The Mark Williams-Thomas thread

Mark Williams-Thomas was in Praia da Luz during the first week that Madeleine was reported missing.

On another thread here, he was seen pontificating about "What the Portuguese Police should be doing if I was in charge".

He was apparently contracted to the McCanns for a period.

He has made pronouncements on the McCann case, including saying that the murdered 8-year-old Joana Cipriano had really been abducted, and that there was probably a connection between her disappearance and that of Madeleine McCann.

Perhaps his most famous and boldest comment on the Madeleine McCann case was that 'after studying 10,000 pages of documents' on the case, his professional opinion was that Madeleine had wandered out of Apartment 5A and then been abducted by an 'opportunist abductor'.

In view of (1) this man's fame, (2) his personal exposure of Jimmy Savile, (3) the choice of Rupert Murdoch's SKY News to employ him for years as their 'expert criminologist and expert on child sexual abuse' etc. etc., and (4) taking into account his amazing views on Madeleine - from adivisng the PJ what to do, to explaining what really happened to Madeleine - I thought this man richly deserved his own thread.

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I will start it off with a couple of quotations:

From the Sunday Times news item and Review article about him a few months back:

'25 celebrities to be arrested for sex crimes'.

The headline in the Review section of the paper says:

"I had to leave the police to expose Savile"

Oh really? Is the final truth about why Williams-Thomas left Surrey Police?

Later in the interview, Williams-Thomas is asked about the arrest of Stuart Hall and Max Clifford (not to mention another entertainer who was 'outed' by Williams-Thomas).

The great man seriously thouight it was all his own work!!

He told the interviewer, quote:

"I opened the can, didn’t I? The beast is out".


The man who exposed Savile.

The man who single-handedly 'opened the can'.

The man who knows what really happened to Joana Cipriano.

Is there anything he can't turn his hand to?

Guardian article about MWT February 2013:

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Mark Williams-Thomas: I ran the Savile film like a criminal investigation

The ex-policeman reveals how he made his RTS-winning documentary – and voices concern over investigative journalism

Josh Halliday - The Guardian, Sunday 24 February 2013 18.00 GMT

[Pic: Mark Williams-Thomas: says his Jimmy Savile documentary was ‘a huge risk in terms of reputation’. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian]


As the only ex-copper in a room full of journalists and television executives, Mark Williams-Thomas no doubt felt slightly out of place at the RTS Television Journalism awards last week. But the former police detective was there because he pulled off the scoop of the year: he exposed the dark side of Jimmy Savile.

The RTS judges described his ITV Exposure documentary as being "a sensation without ever being sensationalist" – a subtle accolade for an hour-long film that sparked a national outcry about decades of hidden abuse and sent shockwaves through the BBC.

Although he has been out of uniform for more than a decade, Williams-Thomas is policemanlike when he speaks about his investigation, which he codenamed "Project DJ". "Whilst in one way the victims have had justice, ultimately Savile has got away with it," he says. "I'd love to have seen Savile in the Old Bailey, court one, facing his demons."

When we meet, prestigious industry awards are far from Williams-Thomas's mind. He is concerned about changes to relations between the police and media and the threat to serious investigative journalism.

As a police officer in Surrey, he would pass information to local reporters if he believed its disclosure was in the public interest. If those conversations happened today, Williams-Thomas would be facing arrest or suspension.

He believes investigative journalism in Britain has "taken a massive hit" over the past year as a result of public officials' responses to the Leveson inquiry, which put a spotlight on "too close" relations between some senior Metropolitan police officers and tabloid journalists. "We struggle in this country to get the pendulum in the middle. We go from one extreme to another," he says, describing as "particularly worrying" the restrictions on police officers talking to the media introduced after the Elizabeth Filkin report on Metropolitan police links with journalists. The concern, he says, is that closing down this communication channel will lead to misinformation filling the void and injustices going unreported.

"There's now this real worry that we can't trust senior officers to talk, and that is a real concern," he adds. "Police have a right to ensure that correct information is out there and I think that's entirely appropriate. I don't think you're breaching any confidence there."

