"We must NEVER give up on Maddie" - James Murray, Sunday Express, 10 May 2015

by **Tony Bennett** 10.05.15 7:46

EXPRESS COMMENT: We must never give up on Maddy

Eight years on, police may be close to solving the riddle of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.

JAMES MURRAY, who has covered the case from the start, says the probe must continue.

By [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] PUBLISHED: PUBLISHED: 00:01, Sun, May 10, 2015

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GETTY: Prayers to mark the 8th anniversary of Madeleine McCann's disappearance

ON TUESDAY a family will gather for a small birthday party. Carefully chosen gifts will be offered, birthday cake eaten and cherished memories re lived.

Although the house will be filled with love and hope there will also be a feeling of emptiness as Kate and Gerry McCann and their 10-year-old twins Sean and Amelie remember much missed Madeleine, who should be celebrating her 12th birthday in the bosom of her family.

Instead, her whereabouts are unknown and nobody knows whether she is even alive. As the election dust settles in the weeks ahead, questions will undoubtedly be asked about how much more should be spent trying to crack the mystery.

Some pragmatists will argue that the £10million or so given by the Home Office to finance Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange “Maddy Squad” investigation is enough.

Some pragmatists will argue that the £10million or so given by the Home Office to finance Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange “Maddy Squad” investigation is enough
James Murray

They will call for the squad to be broken up, so the elite detectives can return to their jobs with homicide command.

They will also argue that further probes should be paid for by the McCanns, with the money in their Madeleine Fund. It is my firm belief that Home Secretary Theresa May should resist those demands because it seems the truth is finally beginning to emerge.

Grange officers have at last established a proper, professional working relationship with their Portuguese counterparts which is producing results. Certain people have been identified and interviewed.

Their alibis and their reactions are being scrutinised as never before. Some have been cleared of any involvement but probes into others continue.

One of the greatest achievements of the Grange team has been detailed analysis of phone records, showing roughly who was active on networks at key times on the evening of May 3, 2007, in the Algarve resort.

Portuguese officers, guided by Grange detectives, are now in a position to ask people what they were doing in Praia da Luz during that evening and why did they call or text so and so?

Layers and layers of wrong leads and useless information have now been peeled away, allowing officers to concentrate on the core facts.

Their dedication and graft has been appreciated by the McCanns and the friends who joined them on that fateful holiday, the so-called Tapas Seven: David and Fiona Payne, Russell O’Brien and Jane Tanner, Matthew Oldfield, his wife Rachael and her mother Dianne Webster.

Now we know, thanks to Grange, that the man Jane saw carrying a child near Apartment 5a of the Ocean Club was, in fact, an innocent holidaymaker. That in itself was a huge breakthrough.

Thanks to Grange we know that Maddy was almost certainly in the arms of a man seen heading down towards the sea by the Smith family from Ireland.

Photofits of the potential suspect have been released.

Officers have also established a pattern of attacks on children in the Algarve, something Portuguese police did not manage, which could yet lead to a host of other sordid crimes being solved.

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PA Maddie's whereabouts are unknown and nobody knows whether she is even alive

Hopefully, the skills used by the Yard experts will be taken on board by the Portuguese, leading to better crime detection in the future.

A week ago friends of the McCanns joined villagers in Rothley, Leicstershire, to mark the eighth anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance. Kate and Gerry could not be there as they were visiting her seriously ill father Brian in Liverpool. In her place, Fiona Payne read out a poem, The Tree Of Hope.

On a tree children attached touching messages. One wrote: “Dear God, please help all the missing children in the world and bring them back to their families.

"Make sure they are in safe hands and are going to be reunited with their families. Please bring Madeleine back to us. Amen.”

I would challenge any cold-hearted cynic to look that child in the eye and explain why the Grange operation should be shelved.

IN A POSTING on their Find Madeleine site Kate and Gerry wrote: “We are also buoyed and reassured by the unwavering commitment and continued progress being made in the investigation.

We are really grateful to the Metropolitan Police team for their conscientiousness, patience, consideration shown to us and above all, their will to find Madeleine and determine what happened. “Co-operation with and from the Portuguese police has, and still is, vital to the success of the investigation.

We are very appreciative of the joint working relationship established between the two forces.” After years of very little co-operation that acknowledgement is a milestone.

Now with the rifts put aside, Grange lead detective Nicola Wall has a golden opportunity to justify the millions spent with a breakthrough.

