The Secret Life of Martin Brunt, Robert Murat and 'The Contract'

Martin Brunt
 
Martin Brunt is the Chief Crime Correspondent for SKY News. As such, he gets to cover all the major crime stories. And they don’t come much bigger than the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
 
One little known fact about Martin Brunt is that prior to Madeleine McCann’s disappearance in May 2007, he had for many years owned a villa in the village. 

It’s a curious place, Praia da Luz. 

Serial sex abuser of women, Sir Clement Freud, also had a villa over there. Senior Freemason, Past Grand Master Edward Smethurst, the McCanns’ co-ordinating lawyer, has been holidaying in the village for the past 18 years. Martin Smith, with his strange tales of strangers who didn’t look like a tourist passing him down a dark alley, part-owns an apartment there. How could he tell in a second or two in the dark whether the bloke ‘looked like a tourist’ or not?
 
Another long-term resident of Praia da Luz, of course, was the mysterious Robert Murat. And here’s where we begin to get really interested in Martin Brunt, because we have in the PJ files two recorded conversations between Martin Brunt and Robert Murat, both on the same day - 15 May 2007 - the day after Murat was made an arguido.
 
These conversations are curious for a number of reasons. First, Brunt, Robert Murat and Jenny Murat, his mother, all seem very chummy-chummy on the ’phone. 
 
JENNY MURAT: Hello. Residence of Jenny Murat.
MARTIN BRUNT: Hello, Martin Brunt speaking.
JENNY MURAT: Hi dear.
 
Did they perhaps all know each other well before May 2007?
 
Most interest centres around exactly why Martin Brunt was offering the services of SKY News’s lawyers to Murat. What was the motive for that? Who at SKY News authorised Brunt to make such an offer to Murat?
 
Even more interest centres around this little exchange at the end of the first Brunt-Murat conversation:
 
ROBERT MURAT: I never have any problem with making a statement.
MARTIN BRUNT: OK 
ROBERT MURAT: I have no problem whilst...Whilst I have the legal cover to do so. Because I don’t want to end up in prison....(sigh) 
MARTIN BRUNT: That would be the last thing we want.
ROBERT MURAT: Firstly, for something I did not do and secondly for something that would break their contract rules...
MARTIN BRUNT: I understand that and I understand the sensitive nature of everything that we have been working with since we arrived here, so...
 
Loads of questions jump out from the above exchanges.
 
For a start, Brunt talks about ‘since we arrived here’. He does not use ‘I’, but ‘we’. Who else is he referring to? When did ‘they’ arrive? It seems that Brunt and SKY News were there from Day One – Friday 4 May.
 
Next question: WHAT exactly had they both been ‘working with’?
 
But perhaps still more interest centres around Murat’s mention of ‘a contract’. It is clear from the context that this ‘contract’ must have a very close connection to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and to his arrest. 
 
“Break their contract rules”?
 
Whose contract rules exactly?
 
Could this be why Robert Murat spent so much time talking to his lawyer, Francisco Pagarete, after he suddenly flew over to Praia da Luz on Tuesday 1 May? Was Murat really - as he claimed - merely discussing his girlfriend Michaela’s divorce from Luis Antonia and the setting up of ‘Romigen’? 
 
Maybe he was not talking to Pagarete about any of that. Maybe he was discussing a very important contract.
 
Could that contract have been to provide translation services after the abduction alarm was raised - and to find out all he could about the PJ investigation for certain people and if possible try to divert the PJ by coming up with a host of suggestions for lines of enquiry the PJ should pursue?
 
Because that’s exactly what he ended up doing - as discussed in Inspector Varanda’s complaint about Murat to Gonçalo Amaral.
 
Could that contract even have included moving the body of Madeleine McCann to a safe location? – after all, when first questioned by the PJ, Murat lied by not disclosing that he had visited a number of houses between Tuesday 1^st and Thursday 3^rd May. He had also clearly lied comprehensively about two meetings he attended on the Thursday, one several miles west of Praia da Luz, the other several miles east of Praia da Luz at the Palmeras Golf Club. 
 
Did Brunt perhaps know the secret of this ‘contract’. It looks like he did. Using guarded language, no doubt aware that his call to Murat might be being recorded, he acknowledges that the ‘contract’ issue is ‘of a sensitive nature’.
 
If Brunt knew about Murat’s contract with whoever it was, that alone would qualify him as a rogue.

More to come about this soon.

It sounds like Martin Brunt was Robert Murat's lawyer.

Get'emGonçalo wrote:

Martin Brunt
 
Martin Brunt is the Chief Crime Correspondent for SKY News.

