An article about Dave Edgar and Arthur Cowley

We are preparing an article on Dave Edgar and Arthur Cowley.

I would be grateful for any links to information or stories about these two men, also any good pics to illustrate our article.

In return, we'll publish our finished article here first.

Many thanks,

Tony

McCann Gallery http://themccanngallery.blogspot.com/search?q=dave+edgar

Good quality wristbands http://goodqualitywristbands.blogspot.com/search?q=dave+edgar

mccannfiles http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3awww.mccannfiles.com+dave+edgar

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So why did Madeleine McCann detectives ask so few questions after major breakthrough?




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By Tom Worden, Martin Delgado and Andrew Chapman
Last updated at 1:25 AM on 16th August 2009

• Comments (75)
  
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Missing: Madeleine McCann vanished in May 2007

Private detectives leading the hunt for Madeleine McCann faced questions last night after a Mail on Sunday investigation revealed apparent shortcomings in chasing a ‘strong lead’.

The detectives failed to make even rudimentary inquiries before announcing a ‘significant’ development in the worldwide search for the six-year-old.
At a Press conference in London, lead investigator David Edgar appealed for help in finding a ‘bit of a Victoria Beckham lookalike’ whom a British tourist saw looking agitated outside a dockside restaurant in Barcelona three days after Madeleine disappeared.
Retired Cheshire Detective Inspector Mr Edgar said it was possible that Madeleine had been smuggled into the Spanish port by yacht from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz, where she vanished on May 3, 2007.

The agitated woman, thought to be Australian, made a remark to the tourist which suggested she was waiting for the arrival of a child.

Mr Edgar, 52, told the 50 journalists from several countries: ‘It’s a strong lead. Madeleine could have been in Barcelona by this point. The fact the conversation took place near the marina could be significant.’

As a result of his appeal for information and the issuing of an e-fit image of the woman, the search switched to Australia, where a woman in Sydney made a statement to police claiming to know the identity of the mystery female seen in Barcelona, although this apparently came to nothing.


More...

• McCanns to sue over leaflet distributed in their OWN VILLAGE blaming them for Madeleine's disappearance
  

The Mail on Sunday, however, has established that members of Mr Edgar’s team who had visited Barcelona:

• Failed to speak to anyone working at the seafood restaurant near where the agitated woman was seen at 2am.
  

• Failed to ask the port authority about movement of boats around the time Madeleine disappeared.
  

• Failed to ask if the mystery woman had been filmed on CCTV.
  

• Knew nothing about the arrival of an Australian luxury yacht just after Madeleine vanished until told by British journalists, who gave them the captain’s mobile phone number.
  

• Failed to interview anyone at a nearby dockside bar where, according to Mr Edgar, the mystery woman was later seen drinking.
  

• Failed to ask British diplomats in Spain for advice before or during the visit.
  

Also, Spanish police could not confirm that they had been contacted by the British investigators.
Last night Mr Edgar said: ‘We are not above criticism and I take responsibility for any shortcomings. If somebody has not done what they should have done, that’s my job to deal with that.’


Conversation: The bar belonging to Jose Luiz Lopez where the key conversation between a tourist and an Australian woman allegedly took place

He was hired by Kate and Gerry McCann after Portuguese authorities shelved their investigation last year.
According to the Find Madeleine Fund website, ‘the majority of the fund money has been and continues to be spent on investigative work to help to find Madeleine’.

The McCanns, doctors living in Rothley, Leicestershire, originally hired Barcelona-based detective agency Metodo 3 to look for Madeleine in 2007 as they were convinced that Portuguese police had given up the search.

Metodo 3 reportedly charged £50,000-a-month and its director, Francisco Marco, was criticised after making a series of boasts about his team’s ability to find Madeleine.

In December 2007, he caused a sensation by claiming he knew who had kidnapped her and hoped to have her home by Christmas.

Metodo 3’s six-month contract ran out in January 2008, although it has continued to help with the search.