Lessons learned from Grange must now be adopted by all forces to improve the chances of other innocents like Madeleine, who had no control over their fate.

In a civilised society, no price should ever be put on a child’s life.

by Mark Willis 10.05.15 8:46

Something of a Curate's Egg.
Most of the red highlighted bits are interesting, Tony.

by Joss 10.05.15 8:54

So same old really. Unless they start re questioning the parents and their tapas mates they will never be able to exclude them IMO. And what about the deleting of information from their phones at the time as well? Who exactly were they in contact with? This BS is all getting so old and there will never be anything new, again IMO.
Why doesn't SY announce something to the public when they have concrete evidence of something? And why on earth shouldn't all the money the McC's have obtained for finding Madeleine fund be used for that, why should the taxpayer be responsible for it? What a scam it all is.

by Mark Willis 10.05.15 9:28

You got that right, Joss.
All so Groundhog Day tedious.

by happychick 10.05.15 9:32

It's disgusting that innocent young children are constantly used to prop up the McCann's fairystory.

by **Tony Bennett** 10.05.15 9:35

Tony Bennett wrote:James Murray in the Sunday Express wrote: "Now, with the rifts put aside..."

What??

The rifts 'put aside'??

So, after five months of DCI Nicola Wall in charge, James Murray tells us that 'the rifts between Scotland Yard and the PJ have been put aside'??

So that means that all those statements over the past four years by DCI Andy Redwood, boasting of how swimmingly he and his PJ 'opposite numbers' were getting on, were...

...LIES!

But then again, I don't believe anything said by either James Murray - or DCI Nicola Wall, for that matter

by Mark Willis 10.05.15 9:36

I don't believe one word of the UK Press, full stop.

by Angelique 10.05.15 9:52

Another dose of PR for the general public to swallow.

I think they should interview all those present the night Madeleine disappeared.

by plebgate 10.05.15 9:52

yyyyyaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Why not ask the Express to pay for the continuing investigation and give the remaining Fund money given back to the tax payer?

No sign of a disgraced cop or a bunch of nasty trolls in that piece, Tony has made sure of that I reckon. clapping

Oh and it looks as though it has taken the crack squad from Britain to show Pt. police how an investigation should be run. Whaaat?

Do any of the crack team hold the title of Dr. as does GA?

Ya couldn't make this crapola up?

Snipped from article "
Hopefully, the skills used by the Yard experts will be taken on board by the Portuguese, leading to better crime detection in the future."

by plebgate 10.05.15 9:53

Angelique wrote:Another dose of PR for the general public to swallow.

I think they should interview all those present the night Madeleine disappeared.

Yep, maybe that's one thing the Pt. could teach the Brits. titter

by Joss 10.05.15 10:40

Mark Willis wrote:I don't believe one word of the UK Press, full stop.

I agree. I think no matter what country we are in, that main stream media is a bunch of propaganda skewed toward the ptb agenda. They are all in bed with each other anyway. Alternate news scources are a better option for anything close to truthful reporting, IMO.

by whatsupdoc 10.05.15 11:13

happychick wrote:It's disgusting that innocent young children are constantly used to prop up the McCann's fairystory.

I agree. Young children must not be used as pawns to drum up support for the McCanns. I have seen, on TV, a whole class being brain-washed by the teacher regarding the demise of Madeleine. All this is totally unsuitable for young children.

I also strongly object to religion being brought into the equation.

by Joss 10.05.15 11:33

happychick wrote:It's disgusting that innocent young children are constantly used to prop up the McCann's fairystory.

I agree, leave the kids out of it.

by jeanmonroe 10.05.15 12:20

"...........Matthew Oldfield, his wife Rachael and her mother Dianne Webster."

So, J Murray thinks that Rachael Oldfield's MOTHER 'is' Dianne Webster!

I wonder who he 'thinks' is Madeleine's MOTHER!

Jezuz!

No wonder he can't 'find' Madeleine!

Actually, has HE even 'tried'.....to 'find' Madeleine, himself?

Presumeably, J Murray 'includes' himself in the 'WE', so perhaps in his next Madicle, he could tell us, what EXACTLY he, has 'DONE' personally, to 'find' Madeleine.

by jeanmonroe 10.05.15 12:41

"Officers (OG) have also established a pattern of attacks on children in the Algarve, something Portuguese police did not manage, which could yet lead to a host of other sordid crimes being solved."
------------------------------------------

So, presumeably, amongst the 'host' of other, sordid CRIMES, will be lots of 'reports' of 'kiddie killing burglators/ child abductions', in the 7 years before and the 8 years, since, May 2007, in PDL, Portugal.

