the confidentiality law by disclosing welfare information, and they did not say how I did not have my camper and why and  it was in November 2006 i came to Portugal for help  and I was back in the uk in December, that both embassy’s in Morocco and Portugal knew every detail  why and how I was robbed , how and what I did in Portugal and exactly where I was when the little girl went missing , or that every police force involved in this case knew exactly what I had said, were I had been, why I came forward and all the information but the family’s spokesmen or paper and what is totally wrong that the British legion failed to print any of this but disclosed  of me traveling Portugal when in fact that amounted to getting a couch from Spain to the nearest British legion and asking for help, I feel a great injustice in this , first it was confidential welfare information of an ex-soldier given to the papers, and I think it should not have been given to the press if part as they say below new person of interest, timing is significant and new suspect , it should be the police and it could harm the case. Or what I told police.

The time I spoke to Hewitt was July not September as printed.

They wanted to speak to me , well I have handed myself in To the police after the article below, spoke to the head of the met police told I was not of interest to them , we cleared a few things up.

They wanted to know my where about at the time of disappearance, well the police knew as did family detectives so why did they do that , for press coverage ?.

I cannot tell you what price I have paid in order for you to understand I want justice, and knowing if it was my little girl   (which at time of writing I do also have a little girl and I am a proud granddad and soon to become one again as well, she has a good career and I am proud of her)   missing and someone out there had information or just had a feeling would come forward no matter what.

I was a man who did exactly that not only did I have a feeling I knew he lied and for what reason?  And for coming forward i lost my child, and had his life and the life of our  family shattered , and old lady my dear Mother move in terror and shame after the mail hounded her at night.

I will explain why after the article below that’ has now destroyed a good honest family.

I will now write about how I came to meet this man who through meeting and then finding out later what he was , I now have a better understanding of this man , what at the time not knowing what he was seemed like a normal ish conversation , now seems very sinister and more like a man who knew he had little time left and was burdened, and that I tried my hardest to tell police , detectives he had some thing to hide , and the lies he told for no reason , and my personal thoughs

It was at this time late June early July  I met the man who was at 1 time the main suspect, long before I came to know of his past and history I think 2 or 3 years before I seen him on TV in the uk.

We were staying in the riff mountains at a really nice camp site , when a big sky blue dodge truck pulled in with uk number plates , his wife got out and used her passport to book in , for a few days we never saw him as he was always in the truck, it was his wife and five children who went out for food and all other needs.

After a few days when at the toilet block cleaning dishes I met him , small talk to begin with , where are you from , that sort of thing , but on the first conversation  he brought up the disappearance of the little girl , saying he was worried as one of his children looked like her , he also said out of the blue , I know the place , there liars she was not able to see her apartment from the restaurant , she is not in morocco  , other conversations that seemed ok at the time seemed different years later when I knew who and what he was,  he seemed to know the place very well and told of  what he thought happened in his mind , that the parents had done something and had tried to hide the facts .

We stayed in the camp site for about a month, are kids started to play together and after a month he suggested a camp site, as he put it quiet and out the way were he had been before, we decided to try it and went with him to a coastal village, where it was out the way and quiet , the camp site we were at started filling up for a music festival and that was his reason to move , over time we talked some more , he explained he left Portugal in a hurry was how he put it , he said he had enough money to make the trip but his wife worried about the children getting ill , getting stuck and every time before that he mentioned it she would get so anxious they never went, he said this time he never told her or the kids, just packed them up in half an hour and drove to near tariffa in one go, not what he told police about getting a free ride on a ferry from faro to morocco because he knew the captain , to the best of my understanding there was at that time no such ferry I could be wrong but why say he drove? , another thing , just on camp site and food he spent more than the 300 euro he said he got from car parts , to the best of my understanding I saw him spend way more , he bought lots of items and I know he spent double that on his hashish he smoked and bought , old  motor bike , 6 massive fuel barrels full , and many other items that you always find on sale in camp sites , he was not short of money and a roll much larger was in his pocket most of the time.

He told me that he had visited a place called asiila just outside of tanagers on the way in “for business  “  and again he said the girls is not in morocco and this time he said I never killed her.

I have been asked before what I personally feel after meeting this man , well I know he himself knew he was a very ill man , he talked a lot about  the case , told lies were lies did not need to be told , I have a feeling that this man did have part or knew of some wrong doing in this case , it now seems like the man needed to talk and I think in time if I had really befriended him as the papers said , which was untrue you never trust anyone when traveling , he was just another traveler , and one that admitted to being thrown out of  the army before finishing his training, had to run from Ireland due to a incident around stealing things, that he had no passports for the children, he seemed like a man with something to hide , and as much as possible we stayed separate apart from small conversations , and on occasion we did a barbeque  for the kids really .