The Mail on Sunday’s inquiry by a Spanish-speaking reporter in Barcelona last week has exposed worrying gaps in the British detectives’ strategy, including failure to question several people who might have vital information.


Appeal: Clarence Mitchell, left, and David Edgar with their e-fit of the 'Victoria Beckham lookalike'

Jose Luis Lopez, owner of the El Rey de la Gamba restaurant where the
mystery woman was seen, said: ‘The private detectives did not make any enquiries at my restaurant.

‘I am almost always here when the restaurant is open and my staff would have informed me if anyone had approached them about such an important matter. You are the first person to ask about this Australian woman.’

The manager of the bar next door, Kennedy’s Irish Sailing Club, where the woman was later seen drinking, said: ‘You are the first person to ask about this Australian woman or the Madeleine case. If someone came into the bar asking questions about Madeleine, I would hear about it very quickly.’

Barcelona port director Joan Guitart said: ‘Nobody has been here asking questions about Madeleine or this Australian woman. This is the first I have heard about any possible link to the port. We would be happy to help the investigation in any way possible.’


Riddle: Was Madeleine taken to Barcelona marina?

A senior port authority worker added: ‘There are several security cameras monitoring the port but we have not been approached about footage from the night in question.

‘The footage is not available, as it was over two years ago that this conversation is said to have taken place. But I would have expected anyone carrying out the investigation to at least have asked about it.’

A source at the British Embassy in Madrid said: ‘The detectives did not inform us or the consulate in Barcelona that they were coming to Spain, nor request any assistance in their investigation.’
Jewellery designer Hannah Tait, 35, from London, who lives on a 34ft yacht yards from El Rey de la Gamba, said: ‘This place is like a small village so news travels very fast.

Nobody has been here asking about Madeleine or the Australian woman.

‘The first I heard was when I read about this on the internet. If someone had been investigating something so important here in the port, I would have heard about it.’

A Barcelona-based private detective with more than 20 years’ experience of missing persons cases said: ‘I cannot understand why the Madeleine detectives would have released this story and e-fit to the public without first making their own investigation in the port.

‘It beggars belief that they did not even speak to the owner of the restaurant or the port authorities.’


Identified: The Mail on Sunday discovered Rhonda Wyllie's yacht Willpower was in the marina at the vital time in 2007

One of the most significant pieces of information about a possible Barcelona connection to Madeleine’s disappearance was uncovered by British journalists.

Later, The Mail on Sunday gained access to port records for the key dates of May 6 and 7, 2007.

They revealed that nine boats arrived in the marina in the 48-hour period, only one of which was unfamiliar to harbour authorities.

It was the £6million Sunseeker powerboat Willpower, owned by the Australian multi-millionairess Rhonda Wyllie.

When the then captain of the boat was eventually found, he said he had not been approached by any British detectives.
Although he has since been contacted by Mr Edgar’s team, the investigators are in the embarrassing position of having to explain why it was left to reporters to discover the boat’s presence in Barcelona and trace its former captain.

There is no suggestion that Mrs Wyllie, widow of property tycoon Bill Wyllie, is connected in any way with Madeleine’s disappearance.

The Barcelona stage of the inquiry was led by Mr Edgar’s assistant, former Merseyside Detective Sergeant Arthur Cowley, and an interpreter.

Mr Cowley, 57, is sole director of Alpha Investigation Group, based in Flintshire, North Wales.

He declined to discuss the details of his visit to Barcelona.

Asked last night why Mr Cowley and his colleague had not spoken to the port authorities, Mr Edgar said: ‘My instructions were that they couldn’t get through security at the marina at the time. I’ve got to take that at face value. We are a small team. We are dealing with finite resources and will have to manage with that.’

He said Mr Cowley’s company had no connection with the Madeleine investigation. ‘I am employed by the McCann family and I pick my staff,’ he added.
Madeleine was nearly four when she disappeared from a holiday flat while her parents dined with friends in a nearby restaurant.

Last night the McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: ‘The private investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance is being conducted entirely professionally and thoroughly under the direction of Dave Edgar.