Oh, hang on...........

by Guest 10.05.15 12:53

James Murray, who has covered the case from the start.

Would it be more appropriate to say 'James Murray who has supported the McCanns from the start'?

Pure hogwash, the man should be excommunicated!

by Joss 10.05.15 13:38

It would be good if SY can show the public definitive proof that the parents of missing Madeleine McCann had nothing whatsoever to do with her disappearance, and the reasons as to why they came to that conclusion in clearing them of any wrongdoing. Especially seeing as they have used over 10 million dollars of taxpayer money to investigate this case. Surely the general public should be allowed to ask some questions and get some answers, seeing as they are footing the bill. Let the McC's use their own money donated into the fund otherwise. What's good for one family of a missing child should be good for other parents of missing children also, IMO. Have they ever spent that amount of taxpayer money investigating any other missing child case? And if not why not?

by Guest 10.05.15 13:40

Tony Bennett wrote:
Thanks to Grange we know that Maddy was almost certainly in the arms of a man seen heading down towards the sea by the Smith family from Ireland.

Everything you need to know about a cover up... right there.

"Almost certainly".

BS.

by **PeterMac** 10.05.15 13:44

Tony Bennett wrote:EXPRESS COMMENT: We must never give up on Maddy

Eight years on, police may be close to solving the riddle of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.

JAMES MURRAY, who has covered the case from the start, says the probe must continue.

Or, there again, police may not . . .
If the 'probe must continue' that rather suggests - not,

by jeanmonroe 10.05.15 13:55

J Murray:

"Thanks to Grange we 'KNOW' that Maddy was almost certainly in the arms of a man seen heading down towards the sea by the Smith family from Ireland."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Did the Smith 'family' definitively, beyond contestation, CONFIRM, on record, that it WAS Madeleine they 'saw'? In the arms of 'a man', who, in their own SWORN testaments, they ALL said, they wouldn't 'recognise', even IF 'HE' was 'standing' right next to them!

All they have said, on record, is 'maybe, might be, could be'

BUT not, it 'WAS'! (Madeleine)

But Murray says OP GRANGE 'KNOWS' it was almost 'CERTAIN' it WAS!

by **Tony Bennett** 10.05.15 14:01

BlueBag wrote:
Tony Bennett wrote:
Thanks to Grange we know that Maddy was almost certainly in the arms of a man seen heading down towards the sea by the Smith family from Ireland.

Everything you need to know about a cover up... right there.

"Almost certainly".

BS.

Yes.

Relying on the Smith sighting.

Which the McCanns have proactively used to suppport their abduction claim ever since they hired first Dave Edgar, and then retired cop and pigeon-fancier Arthur Cowley, in early 2009 - over 6 years ago - to lend a spurious credibility to the Mentorn Media-Channel 4 'Mockumentary' in May 2009.

Yet hardly anyone can see how the McCann Team have actively promoted the Smithman sighting for 6 years...

...hardly anyone can see how Operation Grange and the mainstream media have now latched on to the Smith sighting, and...

...hardly anyone shares my many doubts about the validity of the Smiths' sighting.

Even worse, people elsewhere purporting to seek the truth about the Madeleine McCann case, almost everyone there really believes that the Smiths really saw Gerry McCann carrying his dead daughter down to the beach, to hide her body, at the very moment Kate McCann and her Tapas 7 friends were raising the alert about Madeleine.

by Guest 10.05.15 14:06

Tony Bennet wrote:I am on my own, wrong, and everyone else is right

Err... no you're not.

by **Tony Bennett** 10.05.15 23:05

I'm very sorry, my frustrations about Operation Grange and their making the 'Smithman sighting' the 'centre of our focus' - and the continuing mainstream media coverage of these issues - boiled over for once, and I've caused Admin & Mods some problems today, I apologise.

Parts of my earlier post have been deleted with my consent.