He left to go back to Portugal as the visa had run out in September; a visa is 3 months, so he was in morocco from around the end of June. He left with more than he came with, both money more than 300 euros a lot more, and had bought a lot of items and other stuff.

There are of course other conversations but will leave some stuff for questions if you’re interested in the man I think took some things to his grave with him.

++++++++++

SHERLOCK HOLMES

CONT:

IKNOWWHATHAPPENED wrote:

ProfessorPPlum wrote:Verran's thread on UK Justice forum has been removed. I can't find it anywhere. Luckily, I took screenshots for future cross-checking purposes :-) Too much whooshing in this case.

 Plum old mate could you upload the screenshots ?

IKWH,

I had already, prior to this thread being created, c + p'd the entire content of the Verran threads on UK Justice, and have now opened a second Verran thread so that his self-obsessed meanderings can be read there - if you really want to read them

Tony Bennett wrote:

IKNOWWHATHAPPENED wrote:

ProfessorPPlum wrote:Verran's thread on UK Justice forum has been removed. I can't find it anywhere. Luckily, I took screenshots for future cross-checking purposes :-) Too much whooshing in this case.

 Plum old mate could you upload the screenshots ?

IKWH,

I had already, prior to this thread being created, c + p'd the entire content of the Verran threads on UK Justice, and have now opened a second Verran thread so that his self-obsessed meanderings can be read there - if you really want to read them

Thanks Tone.

I knew Pete Verran several years ago,he was a friend,he was trouble as well as troubled and it seems his memory is selective from what he's written.I knew him during a period that he mentions,very well in fact.Some of the things I'll say come directly from him and differ from what he now says,which version are "correct" only he knows.
With due regard to the laws of libel there are  a few things he neglects to mention or re-interprets.
Not only did he live in some of the same places as Hewlit and was in the same regiment but both also served time in Dartmoor Prison,Verran was no stranger to prison,courts or the Police.He was known locally(Plymouth) as a violent man and for activities he seems to find so repellent in his ex-wife. Abstinent after coming out of prison? Yes that very lovely lady did stick with him through Rehab but he was boozing and brawling after they split up........which was during his spell at Dartmoor as he says.
The war wound,he told me he was shot in the backside with an airgun while patrolling a block of flats in Belfast and never at any point mentioned a bomb. That doesn't mean it didn't happen of course but he certainly never mentioned it to me.The injuries he mentions also didn't stop him enjoying rock climbing,swimming,weight lifting and many other strenuous activities.While I feel for the man if he is in the state he says,when I knew him a few years after his Army service he was very active,very fit,as strong as an Ox and not to be messed with.
Morocco? I last spoke to Pete several years before he re-surfaced in the Daily Mail and he was regularly travelling there even then.Again with regard to libel laws he found the freer attitude to drugs an attraction,all I'd better say on that one.He was also heading for his "anger management course" so I'd guess not such a reformed character as he says.
With his record it should have been no surprise to Pete that Police were interested in his comings and goings across Europe and Africa,not least when admitting to have shared the company of a fellow drifter,a fellow drifter with an equally colorful lifestyle and background.
I don't think for a second Pete would have been involved in any way with Maddie's disappearance,more likely to have severely damaged Hewlit if he really thought HE was involved.He's also not a man who's word I'd trust,he used to come across as a loveable rogue but those who fell for that often regretted it,used and abused Pete? Karma mate,sorry.
Wherever Pete went trouble wasn't far behind,the reason myself and others put some distance between us.Having said that somewhat bizarrely given his "previous" he appeared on local TV a couple of election campaigns ago speaking up for pensioners.
Something else,again from the Horse's mouth,after the supposed life changing bomb he then served in Hong Kong as a military policeman and had many tales of "legendary" punch ups,true or not I don't go but he was a fairly awesome specimen when I knew him a few years later with no sign of any back pain at all.
I don't believe in coincidences and Verran and Hewlit living in the same places,being in the same regiment and even doing time in the same prison before eventually meeting in the same camp site overseas is several too many for me.Pete's always had a view of his life that differs from that of others,always been the innocent party despite the carnage left in his wake.
I could give more detail,a lot more,but let's just say Pete has been a very bad lad in his time and has always had trouble taking responsibility for his actions.I did actually e-mail the Sunday Mirror when I saw Pete's first appearance in national media telling them they need to take anything he says with a pinch of salt and should be more careful when it's such an important story.....no answer.

davro wrote:I knew Pete Verran several years ago,he was a friend,he was trouble as well as troubled...I could give more detail,a lot more,but let's just say Pete has been a very bad lad in his time and has always had trouble taking responsibility for his actions.I did actually e-mail the Sunday Mirror when I saw Pete's first appearance in national media telling them they need to take anything he says with a pinch of salt and should be more careful when it's such an important story.....no answer.

@ davro   Thank you very much for posting this very important information.