Williams-Thomas has worked closely with Scotland Yard's Operation Yewtree inquiry into abuse by Savile and others, sharing new leads and contact details for victims as he proceeds. He has a dossier featuring a catalogue of allegations alongside the names of about 20 suspects, including some household names, which he has shared with detectives. In some cases that has led to arrests, he says, although he does not reveal names.

A number of figures, including the comedian Freddie Starr, DJ Dave Lee Travis and PR man Max Clifford, are on police bail waiting to learn whether they will face sexual offence charges after being detained under Operation Yewtree.

At a little over over six feet, Williams-Thomas looks every inch the policeman. He began his police career in Surrey in 1989, where he was a detective and family liaison officer. He launched the high-profile investigation into the singer and record and TV producer Jonathan King in 2000, leading to his conviction in 2001 for abusing boys, and led a local inquiry into paedophilia.

Williams-Thomas has described himself as a "doer" during his 11 years in the force and was once told by a superior that he was a "nightmare to manage". Although his investigation into Savile was methodical, the former detective carries the air of a maverick who you can imagine becoming frustrated by the bureaucracy of modern-day policing.

He left the force in 2000 and set up an independent child protection firm, WT Associates, in 2005. Since then, Williams-Thomas has been a regular pundit on Sky News, commenting on high-profile criminal investigations including the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and the case of the Ipswich serial killer Steve Wright. His television work includes stints on ITV1's current affairs show Tonight and reports for BBC2's Newsnight.

But it was in February last year that Williams-Thomas embarked on his biggest investigation yet. A year ago this month, he recalls telling ITV commissioning editors that he believed there were 500 victims of Savile. That horrifying prediction turned out to be scarily accurate, as Scotland Yard confirmed in January that 450 victims had contacted the police and more were expected to come forward.

"I ran it as though it was a criminal investigation and on the basis that I didn't want anyone else to know what was going on. It was very secretive," he says. It was conducted like an old-school police inquiry, with bits of "soft intelligence" recorded meticulously on paper files rather than computers. Only Williams-Thomas and his trusted ITV producer Lesley Gardiner knew the identities of the women who chose not to speak on the record about Savile.

After six months of shoe-leather reporting up and down the country, the pair uncovered a pattern of abuse that touched the BBC's headquarters in London, Stoke Mandeville hospital, Broadmoor and Leeds General Infirmary.

Williams-Thomas is careful not to be publicly critical of Newsnight for infamously dropping its own exposé of Savile, in which he was also involved – a decision that ultimately compelled editor Peter Rippon to step down. The calamity was caused by a breakdown in communication, he says, although he is full of praise for the two Newsnight journalists, Liz Mackean and Meirion Jones, for allowing him to take the investigation to ITV.

It was not until the weekend before broadcast on 3 October that the gravity of the ITV film hit the programme-makers. "That weekend was a nightmare – one of my worst weekends of working in telly," he recalls. He refused to work on the Saturday as the pressure started to take its toll.

Did he ever worry that his exposé would be disbelieved? "There was always the opportunity that we were going to show a programme and nobody else was going to come forward. As a result of that the criticism was going to be massive: people were going to criticise me, the producer, ITV. There was a huge risk in terms of reputation for everyone involved."

No broadcaster would have touched the film if Savile had been alive, he says. But Williams-Thomas says he would have "gone to the Sundance festival" and risked being sued by the former Jim'll Fix It host.

He was shocked to the core when Savile's family announced that they would remove the disgraced DJ's gravestone in Scarborough "out of respect for public opinion".

"There's one thing convincing the public, but convincing the family and those closest to him was huge," he explains. "When you start to see streets changed and any semblance of Savile being wiped out ... I can't think of anyone in history who has risen to such heights and fallen so quickly." The TV presenter, known to millions in his lifetime as Saint Jimmy, now lies in an unmarked grave on the north Yorkshire coast, his public persona finally exposed as a myth.

What next for the man who exposed the myth? Williams-Thomas says he is working on four big projects, adding that for one ("which is huge") he is looking into allegations involving sexual abuse by "a very significant individual" at Elm Guest House in south-west London.

Curriculum vitae

Age 42

Education Birmingham City University (MA criminology, studying for PhD in criminology)

Career

1989 - 2000 Surrey police – detective
2005 managing director, WT Associates – child protection and risk management consultancy
2006 TV reporter/presenter
2012 ITV1 Exposure: The Other Side of Jimmy Savile

So he's out to get Cliff Richard re the elm guesthouse now?