In the dark: Jose Luiz Lopez, the bar owner who was not spoken to by private detectives

‘Upon receipt of the new witness information, two members of the investigative team travelled to Barcelona to conduct preliminary inquiries during a brief initial visit.

‘This included identifying the exact marina where the witness had been and all relevant locations within it. At that stage, the precise bar involved had not been identified by the witness. Nevertheless, inquiries were conducted at a number of bars, with staff members being interviewed.
‘However, not all of the bars were open during the investigators’ visit. Because of the transient nature of bar work, it was also found that many of the workers who were spoken to were not present at the marina in May 2007.

'Other relevant personnel in the area were also interviewed, although we will not
discuss the detail of who was spoken to for operational reasons.

‘The information, once gathered, including photographs, was brought back to the UK for witness confirmation. Both British and Portuguese police were kept fully informed of the investigators’ visit to Spain.

‘The news conference was then held for the simple reason that public assistance was needed once the e-fit had been drawn up from the witness account. The public appeal does not preclude further enquiries being conducted in Barcelona as appropriate.’

He declined to say how much the private detectives were being paid, adding: ‘We will not discuss contractual matters concerning the investigation costs nor the investigator remuneration.’


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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1206842/Why-did-Madeleine-McCann-detectives-ask-questions.html#ixzz0rZJO0Aua

It will be interesting to see their accounts and whether they are paid by personal cheques or through companies.

Extraordinary to have set up a business just to look for one child. Is the company still registered?

I find this quote:

‘the majority of the fund money has been and continues to be spent on investigative work to help to find Madeleine’.

and followed by:

He declined to say how much the private detectives were being paid, adding: ‘We will not discuss contractual matters concerning the investigation costs nor the investigator remuneration

very strange, con sidering most of the money was donated by the public, surely they have a right and justification to know what money is being spent where.

Judge Mental wrote:It will be interesting to see their accounts and whether they are paid by personal cheques or through companies.

Extraordinary to have set up a business just to look for one child. Is the company still registered?

Yes the Company is still registered - but you will have to wait i`m afraid. The accounts are not due until March 2011

But it is interesting to note that the company was not incorporated until June 10th 2009.

Name & Registered Office:
ALPHAIG LIMITED
TREETOPS
PANT-Y-GOF
HALKYN
FLINTSHIRE
UK
CH8 8DH
Company No. 06929397





Status: Active
Date of Incorporation: 10/06/2009

Country of Origin: United Kingdom

Company Type: Private Limited Company
Nature of Business (SIC(03)):
None Supplied

Accounting Reference Date: 30/06
Last Accounts Made Up To: (NO ACCOUNTS FILED)
Next Accounts Due: 10/03/2011
Last Return Made Up To:
Next Return Due: 08/07/2010

Very rural there.

One would dearly like to know how many other clients have used this company since it was created.

Thank you for the information, sharonl. I must admit to having been under the impression for some considerable time that they were incorporated into a large international group of investigators. Alas, I fear I was perhaps misled by media reports about Alpha Investigations. My mistake I am sure. How tiresome that people no longer have the imagination to find their own business names these days, and jump on the bandwagons of very successful global companies who have spent years in perfecting their brands.

Whilst on this subject of private investigative consultants, it would be most interesting to learn if Haligen had any dealings with Cowley and Edgar. If anybody has information on Halligen's extradition regarding the US fraud charges, please let us know.

Judge Mental wrote:One would dearly like to know how many other clients have used this company since it was created. Thank you for the information, sharonl. I must admit to having been under the impression for some considerable time that they were incorporated into a large international group of investigators. Alas, I fear I was perhaps misled by media reports...Whilst on this subject of private investigative consultants, it would be most interesting to learn if Halligen had any dealings with Cowley and Edgar. If anybody has information on Halligen's extradition regarding the U.S. fraud charges, please let us know.