I had information from another source saying exactly the same thing - except that you have added a lot more detail, thank you.

I hope everyone stops by to read your post.

Let's remember that Peter Verran's account of his contact with Raymond Hewlett at a camp-site in Morocco was used repeatedly, mercilessly by the mainstream press in this country to point the finger at yet another paedophile who might have stolen Madeleine. It shows the kind of low-life scumbags who have been wheeled in by the mainstream media to support the 'abduction by paedophiles' hypothesis.

How much was Verran paid for his 'services' to the abduction hypothesis? 

Of course, at the other end of the social spectrum, we have had the saintly, dedicated man of pure integrity, Jim Gamble, former boss of CEOP, pursuing exactly the same line.

And while we're on the subject of Raymond Hewlett, let's not forget how on 1 September 2010 Rupert Murdoch's Sun splashed yet another dramatic front-page headline full of utter rubbish about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, purporting to tell us that all the following were true:

* that on his deathbed, Raymond Hewlett had written a letter to his long-estranged son Wayne Hewlett, now living in Telford, Shropshire

* (bearing in mind that Wayne Hewlett had totally rejected his paedophile father and refused to have anything to do with him for over 20 years)

* that a 'mystery man' (how many of those are there in this entire story!!) had personally taken this death-bed letter all the way from Aachen, Germany, to Wayne's home in Telford

* that the letter informed Wayne that his father had been sitting drinking with the head of a gypsy gang in Spain who had told him that members of his gang had stolen Madeleine to order on behalf of a wealthy North African family

* that sometime after reading it, Wayne Hewlett became emotionally upset about it, got out a box of matches, and burnt the letter to ashes

* that sometime after that, he decided to let the McCann Team and the Sun know about it, so that they could (a) promote once again the 'abducted-by-a-paedophile' claim and (b) in the case of the Sun, make loads more money from yet another lurid front-page headline about missing Madeleine.


So thank you again 'davro' for in effect giving us another piece of the jigsaw on this forum - which continues to research and discuss the truth about Madeleine, continues to find new pieces of the jigsaw - despite being labelled 'haters' by the authors of an appalling book on the case which tells us nothing new, claims to be 'the most definitive account possible', has no doubt made a tidy sum for its authors, and has been cynically re-processed by the news and print media who once again - unlike Richard D Hall* - have buried the truth about Madeleine McCann:

* Madeleine McCann Controversy link to the first of Richard Hall's videos:      [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] 


[ Summers & Swan note: The authors devote 4 pages of their book (pp. 275-8) to Raymond Hewlett. There is nothing new about him there, like the rest of their book. Half a page is devoted to reprinting the Sun's rubbish. About the claimed letter received by Wayne Hewlett from his dying father, they offer this feeble comment: "Whether Hewlett really wrote this letter, however - and whether the son ever received it - remains unknown and unknowable". ]

davro wrote:
I could give more detail,a lot more,but let's just say Pete has been a very bad lad in his time and has always had trouble taking responsibility for his actions.I did actually e-mail the Sunday Mirror when I saw Pete's first appearance in national media telling them they need to take anything he says with a pinch of salt and should be more careful when it's such an important story.....no answer.

If only the Sunday Mirror would send a similar email to their readers regarding their own output.

Smokeandmirrors wrote:

Clay Regazzoni wrote:

Smokeandmirrors wrote:
It certainly makes many of us wonder about a great many things.

Whilst the vanishing of a three year old little Madeleine really is a terrible thing to happen in this day and age, as is all ill that befalls little children around the world, it really has become quite a symbolic and important story. The internet age has meant that many people from around the world and from vastly different personal backgrounds have been drawn together to share and exchange views that are much bigger than this case alone. It really is like a window to a broader landscape, and in some ways it feels like a privilege to live in an era where individuals around the world can come together to begin to shed light on some of the more disturbing machinations of the powers that be, and the inequality of arms that is permitted to exist within the Justice system. We have the way this case is being investigated (or not investigated correctly as the case may be), juxtaposed with a story very recently of a forced caesarian and removal of a baby because the mother had bipolar. Such stark contrasts in the application of the law serve to show us how tenuous our entitlement to truth and justice really is. It is disturbing, but we are blessed that we are able to start to see the world for what it is.

Smoke and mirrors, I am not a religious type at all. But I sometimes think that this case represents something fundamental, nothing less than a battle of good against evil in the World.

I agree. Personally, my interest in the case is the whole wider perspective it has offered up. As you say it seems to be good versus evil, them and us, truth against lies, freedom versus control. This case and what I have learned from being part of this online community,  have changed my life forever at a philosophical level. There are contributors to these online discussions to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for what they have helped me to learn. There are some positives to be gained from all this and some people have taken great personal risks and paid a high price to try and bring openness to the public and I really respect that.

+1 Smokeandmirrors