He is really going to look like a dick and be so discredited when the truth about the Mccanns comes out.

More fool him.

Mark Williams-Thomas and Lionel Shriver discuss sensationalist child abuse/abduction stories - on Channel 4:

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...including references to Madeleine McCann (from about 4 mins 30 secs)

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NEWS ITEM, late April 2013:

Mark Williams-Thomas, the criminologist and investigative journalist who worked closely on ITV’s Jimmy Savile Exposure film, has struck an exclusive deal with Shiver, the factual division of ITV Studios.

Williams-Thomas will work on undercover investigations for the channel, the first of which will air later this year.

Shiver director Alex Gardiner described him as “one of the most respected experts in his field and his vast experience in a wide range of high profile investigations was the driving force behind our Jimmy Savile Exposure. This programme deal illustrates the breadth of factual content that Shiver is producing and the array of talent we’re working with from our bases in London, MediaCity and Leeds.”

Williams-Thomas said: “I firmly believe the media has a vital role though investigative journalism in exposing issues that affect the public and I am delighted to be working with ITV and Shiver on an exclusive basis. I will continue to concentrate on exposing some of the most shocking criminal activity both in the UK and overseas as well as hunting people down.”

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Mark Williams-Thomas attacks Goncalo Amaral:

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A really interesting thread. This website has lots of info on his company that I can't copy/paste that well.
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Cash
30.6kGBP
Book Value
-8.9kGBP
Current Liabilities
59.2kGBP
Health
ActiveNo Adverse

Detective Constable is the equivalent of a Police Constable, a junior role. How does that make him an "expert" and a "criminologist"  

Who decided he was an "expert" - him?

Snipped from Tony Bennett's post re Guardian article

"He left the force in 2000 and set up an independent child protection firm, WT Associates, in 2005. Since then, Williams-Thomas has been a regular pundit on Sky News, commenting on high-profile criminal investigations including the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and the case of the Ipswich serial killer Steve Wright. His television work includes stints on ITV1's current affairs show Tonight and reports for BBC2's Newsnight."

With regards to MWT having studied at Birmingham City University it is worth noting that David Wilson PhD is Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University. A former prison governor, he is a noted criminologist and expert on serial killers through his work with various British police.

Snipped from David Wilson's wiki page

"Wilson acts as an advisor to various police forces as a criminologist, and in 2006 was involved in the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.], which lead to the successful arrest and prosection of [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]"

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I've seen Professor Wilson many times on documentaries. He's an expert criminologist.

ETA. Professor Wilson declined to profile Madeleine's 'abductor'

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MWT on the other hand has a theory of Madeleine walking out of the apartment and being abducted by an opportunist.

Hello Aquila...

                   Don't get your hopes up re David Wilson because he did not profile the abductor, he believes in the authenticity of Kate McCann . I saw him on t.v. earlier this year commenting on the infamous case of the fake abduction of young Sharon, and he compared and contrasted her mother holding a cuddly toy on her shoulder, awkwardly, at a press conference with photos of Kate and the genuine way she connected to her child via the cuddle cat. Will try to find the link.
  I have  a lot of time for him having watched him discuss certain cases. I can't believe that he has read much of the police files or he could not be so positive re the McCann story. I can't see him believing the police were framing the parents in their desire to close the case. He appears to be very astute.
 Maybe he is a cynic but fears to be sued if he tells it like it is. I know it is a case he prefers to steer clear of, for whatever reason.

russiandoll wrote:Hello Aquila...

                   Don't get your hopes up re David Wilson because he did not profile the abductor, he believes in the authenticity of Kate McCann . I saw him on t.v. earlier this year commenting on the infamous case of the fake abduction of young Sharon, and he compared and contrasted her mother holding a cuddly toy on her shoulder, awkwardly, at a press conference with photos of Kate and the genuine way she connected to her child via the cuddle cat. Will try to find the link.
  I have  a lot of time for him having watched him discuss certain cases. I can't believe that he has read much of the police files or he could not be so positive re the McCann story. I can't see him believing the police were framing the parents in their desire to close the case. He appears to be very astute.
 Maybe he is a cynic but fears to be sued if he tells it like it is. I know it is a case he prefers to steer clear of, for whatever reason.