It might be possible to extract the information you require about Mr Halligen by writing to the following address:

Mr Kevin Halligen
Prisoner No. [unknown]
c/o Belmarsh Top Security Prison
Western Way
Thamesmead
LONDON
SE28 0EB

Tel: 020 8331 4400

Their website says this:

Governor: Phil Wragg

Operational capacity: 910 as of 25th July 2008

Accommodation: A mixture of approximately 60% multi occupancy cells and 40% single cells, distributed mainly across 4 residential units.

Reception criteria: In common with all other local prisons, Belmarsh accepts a wide variety of categories of prisoners, in addition to its commitment to the Category A estate.

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

On the other hand, of course, it might not be possible.

A simple "fraudster" kept in Belmarsh, at maximum cost ?

A strange case, wouldn't you agree, what happened to his expensive lawyers from Cherie Blairs chambers ?

Questions questions, why why , why ??????

O.K, why don't we have a little 'Chapter and Verse' on here about Kevin Halligen.

As we do so, let's remember that this deceitful con-man was personally chosen by Brian Kennedy in 2008 to head up the McCann private investigation team, based in Knutsford.

A major question in this whole case is why Brian Kennedy, in league with the McCanns, deliberately chose the rogie Spanish outfit Metodo 3 and then deliberately chose the rogue Kevin Halligen.

Was this multi-millionaire double glazing magnate said to be worth £250 million simply, as is claimed, 'naive' in making these strange appointments?

Or could there be some other explanation?

I've highlighted paragraphs of special interest:

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

Washington - Red Defence in Red Zone
INTELLIGENCE ONLINE - 09/10/2008

Fired abruptly by the Find Madeline Fund which has sought to find Madeline McCann, Red Defence International also wrangled in the past with Trafigura.

An affiliate of Red Defence International, a firm headed by Britain’s Kevin Halligen, the investigative concern Oakley International Group was hired in March, 2008 to help find Madeline McCann, the three-year-old British child who vanished in May, 2007 from a hotel on the Portuguese coast. In late August, the Find Madeline Fund, which bankrolls the search for the child, suddenly cut all links with Oakley International, officially for “inadequate results.”

It wasn’t the first time that companies owned by Halligen, who took part in MI 5 operations in Northern Ireland, have encountered problems with their customers. In September, 2006, Red Defence was retained by the Trafigura trading group after two of its senior executives, Claude Dauphin and Jean-Pierre Valentini, were arrested and clapped behind bars in Ivory Coast. A month previously, the Probo Koala, a ship chartered by Trafigura, had discharged toxic waste in dumps in the port of Abidjan. Red Defence, whose contact with Trafigura was lawyer Marc Aspinall, pulled out all the stops to secure the release of Dauphin and Valentini.

Through the firm WatchWood, Red Defence leased a Falcon business jet from the South African group Aerotrade, headed by Fred Rutte, and kept it on stand-by for months, at great expense. Red Defence additionally approached a private British security concern Oceans Five run by John Nash to ask that it provide commandos to mount an operation to rescue Dauphin and Valentini from Maca prison in Abidjan.

The operation, initially planned for mid-January, 2007, was put back on several occasions. Trafigura, which was negotiating simultaneously with the Ivory Coast authorities for the release of its executives, was worried about the constant postponements and the prohibitive cost of the operation.

It finally cut all ties with Red Defence in February, 2007. Shortly afterwards, Dauphin and Valentini were released after the payment of USD 198 million that was destined to cover the cost of a clean-up of waste from Probo Koala. Subsequently, Trafigura’s lawyer, Aspinall, demanded that sub-contractors hired by Red Defence reimburse some of the money paid to them, threatening legal proceedings.

Following that setback, Halligen moved to the United States and founded Oakley Security Services, whose initials OSS evoked those of the Office of Strategic Services, forerunner of the CIA. He re-named the firm Oakley International Group and teamed up with the lobbying concern Patton Boggs run by Thomas Boggs.

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

Madeleine fund in chaos as private eyes are axed after draining £500,000 Daily Mail
By DANIEL BOFFEY and MILES GOSLETT
Last updated at 10:14 PM on 23rd August 2008

A team of private investigators working behind the scenes to find Madeleine McCann has been axed after being paid £500,000 from publicly donated funds.