I think my views on both Operation Grange and the 'Smithman' sighting are so well known - and the posters who said that I had 'domne Smithman' to death were undoubtedly correct - that it's time for me to quit posting about both subjects

by Guest 10.05.15 23:15

Tony Bennett wrote:I'm very sorry, my frustrations about Operation Grange and their making the 'Smithman sighting' the 'centre of our focus' - and the continuing mainstream media coverage of these issues - boiled over for once, and I've caused Admin & Mods some problems today, I apologise.

Parts of my earlier post have been deleted with my consent.

I think my views on both Operation Grange and the 'Smithman' sighting are so well known - and the posters who said that I had 'domne Smithman' to death were undoubtedly correct - that it's time for me to quit posting about both subjects

Chulo Wrote:
Hallelujah

by Guest 10.05.15 23:23

TB, carry on posting about any aspect of this case. If anyone doesn't want to read what you write then they can skip your posts. Simple.

by Angelique 10.05.15 23:26

Ladyinred wrote:TB, carry on posting about any aspect of this case. If anyone doesn't want to read what you write then they can skip your posts. Simple.

Ladyinred

I would like to second that if I may.

Tony

I am always interested in all your posts even if I don't participate.

by Richard IV 10.05.15 23:30

Tony Bennett wrote:I'm very sorry, my frustrations about Operation Grange and their making the 'Smithman sighting' the 'centre of our focus' - and the continuing mainstream media coverage of these issues - boiled over for once, and I've caused Admin & Mods some problems today, I apologise.

Parts of my earlier post have been deleted with my consent.

I think my views on both Operation Grange and the 'Smithman' sighting are so well known - and the posters who said that I had 'domne Smithman' to death were undoubtedly correct - that it's time for me to quit posting about both subjects

Before you throw in the towel, can you just tell me if you`re suggesting :-

1. That the whole Smith family made the whole thing up or
2. That they did actually see someone and knew it was RM, and merely piped up to clear him.

by lj 11.05.15 2:44

Angelique wrote:
Ladyinred wrote:TB, carry on posting about any aspect of this case. If anyone doesn't want to read what you write then they can skip your posts. Simple.

Ladyinred

I would like to second that if I may.

Tony

I am always interested in all your posts even if I don't participate.

Third here.

by Knitted 11.05.15 3:30

TB... Hang on in there! Please? You bring a considerable amount of knowledge and analysis to the discussion(s) and debate about Madeleine's fate and the subsequent charade that has duped the masses.

Do I personally think Madeleine died that week and her parents know how and why?... Yes, based upon the evidence, which people such as yourself put so much effort into highlighting.
Do I personally think that whatever happened to Madeleine was sufficiently 'dangerous' to some people in the Establishment that it has warranted (for whatever reason) a political cover up?... Yes, again based upon the evidence that people such as yourself put so much effort into highlighting.

Do I agree with your conclusions about Smithman?... No, I honestly am on the fence on that one. I am nowhere near good enough in judging Human behaviour, nor what motivates people, and so (spinelessly) I am happy picking splinters out of my bum! (i.e. 'sitting on the fence'). However, do I read and appreciate the argument(s) relating to the topic? Most definitely.

Do I think that effort is expended in derailing threads in this forum and in 'clouding' arguments that have been made by informed and rational members?... F*cking Hell YES!! It's blatantly a multi-pronged attack with 'Senior Shills' that 'subtly nudge' discussions towards unjustified silliness, as well as those 'Newbie Nutters' that come and go, (and who are often obvious, but we are all too polite to call 'foul' on). But...come on...that's not a surprise is it? If what most of us think (based upon the evidence) that what's most likely to have 'affected' Madeleine is a factor, and which thus warrants the cover up, then it's no surprise what's happening online. People that work in media and PR will know exactly how to grind down the best of their opponents!

Take heart...If mud is being slung then they're having to scrape the barrel for the gungiest stuff! Thinking logically that's got to be a good sign!?! You worked, and continue to work, to highlight the crime against Lee Balkwell and that case has seen the Establishment barricades of lies, deceit and corruption slowly scaled... All that's different is that Madeleine's case has much bigger names and bigger £££s at stake. The logical conclusions derived from facts cannot, however, be buried forever.

by Liz Eagles 11.05.15 6:08

lj wrote:
Angelique wrote:
Ladyinred wrote:TB, carry on posting about any aspect of this case. If anyone doesn't want to read what you write then they can skip your posts. Simple.

Ladyinred

I would like to second that if I may.

Tony

I am always interested in all your posts even if I don't participate.
Third here.

I'll fourth this.