It wasn't Professor David Wilson it was Professor David Canter.

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Hello,
      I know both Davids from t.v. and I definitely saw Prof Wilson. Will post the video asap.   Can't find it just now but I remember it was on a show called This Morning.

 Here is a ref to it from another thread 

    happychickDid anyone else see Professor David Wilson, criminal profiler or whatavyer, on This Morning today? He was analysing the body language of Ian Huntley and Karen Matthews and said, whilst comparing the way Karen and Kate held their daughters cuddly toys that - and I quote - "Kate McCann is innocent".

So there you have it, it's time for us to go home.

Access/Opportunity/Motive

ProfessorDavid Wilson.
Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University.

quote:
" the first thing i want to say, and i deliberately asked to have this here first, is Access/Opportunity/Motive, because most crimes are actually solved by these TWO issues, Access AND Opportunity.
WHO had ACCESS to the " victim " and WHO had the OPPORTUNITY to use that access to affect the crime
Hollywood and TV have concentrated on the motive aspect, to make a good tv story, but i tell my students not to. In fact you don't need to worry about motive, CONCENTRATE on WHO had access to the 'victim' and who had the opportunity and then of course most crimes are cleared up.
92% of crimes are cleared up using just the access/opportunity aspects only."

Q1. Who had unfettered access to Madeleine McCann that night?(3rd May 2007)
Q2. Who had the opportunity to cover a crime that night?(3rd May 2007)

If your answer, to the two questions above, is probably only the McCanns and their 'friends' then surely that is where SY HAVE to call them in to be re-interviewed.
Isn't it?

The odds are pretty well stacked in police favour in solving this 'mystery crime' odds are 1/9 ON!.

I am not sure about the real odd's in this case, but I am certain, that not all 1/9 shot's win.

If they did, there would not be a bookmker left in business.

They lose for various reason's. Not all of those reason's are related to pure chance. Sometime's, there is a financial incentive for them to lose, or win, depending on where the incentive lies.

Some more information on MWT

This is a snippet from meanspeakers.co.uk blog. There is lots of information about MWT's career on this website. (my underlining)

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"Bringing with him his wealth of experience as hands on former Detective, Mark Williams- Thomas is able to provide a new dimension to many of the criminological problems facing today's society – for example, how the police investigate major crime and the risk management of sex offenders in the community.” His expertise includes in particular risk management and assessment of offenders and he now owns his own Child Protection and Risk Management Consultancy - WT Associates Ltd. Prior to setting up WT Associates in 2005, Mark was a police Detective specialising in major crime. He worked on or was in charge of some of the largest paedophile and murder investigations in the country, as well as being was one of only 10 specialist Family Liaison officers during his time in the police. Mark is also completing a Masters in Criminology at the University of Central England."

If MWT is 42 years old and joined the police service in 1989 he would have been 18 years old. He left the police service in 2000 which would have made him 29 years old. From what I've read previously his rank at leaving was DC (Detective Constable) which would render being in charge of cases highly unlikely/impossible. 11 years police service and a rank of Detective Constable isn't what you'd call a glittering police career. It's unlikely he would have been on a fast-track promotion scheme as he wasn't a graduate. For the first year of his career he would have been a probationer. It's not clear when he became a family liaison officer but I can't see a constabulary awarding that position to a whipper snapper with hardly any service under his belt.

aquila wrote:
"Bringing with him his wealth of experience as hands on former Detective, Mark Williams- Thomas is able to provide a new dimension to many of the criminological problems facing today's society – for example, how the police investigate major crime and the risk management of sex offenders in the community.” His expertise includes in particular risk management and assessment of offenders and he now owns his own Child Protection and Risk Management Consultancy - WT Associates Ltd. Prior to setting up WT Associates in 2005, Mark was a police Detective specialising in major crime. He worked on or was in charge of some of the largest paedophile and murder investigations in the country, as well as being was one of only 10 specialist Family Liaison officers during his time in the police. Mark is also completing a Masters in Criminology at the University of Central England."