The Find Madeleine Fund quietly engaged the services of a US-based company which was awarded the lucrative six-month contract earlier this year.

The company, Oakley International, which boasts former British security service and FBI contacts, was hired to monitor the Madeleine Hotline, carry out detective work and review CCTV footage of possible sightings of the missing girl around the world.

A source revealed that the company had also spent resources in an attempt to infiltrate a paedophile ring in Belgium.

However, the company's contract will now not be renewed. The Mail on Sunday has learned that double-glazing tycoon Brian Kennedy, who has been underwriting the fund's search for Madeleine, has conducted a review of the agency's work and has become unhappy with the progress it was making.

The deal was abruptly ended following a meeting last week after the fund brought in independent monitors to assess how the money was spent.

The cost of employing the agency - run by a Briton, Kevin Halligen - has drained the Madeleine fund and there is now less than £500,000 left.

The development is likely to dismay the thousands who gave to the appeal, and raise questions about how the fund has been administered.

Mr Kennedy, who owns Sale Sharks rugby club, was said to be 'angry' because he believed Oakley's bills, estimated to be more than £80,000 a month, were too much for the results they achieved.

A source said: 'There is a sense that they were meaning well but hadn't got as far as they should for the money involved.

'Brian Kennedy thought their work was far too pricey and wanted to know where the money was being spent. He wasn't satisfied with their answers and the contract was not renewed.

'Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate, have been kept informed all along and agree with the decision. A lot of people were asking questions about where the money was being spent.'

Oakley International won the contract after an introduction by another company, Red Defence International (RDI), based in Jermyn Street, Central London.

Listed as being involved with both companies was Mr Halligen, 47, a communications expert. He is given as the 'contact name' for Oakley International Group, a company registered in Washington DC as the manufacturer of search and navigation equipment.

The company says it has annual sales of £33,000 and only one employee, who appears to be Mr Halligen.

The address given for the company is 2550 M Street NW Washington, which is the downtown office of Patton Boggs, one of the largest and most powerful law companies in America.

A source at the law firm said last night that the lawyer who represented Mr Halligen was unavailable for comment.

RDI, formed in 2005, bills itself as 'an experienced provider of crisis prevention, management and expertise'. It claims to have a presence in Washington DC and Virginia and representation in the Middle East, Africa and Central America.

However, its latest set of accounts is two months overdue and it faces being fined by HM Revenue & Customs.

Among the main players working on the McCann contract were Mr Halligen and Henri Exton, 57, who headed the Greater Manchester Police undercover unit until 1993. He then worked for the Government before moving into the private sector.

One day after a crisis meeting last week with the Madeleine fund administrators, Mr Halligen resigned as a director of RDI.

Mr Exton, of Bury, Lancashire, has the Queen’s Police Medal and an OBE. During the Seventies and Eighties his work included uncovering organised crime rings and recruiting supergrasses.

He also infiltrated football gangs, at one stage becoming a leader of the Young Guvnors, who followed Manchester City, and was forced to take part in organised incidents to preserve his cover.

Previously, the McCann fund had employed a Spanish detective agency called Metodo 3. However, the fund lost confidence in them, especially after they announced they would find Madeleine by last Christmas.

She had disappeared from the resort of Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007, nine days short of her fourth birthday.

A spokesman for the McCanns said yesterday: 'Kate and Gerry, the fund and their backers have always sought to employ the very best people and resources in the ongoing search for Madeleine.

'Kate and Gerry, via the fund and the backers, continue to employ many such resources and it is true that Red Defence and Oakley were part of those resources.

'I simply will not comment on any personnel, financial or operational details whatsoever.'

No one could be reached for comment at Oakley International or Red Defence International.

Mr Kennedy, estimated to be worth about £250million, became involved after being moved by the plight of the McCanns during the period they were made formal suspects – arguidos – in Madeleine's disappearance. Portuguese prosecutors dropped the couple's arguido status last month.

