How did Robert Murat become a PJ translator?

The Complete Mystery of Madeleine McCann™ :: The Complete Mystery of Madeleine McCann™ forum :: CMOMM & MMRG - 10 Years On! :: The accomplishments of CMOMM and its members :: Research & Correspondence :: Evidence obtained :: Robert Murat

Page 1 of 1 • Share

How did Robert Murat become a PJ translator?

by Jill Havern 22.04.19 8:44

by Tony Bennett on 13.08.16 9:31

This is an extract from my April 2010 article: 'Murat: From Arguido to Applause'.

It gives two alternative explanations as to how Robert Murat became the PJ's lead translator on the first few days after Madeleine was reported missing:

1. Stephen Carpenter happened to be walking past the Casa Liliana on the morning of Friday 4 May, heard for the first time about the abduction, and immediately jumped up and went up to the Ocean Club to volunteer his help, and

2. He was recommended by the British Ambassador, Bill Henderson.

The two explanations may not be incompatible

We know now of course that much of what Murat said about his movements from 1 to 4 May, when first interviewed by the PJ on 15 May 2007, was untrue.

What is clear is that Murat was well-known to the British Embassy, who were heavily involved in supporting the McCanns in the very early days, even to the extent of their begging the PJ: "Have pity on them, let them alone to wash their clothes" (or words to that effect).

==================================

Section G. The first police interview with Robert Murat

[Part of section snipped]

Contrary to what he had said previously, he did not speak to Michaela on the telephone, because between 8.00pm and 10.00pm, he said she had been at a Thursday night Jehovah’s Witness meeting, and she’d switched off her mobile ’phone. He says he might have spoken to her after 10.00pm, but can’t remember.

He said that he didn’t remember being on his computer that evening, but does remember hearing, at about 10.30pm or just after, a police or ambulance siren. But he didn’t leave the house to investigate what that was all about. He says he went to bed about midnight that night, waking up at about 9.00am the following morning (Friday).

What he says next is quite important. He said that after taking a bath and then talking to his mother in the kitchen, his mother told him that ‘something terrible has happened’. She said she had had SKY NEWS on and that a child had disappeared from Praia da Luz during the night. Murat says that he and his mother then went immediately into their garden, which had a fence about 3ft to 4ft high around it, to check if perhaps the child had somehow gained entrance to their property. They searched their greenhouse - all with no result.

Murat says he then saw a passer-by, an English-speaking person, to whom he spoke. He says the Englishman, whose name he doesn’t know, confirmed that the child had vanished [NOTE: The Englishman’s name was Stephen Carpenter, the father of the ‘Hertfordshire’ couple who had been dining in the Tapas bar with their children alongside the McCanns and their ‘Tapas 9’ friends the previous night when Madeleine was reported missing].

Murat said that this passer-by said the child’s name was Madeleine and that he knew Madeleine’s parents. Murat says he assumed that the passer-by must have been staying in the Praia da Luz Ocean Club Complex, as indeed the stranger confirmed. Murat then says that he then went to the Ocean Club with Mr Carpenter and there was immediately introduced to Dr Gerald and Dr Kate McCann, ‘offering to help’ them in any way he could. He said he thought he could help as he spoke both English and Portuguese.

He then says he toured several of the Ocean Club apartments with a GNR Police Officer and an Ocean Club employee, visiting all the apartments and opening up several with keys to see if Madeleine might be in one of the apartments. He says that: “Some of the apartments were closed and had ‘no keys’; these apartment were reported to the GNR’s senior investigator”.

He says he was also introduced to John Hill, the Manager of Mark Warner, who supplied them with more keys to these other, locked, apartments. Murat told police that prior to this occasion he did not know the interior layout of the ‘Ocean Club’, only entering the resort for the first time after Madeleine’s disappearance. He added that: “The ‘binómios’ arrived and began a more rigorous form of search”.

Murat then became heavily involved that day (4 May) in translation work. As he told police: “Having told people I spoke both languages, I spoke to several people, including GNR Police Officers, and translated for several witnesses, right through the afternoon”.

A different explanation of how Robert Murat became a translator on the Madeleine case

But elsewhere…

(Source: http://gazetadigitalmadeleinecase.blogspot.com/2007/12/murat-recommended-as-translator-by.html)

…we find an alternative explanation for how Robert Murat became a translator in Portugal in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance:

QUOTE

Staff from Bill Henderson’s office suggested the name of Robert Murat as a reliable translator who could be used in the police inquiry, in the days following Madeleine McCann disappearance. Murat was already known among diplomatic staff, as he had letters of recommendation from Norfolk Police, where he worked for Bernard Matthews, one of the largest poultry farm companies in UK, which employs hundreds of Portuguese workers. The fact that Robert Murat has acted, before, as translator for Norfolk Police, and the recommendation issued by Bill Henderson’s office, at the time the British consul in Algarve, took police to accept the suggestion, according to PJ [Portuguese Police] sources. After Murat was named a formal suspect, the police went through all translations he had done, checking their accuracy, but no problem was found, according to the same sources. Bill Henderson retired from his diplomatic post and went back to the U.K. in August.

UNQUOTE
----------

For discussion, please visit this thread: https://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t13054-murat-revisted-2-how-did-he-become-a-pj-translator

____________________
PeterMac's FREE e-book
Gonçalo Amaral: The truth of the lie
CMOMM & MMRG Blog