If MWT is 42 years old and joined the police service in 1989 he would have been 18 years old. He left the police service in 2000 which would have made him 29 years old. From what I've read previously his rank at leaving was DC (Detective Constable) which would render being in charge of cases highly unlikely/impossible. 11 years police service and a rank of Detective Constable isn't what you'd call a glittering police career. It's unlikely he would have been on a fast-track promotion scheme as he wasn't a graduate. For the first year of his career he would have been a probationer. It's not clear when he became a family liaison officer but I can't see a constabulary awarding that position to a whipper snapper with hardly any service under his belt.

Join at 18/19, two years 'Probation" uniform beat work. Selection for CID, even if outstanding would still be 3 years service before being full DC.
So he is now 21/22 (1992)

First couple of years doing car thefts and domestic burglaries, and attached to the odd major incident 24 yrs old
"He worked on or was in charge of some of the largest paedophile and murder investigations in the country" Is simply not true. Not possible.
The most junior rank for a murder would be DCI, or very experienced DI if it were a straightforward 'detected' case - domestic, for example.
Large Paedo enquiry would be run by Det Supt.
So this is frankly nonsense.

PeterMac wrote:

aquila wrote:
"Bringing with him his wealth of experience as hands on former Detective, Mark Williams- Thomas is able to provide a new dimension to many of the criminological problems facing today's society – for example, how the police investigate major crime and the risk management of sex offenders in the community.” His expertise includes in particular risk management and assessment of offenders and he now owns his own Child Protection and Risk Management Consultancy - WT Associates Ltd. Prior to setting up WT Associates in 2005, Mark was a police Detective specialising in major crime. He worked on or was in charge of some of the largest paedophile and murder investigations in the country, as well as being was one of only 10 specialist Family Liaison officers during his time in the police. Mark is also completing a Masters in Criminology at the University of Central England."

If MWT is 42 years old and joined the police service in 1989 he would have been 18 years old. He left the police service in 2000 which would have made him 29 years old. From what I've read previously his rank at leaving was DC (Detective Constable) which would render being in charge of cases highly unlikely/impossible. 11 years police service and a rank of Detective Constable isn't what you'd call a glittering police career. It's unlikely he would have been on a fast-track promotion scheme as he wasn't a graduate. For the first year of his career he would have been a probationer. It's not clear when he became a family liaison officer but I can't see a constabulary awarding that position to a whipper snapper with hardly any service under his belt.

Join at 18/19, two years 'Probation" uniform beat work.   Selection for CID, even if outstanding would still be 3 years service before being full DC.
So he is now 21/22 (1992)

First couple of years doing car thefts and domestic burglaries, and attached to the odd major incident  24 yrs old
"He worked on or was in charge of some of the largest paedophile and murder investigations in the country"  Is simply not true.  Not possible.
The most junior rank for a murder would be DCI, or very experienced DI if it were a straightforward 'detected' case - domestic, for example.
Large Paedo enquiry would be run by Det Supt.
So this is frankly nonsense.

\

How does he get away with these lies though, somebody who worked with him must know what rank and what his investigations were . Also how does the Mcs get away with all the lies too !!! You would think someone would speak out ?

It's a bit like CM calling the McCanns' hired Private Investigators 'a crack team of detectives' and it's clear to see that MWT's 'credentials' are spouted freely by agents who bring him business I would imagine. It does seem strange to me that MWT allows positive marketing of his very short police career, with no specific detail and allows it to underpin he is an expert and ran serious crime investigations.

I don't understand why MWT doesn't correct any mistake in the marketing material for his business or offer up transparent details of his time in the UK police service.

aquila wrote:It's a bit like CM calling the McCanns' hired Private Investigators 'a crack team of detectives' and it's clear to see that MWT's 'credentials' are spouted freely by agents who bring him business I would imagine. It does seem strange to me that MWT allows positive marketing of his very short police career, with no specific detail and allows it to underpin he is an expert and ran serious crime investigations.

I don't understand why MWT doesn't correct any mistake in the marketing material for his business or offer up transparent details of his time in the UK police service.

His marketing material is probably penned by the man himself anyway.
Who else would know his background and expertise to be able to write that anyway unless he provides those to the person who helps him write it, if written by someone else.