The 47-year-old made his money in double-glazing and home improvement ventures with companies including Everest windows. His Latium Group business empire has an annual turnover of about £400million.



Present day:


United Kingdom Man Indicted for Fraud

Washington, D.C.—Kevin R. Halligen, 48, of Surrey, United Kingdom, was indicted today on charges of wire fraud and money laundering by a grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The indictment alleges that from November 2006 to January 2007, Halligen engaged in a scheme to defraud a London-based law firm of $2,100,000. The indictment alleges that Halligen falsely represented to the law firm that these funds would be used to pay expenses incurred in the United States to help secure the release of two executives of a client of the law firm who were arrested in the country of Ivory Coast. Contrary to these representations, Halligen, the indictment alleges, used the funds for his own benefit including purchasing a mansion located in Great Falls, Virginia.

In announcing the indictment, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillips and FBI Assistant Director in Charge Persichini praised the work of the FBI Special Agent who investigated this case. They also commended Paralegal Specialist Mary Treanor, Legal Assistants Jamasee Lucas, Sabrina Brown, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Vasu Muthyala, who is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

What I find odd is if Kennedy came to the aid of the Mccanns because he just wanted to help and felt sorry for them, surely the Mccanns or their team would have checked Kennedy out - it doesnt take much investigation to learn that Kennedy allegedly has opened many companies and shut them down before accounts were due in some cases and allegedly sometimes owing money to disatisfied customers - this info is freely available on the internet, if it was untrue why hasnt Kennedy done something about it. So even the most basic checks would have warned Team Mccann that was this really someone who they should be involved with - and he selects Halligen who is charged with money laundering - doesnt say much about Kennedy's judgement - surely alarm bells should have been ringing - therefore I think it highly unlikely that kennedy got involved just out of the goodness of his heart and highly unlikely that he didnt already know the Mccanns or those connected to them imo

Cherry wrote:What I find odd is if Kennedy came to the aid of the McCanns because he just wanted to help and felt sorry for them, surely the MccCnns or their team would have checked Kennedy out? - it doesnt take much investigation to learn that Kennedy allegedly has opened many companies and shut them down before accounts were due in some cases and allegedly sometimes owing money to dissatisfied customers - this info is freely available on the internet, if it was untrue why hasn't Kennedy done something about it? So even the most basic checks would have warned Team McCann that was this really someone who they shouldn't be involved with - and he selects Halligen who is charged with money laundering - doesnt say much about Kennedy's judgement - surely alarm bells should have been ringing - therefore I think it highly unlikely that Kennedy got involved just out of the goodness of his heart and highly unlikely that he didn't already know the McCanns or those connected to them imo

Yes, perfectly sound reasoning, a good point well made.

I noticed that when news broke of Kennedy's involvement (in September 2007), it was admitted that he ahd already been helping the McCanns 'for some time'.

Strange also that Kennedy was hugely involved with the Jehovah's Witnesses - funding the building of a JW church in Cheshire (checked this out at the weekend conference) - and that Robert Murat and Michaela Walczuk were also JWs, though apparently not terribly observant of the rules of the faith!

One wonders if, when Murat and Kennedy and their lawyers had a cosy tete-a-tete with the Eveleighs in Burgau on 13 November 2007, just days before the infamous Rothley Court 'Tapas 9' meet-up, to get their stories right er, to gather together to work out how to find Madeleine, er to receive advice from lawyers, they had a little reading from the JW Bible and perhaps heard a sermon at the local Kingdom Hall. How blessed the local JWs must have felt to have one of the world's wealthiest JWs in their midst.

A couple of Jehovah's Witnesses turned up at my mother's house recently, one of whom she has known many years. The conversation got around to the McCanns, and my mother told them she believed Maddie died in the apartment and that the abduction was a façade. The JW's told her she was wrong and that there was 'a lot of that sort of crime in Portugal.' They went on to add that the Portuguese detective had been convicted for setting up another woman under similar circumstances, and that she too had since been cleared.