The more pertinent question would be what were the big cases or high profile cases (if any) his company has handled and what the success rates were? In short, what does his company actually do and who are his clients?
Since his claimed expertise is in Child Protection it begs the question which organisation would come to consult him on risk management and/or assessment of offenders. Would the Police consult him? unlikely. Would individual consult him on that? Very unlikely. Would child welfare protection agencies use him? Erm...I doubt it. I mean, seriously, which governmental agency would use the service of a one-man-operation private company for risk assess of potential offenders?

It would appear he has a shell company and no real profession. Likely akin to the crack team of Mr & Mrs so and so big boys pte detectives.
No reason given as to why he left the Police Force when he hasn't got very far in rank despite a dozen or so years of service in it. No known cases attributed to his new company.
All we have is someone who does not shun from commenting on high profile cases.
In fact he strives on it to make his marks.
IMO, since he's given air time it would appear he inflates his credentials in order to promote his credibility in that field of study.

russiandoll wrote:Hello,
      I know both Davids from t.v. and I definitely saw Prof Wilson. Will post the video asap.   Can't find it just now but I remember it was on a show called This Morning.

 Here is a ref to it from another thread 

    happychickDid anyone else see Professor David Wilson, criminal profiler or whatavyer, on This Morning today? He was analysing the body language of Ian Huntley and Karen Matthews and said, whilst comparing the way Karen and Kate held their daughters cuddly toys that - and I quote - "Kate McCann is innocent".

So there you have it, it's time for us to go home.

 Hi russiandoll, I remember it clearly. He had a screen behind him where he showed clips of the people he was talking about.

q asked of MWT on twitter re his rank and was he as stated in charge of cases? his reply was many, many cases.

aiyoyo wrote:

aquila wrote:It's a bit like CM calling the McCanns' hired Private Investigators 'a crack team of detectives' and it's clear to see that MWT's 'credentials' are spouted freely by agents who bring him business I would imagine. It does seem strange to me that MWT allows positive marketing of his very short police career, with no specific detail and allows it to underpin he is an expert and ran serious crime investigations.

I don't understand why MWT doesn't correct any mistake in the marketing material for his business or offer up transparent details of his time in the UK police service.

His marketing material is probably penned by the man himself anyway.
Who else would know his background and expertise to be able to write that anyway unless he provides those to the person who helps him write it, if written by someone else.

The more pertinent question would be what were the big cases or high profile cases (if any) his company has handled and what the success rates were?  In short, what does his company actually do and who are his clients?  
Since his claimed expertise is in Child Protection it begs the question which organisation would come to consult him on risk management and/or assessment of offenders.  Would the Police consult him? unlikely.  Would individual consult him on that?  Very unlikely.  Would child welfare protection agencies use him?  Erm...I doubt it.  I mean, seriously, which governmental agency would use the service of a one-man-operation private company for risk assess of potential offenders?

It would appear he has a shell company and no real profession.  Likely akin to the crack team of Mr & Mrs so and so big boys pte detectives.
No reason given as to why he left the Police Force when he hasn't got very far in rank despite a dozen or so years of service in it.  No known cases attributed to his new company.
All we have is someone who does not shun from commenting on high profile cases.
 In fact he strives on it to make his marks.  
IMO, since he's given air time it would appear he inflates his credentials in order to promote his credibility in that field of study.  

Here's a client for you Aiyoyo, this is snipped from the marketing spiel on menspeakers.co.uk (my underlining)

"In demand as a speaker, Mark shares his practical experience from his police service as a detective along with his academic work in criminology and the media, whether it is talking about major high profile criminal investigations, the release of sex offenders into the community or television police dramas, such as the BBC’s Waking the Dead and Inspector Lynley, ITV’s Heist and the BBC’s Special Cases and Hunter Gatherer.

Mark’s company has won the contract to look after the security and welfare of the Great Britain Team at the World Student Games in Thailand 8th - 18th August. This is a world class event and nearly all the athletes will be part of the GB Olympic bid in 2008, in Beijing.

The GB team are considered one of four countries that are high risk from a security point of view and taking there own security. Mark visited Thailand in early April 2007 to meet with the Authorities, the Embassy and the Police and undertake the risk assessments of the venues and Athletes Village.

This high profile event will be taking place in a country that has recently seen a Military Coup and where in the past year Al Qaeda suspects have been arrested form a cell operating in the country. The country has also seen a number of high profile bombs, the last being in December."

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What might a low profile bomb be?  As opposed to high profile bombs?

tigger wrote:What might a low profile bomb be?  As opposed to high profile bombs?

 I think consulting Inspector Clouseau may be necessary

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Probably even more high profile than this one:

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I think MWT might mean that the bomb killed a lot of people.

May be he called this a 'high profile' bomb because, er, he has the words 'high profile' rnilling around in his brain

The mysteries about why DC Mark Williams-Thomas left Surrey Police, aged 29, in 2000, and what he did before founding WT Associates, either in 2005 or 2007, according to which source you look at, continue.

But the gap can be partly be filled in by referring to his dealings with the Chief Executive of Dignity, Mr Peter Hindley, at the Gatwick Hilton in January 2002:


June 2003 - Man 'blackmailed funeral firm'


A journalist blackmailed a funeral firm by threatening to publish claims more than one person was buried in the same grave, a court has heard.

Freelance reporter Mark Williams-Thomas demanded money from the chief executive of Dignity Funerals, Chichester Crown Court was told.

Miss Henrietta Padget, prosecuting, told the jury that at least three newspapers and a TV station were said by Mr Williams-Thomas to have been ready to run the story.

He claimed a former Dignity employee had told him bodies had been buried "inappropriately" at a cemetery in Leatherhead, Surrey.

Blackmail claim

Mr Williams-Thomas, of Beech Lane, Hindhead, Surrey, denies a charge of blackmail.

The court was told he had arranged to meet the chief executive of Dignity, Peter Hindley, at the Gatwick Hilton in January 2002.

"Mr Thomas told Mr Hindley that the story was ready to go and that newspapers and TV were interested," she said.

"He said he was a businessman trying to sell a story, and that if Mr Hindley bought the story that would be the end of the matter.

"He said if they bought it he would take care of it."  Miss Padget said the defendant's demands added up to blackmail.

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So...from Detective Constable to...'journalist'...

Williams-Thomas was ACQUITTED, by the way


ETA: It seems he was prosecuted by his former employers...SURREY POLICE

The pontificator - and man of all talents - by...

Mark Williams-Thomas himself:

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The man who in a police career of 11 years, never made the rank of Sergeant

MWT has been riding around the country, today. He was in a "vital meeting" in Leicester earlier today, and he was "pleased he went". Now, it's just me being nosey, but I wonder what meeting THAT was.

Not quite as bad as a Sun or Daily Mirror report but here is the great detectives take on what happened to Madeleine.



Madeleine: 'My Theories On Missing Girl'

2:35pm UK, Thursday 01 May 2008


By Mark Williams-Thomas

As a criminologist, former detective and authority on paedophile crimes, I have followed the Madeleine McCann case from the very beginning.

What happened to her on that fateful night in May 2007? Where is she now, is she alive or dead? Was she murdered in her parent's apartment, and if so by whom?

Was she abducted from where she slept in between her brother and sister who remained asleep throughout?

Or did she wander out of the apartment looking for her parents and become the victim of an opportunistic predatory paedophile, who either used her for his own sexual gratification or smuggled her out of the country?

With apparent sightings in Morocco, Spain, France and the Netherlands you could easily believe the latter.

The most sinister of all these questions was whether Gerry and Kate McCann were involved with the disappearance of their own daughter.

In order to establish answers it is necessary to examine the police investigation.

The detailed examination of a scene plays a crucial part in any major investigation and after a critical incident like this, all police officers know it is vital to preserve the crime scene, build the foundations, complete forensics and identify possible witnesses immediately.

But I saw no evidence of this being done and it was without any doubt, the worst-preserved crime scene I have ever witnessed.

This investigation is like no other I have seen before or will hopefully ever see again.

For the past year the Portuguese police have had two lines of inquiry: the first, that Gerry and Kate were involved in Madeleine's disappearance and the second, that a stranger abducted her.

However, they have focused steadfastly on their first line of enquiry.