These ladies were woefully ill-informed re Leonor Cipriano being cleared etc, and since both of them believe the internet is 'evil' I doubt they got their information from 'pro' sites or blogging. Back when Robert Murat and Michaela Walczuk were being demonised in the news - they claimed Walczuk was lying about being a JW and that she was not at one of their meetings as she had claimed. I reckon all of the members will say exactly the same if broached on this subject as it's coming from their elders at the Kingdom Hall, due to Kennedy's deep and dubious involvement.

The phase the devil is in the detail springs to mind!

A selection of quotes about Brian Kennedy from September 2007 (thanks to mcccannfiles by the way):

In September 2007, millionaire businessman and Jehovah's Witness, Brian Kennedy, was revealed as the McCanns mystery benefactor.

"I play to win" Rugby, business and the life of Brian

"I play to win" Rugby, business and the life of Brian insidermedia Michael Taylor finds out why Brian Kennedy continues to build his home improvement empire and what it feels like to taste sporting success Brian Kennedy doesn't need to work. He's amassed a £250m fortune, owns houses, planes, boats, even a title-winning rugby team. But here he is, launching a £360m takeover bid for the ailing conservatories business Ultraframe to bolster his home improvement businesses. But before we get to the detail of the deal, here's the question for BK...Why do you do it? "I play the game; it's like playing rugby. You want to play, so you want to win. So when the opportunity comes up then I make the moves for the good of the business. I don't want to be on the touchline," he says. Some whisperers throw in the anecdote that he's a Jehovah's Witness, as if that would draw a streak of eccentricity across his character. The truth is he is driven by a faith in God, and was indeed raised in that religion, but he's not a strict adherent and is driven by the same gods as many entrepreneurs. But he's been diversifying his interests of late. A chance conversation in Knutsford Wine Bar led him to apply for a phone licence and he built Genesis, a telecommunications business, selling his mobile phones business to Dixons for £331m. He now has an empire that spans 13 companies with a combined turnover of £3600m. correct. It's been a hard slog that has cost Kennedy £330m, not least because the experiment of combining a top-flight rugby club with a declining football club, Stockport County, was a disaster. County have plummeted through the divisions since it was bought by Kennedy's company Cheshire Sport. It was a great plan and it didn't work. We didn't think through the consequences of Stockport County failing on the field".

Revealed: Cheshire millionaire funding Maddie campaign, 22 September 2007

Revealed: Cheshire millionaire funding Maddie campaign Liverpool Daily Post Sep 22 2007 Millionaire businessman Brian Kennedy tonight confirmed he is providing financial backing to the parents of missing Madeleine McCann. Mr Kennedy, who owns the Latium Group and rugby union team Sale Sharks, said he felt "compelled" to support Gerry and Kate McCann following the accusations made against them. He said in a statement: "In light of the quite literally incredible accusations against Gerry and Kate McCann, which are clearly exacerbating their emotional torture, I felt compelled to offer, along with other like-minded businessmen, financial support and the full logistical support of the Latium team. That support is principally our in-house lawyer Ed Smethurst and (official spokesman) Clarence Mitchell. "This will relieve the McCanns of the daily pressure of co-ordinating the legal teams that will expedite the clearing of Gerry and Kate's names, allowing all parties to refocus on finding Madeleine."

Revealed: Mystery benefactor funding Madeleine's parents is a millionaire double-glazing magnate, 23 September 2007