The public prosecutor's office in the Algarve believes police should keep looking for evidence against the McCanns even though doubt is being raised from other quarters, with officials in the Portuguese government asking for their arguido status to be lifted.

The investigation is all but closed and recent interviews with the 'Tapas Seven' revealed no new leads or discrepancies but did allow the police to establish the exact movements of Gerry and Kate both on the evening Madeleine disappeared and on the previous evening.

The next major development will be if Portuguese police manage to stage a reconstruction so they can examine the behaviour of all parties concerned - but this would put Gerry and Kate back under Portuguese jurisdiction.

It is quite correct for the police to consider the parents as suspects but what evidence do they have against them?

The time line is crucial. The last time Madeleine was seen by anyone independently was around 6.30pm with the alarm raised at 10pm, thus establishing a window of opportunity of approximately three-and-a-half hours.

However, both Gerry and Kate were with their friends in the tapas bar from approximately 8.30pm, only ever being away from the table for short periods of time.

So one or more of the parents did have the opportunity - but what would be the motive? Could it have been an accident or a deliberate act?

I don't believe for one minute it would have been deliberate so therefore could she have suffered an accident, causing the parents to panic?

At this point they could easily have explained away an accident.

But, if the theory is to be believed, they would have had to cold-bloodedly dispose of her body and then return to have dinner with their friends.

It is possible as most murdered children are killed by a relative or someone they know. The police are working on this premise although in this particular case this is where the theory falls down.

The police believe they hid Madeleine's body and didn't return to the location until five weeks later where - under the watchful glare of the world's media - they placed her by now decomposed body into the rear of their Renault Megane hire car before completely disposing of it.

The police have come to this conclusion because they have found partial DNA in the boot of the hire car, which I believe has either come from transfer when they moved Madeleine's clothes and belongings or even from those of her brother or sister.

While trafficking of children is a far greater problem than is acknowledged, Madeleine does not fit the profile.

Girls are trafficked for two reasons: into the sex trade as prostitutes or for domestic slavery, both with financial gain to the seller and purchaser. Who was to gain from her trafficking?

I believe the so-called sightings in other countries, although genuinely intended, are a distraction and prove to be of little value after the initial two weeks. Who is going to openly walk out with the most wanted child in the world?

I believe what happened on May 3 was that Madeleine woke up, cried for a short while, realised her parents weren't in the apartment as they had not come in to settle her, so she climbed out of bed and walked around the apartment.

She found the back patio door was insecure and partly open so she walked out, went down the small flight of steps and out of the gate, turning right down towards the entrance to the resort and the Tapas bar.

It was at this point that she was most likely abducted by an opportunistic predatory paedophile.

Interestingly the police dogs first tracked a scent down this exact route. Unfortunately, although it is within range of the supermarket CCTV it was not working.

I don't believe a paedophile was watching the apartment nor do I believe an offender entered the apartment - this would be too high-risk.

I accept that statistically the abduction of a child is very rare, with approximately six children abducted every year in the UK, but if we look at the abduction and murder of Sarah Payne we can see how my theory stands up.

On July 1, 2000, Sarah was playing a game of hide and seek in a cornfield with her sister and two brothers, received a knock on the head and decided to walk back to her grandparents' home.

She walked through a gap in the hedge with her brothers' only seconds behind - but by the time they reached the lane, Sarah had disappeared.

One of the brothers saw a white van coming down the road towards him, its wheels spinning. The driver seemed in a hurry to get away. Unknown to them, the man behind the wheel had just abducted Sarah. She was taken in a matter of seconds.

This is why I believe even with such a small window of opportunity - the distance between the back entrance to the apartment and the 40 yard walk to the Tapas bar - that Madeleine became the victim of an opportunist and predatory paedophile who either lived in or had direct contacts with Praia da Luz.

This is not a resort that you would just happen upon.

As a criminologist, former detective and authority on paedophile crimes, I have followed the Madeleine McCann case from the very beginning.......




   NVQ level. 4?

If this is what really happened, Mr  MWT, then why all the lies from the T9?

tigger wrote:As a criminologist, former detective and authority on paedophile crimes, I have followed the Madeleine McCann case from the very beginning.......




   NVQ level. 4?

Shy sort of chap isn't he