Revealed: Mystery benefactor funding Madeleine's parents is a millionaire double-glazing magnate Daily Mail By IAN GALLAGHER and DANIEL BOFFEY Last updated at 12:25 23 September 2007 The mystery benefactor behind Kate and Gerry McCann's fight back is a double-glazing magnate with a £250million fortune. Brian Kennedy, who made his money from Everest windows, has pledged to meet all the growing costs of 'Team McCann', the nickname given to the array of legal and media advisers supporting the family. A senior source close to Mr and Mrs McCann said Mr Kennedy, 47, decided to act after being moved by the plight of the missing girl's parents when they were made formal suspects in her disappearance. Mr Kennedy is believed to have had no previous contact with the McCanns. He made his offer shortly after it was made clear the McCanns would not be drawing on the £1million donated to the Find Madeleine Fund to pay for legal fees and media advice. The couple had feared they would be forced to sell their home in Rothley, Leicestershire, as they struggled to rebut the leaks and allegations coming from the Portuguese authorities. However, with Mr Kennedy's help, the McCanns have in recent weeks been able to take on former BBC reporter Clarence Mitchell and lawyers Kingsley Napley to fight their case. One of Britain's leading lawyers, Michael Caplan, QC, has also been employed. Last week the couple's Portuguese legal team was strengthened with their lawyer Carlos Pinto de Abreu being joined by one of the country's brightest legal brains, Rogerio Alves. Ed Smethurst, the in-house lawyer and legal director of Mr Kennedy's plastics firm, Latium, will also be on hand to assist the family. Despite not having a background in criminal law, it is understood his legal acumen and contacts could be of value. In addition, funds will be made available for the continued efforts by the McCanns to find Madeleine. A leading international security firm founded by former SAS soldiers has been taken on to 'do the work that the Portuguese have failed to do'. In a move that underlines the couple's despair at the Portuguese police's handling of the inquiry, they have turned to Control Risks Group, which began 30 years ago by helping kidnap victims in Latin America. Using CRG is costing tens of thousands of pounds a week. The McCanns' benefactor was brought up a Jehovah's Witness. Reportedly described by friends as a rough diamond... It is believed that Mr Mitchell, who resigned from the Cabinet Office's media monitoring team to take up the McCanns' cause, will work for Mr Kennedy once his job with Madeleine's parents comes to an end. Meanwhile, the McCanns have asked search and rescue experts CRG to launch an investigation independent of the Portuguese police.

Rugby boss is McCanns' mystery benefactor, 26 September 2007

Rugby boss is McCanns' mystery benefactor Wilmslow Express by Katrina McKeever and Miles Skinner 26/9/2007 MILLIONAIRE Wilmslow businessman Brian Kennedy is giving financial backing to the parents of missing Madeleine McCann. And he has provided staff from his own Wilmslow business HQ to help. Mr Taylor, now a finance director with the Lawn Tennis Association, added: "Although Brian is an extremely private person, he is a genuinely very generous man. Mr Kennedy, a Jehovah's Witness, has also put his financial clout to help build a church in recent years and gave Wilmslow High School funds to build an electronics workshop last year. He is married with five children and divides his time between homes in Cheshire and Spain.

From what I have learned from the Jehovas Witnesses I cannot understand why Brian Kennedy would get involved in this or why the Elders allowed him to.

When I told them of my interest in the McCann case I was told by them it was better to stay out of these things as they are wordly matters and Jehovas Witnesses keep themselves out of the world and do not get involved. They obey the law but are not answerable to anyone other than Jehova and I can't see Jehova sending Kennedy to interview witnesses on his behalf!

As for the funding of a Kingdom Hall in Cheshire, I thought that the Watchtower Organization paid for these on a sort of private mortgage arrangement and the Congregation paid them back over time. I read the Watchtower Org. keep ownership of the halls even after the debt has been paid. Many of the witnesses I know had been all over the place on "rapid builds" erecting Kingdom Halls.

It seems they preach one thing and actually do another.

littlepixie wrote:From what I have learned from the Jehovahs Witnesses I cannot understand why Brian Kennedy would get involved in this or why the elders allowed him to.

.

This 3-minute video is worth a watch, it speaks of a number of Jehovah's Witnesses child abuse cases in the United States:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLAC9kS_EqM&feature=youtu.be

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/7606312.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/8313043.stm

http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/child-abuse/183085/1/Predatory-ex-teacher-to-appeal

Here is one close to home living near a "private detective"

"Bill, a senior Jehovah's Witness"

Why I am now an "apostate"