ROBERT MURAT: I never have any problem with making a statement.
MARTIN BRUNT: OK 
ROBERT MURAT: I have no problem whilst...Whilst I have the legal cover to do so. Because I don’t want to end up in prison....(sigh) 
MARTIN BRUNT: That would be the last thing we want.
ROBERT MURAT: Firstly, for something I did not do and secondly for something that would break their contract rules...
MARTIN BRUNT: I understand that and I understand the sensitive nature of everything that we have been working with since we arrived here, so...
 

Hmmm, yes, here are Robert Murat (right) and lawyer Francisco Pagarete (left) marching down the streets of Praia da Luz.



I wonder if they were talking about...

(a) Michaela's divorce from Luis Antonio
(b) Murat's divorce from Dawn
(c) The formation of 'Romigen', or
(d)  THE CONTRACT ?

Tony Bennett wrote:

Get'emGonçalo wrote:

Martin Brunt
 
Martin Brunt is the Chief Crime Correspondent for SKY News.

ROBERT MURAT: I never have any problem with making a statement.
MARTIN BRUNT: OK 
ROBERT MURAT: I have no problem whilst...Whilst I have the legal cover to do so. Because I don’t want to end up in prison....(sigh) 
MARTIN BRUNT: That would be the last thing we want.
ROBERT MURAT: Firstly, for something I did not do and secondly for something that would break their contract rules...
MARTIN BRUNT: I understand that and I understand the sensitive nature of everything that we have been working with since we arrived here, so...
 

Hmmm, yes, here are Robert Murat (right) and lawyer Francisco Pagarete (left) marching down the streets of Praia da Luz.



I wonder if they were talking about...

(a) Michaela's divorce from Luis Antonio
(b) Murat's divorce from Dawn
(c) The formation of 'Romigen', or
(d)  THE CONTRACT ?

I would have liked to credit you twice for that slam dunk questionnaire, Tony. These mysterious phone calls have long occupied my thoughts!!

Not forgetting How Martin **nt deliberate "Mental torture" he imposed on Mrs Brenda Leyland(RIP) with his live broadcast on Sky News of uncovering(Sweepyface@)"well it's not a secret anymore" quote?
What people find out about Madeleine McCann's disappearance,shows a direct link to one Rupert Murdoch and his employees,the fragrant Rebekah,her lover Andy and one David Cameron,now who was it who set up"Operation Grange"to help the McCann Family?

Maybe Mrtin Brunt, as the media outlet for the Security Services, has no choice in the matter as all are aware of the SS modus operandi.
Maybe he pushes the SS line in exchange for getting the "scoop", and not getting in trouble with his paymasters. However, I do not know what info they have to persuade him. Perhaps it is just ego.

JimbobJones wrote:Maybe Martin Brunt, as the media outlet for the Security Services, has no choice in the matter as all are aware of the SS modus operandi.

Maybe he pushes the SS line in exchange for getting the "scoop", and not getting in trouble with his paymasters. However, I do not know what info they have to persuade him. Perhaps it is just ego.

One of the interesting revelations in the forum-owner's article was that Martin Brunt had a villa in Praia da Luz - perhaps still has.

Jenny Murat seemed very familiar with him when Brunt telephoned her on 15 May 2007: 'Hello Martin'. Did Brunt and the Murats know each other before 3 May 2007? - it seems very possible.

It's also interesting that Praia da Luz was also the place of choice for serial paedophile Sir Clement Freud to buy a villa for himself.

Moreover, the McCanns' 'co-ordinatng solicitor' and fellow-Director of the Find Madeleine Fund, Freemason Edward Smethurst, also chose this as his holiday resort nearly 20 years ago, renting a villa there or three weeks every summer, taking the children from one or other of his three families.

And it was also the choice of Dr Davd Payne, he of 'Gaspars Statements' fame, for his 2007 holiday, a recommendation the McCanns eagerly accepted, along with their other Tapas 7 friends.

Jon Corner, Madeleine's godfather, also admitted to being a regular visitor there.

Perhaps it was also just a co-incidence that the McCanns' friend Dr Ray Wyre and his wife, with whom they spent an enjoyable day in January 2008, wrote of his detailed knowledge of 'a ring of British ex-pat paedophiles living in the Algarve'.  Maybe Dr Wyre was one himself...after all, his name was promiment on the Elm House guest list.

Too many co-incidences?

Alright, so I spoke to Jill regarding this phone call issue and I didn't want to resuscitate this relatively defunct topic, as I feared it could be going against forum rules.

However, as this is meaningful to this thread, I think it's very important that I lay out, based on the transcript translated in Portuguese, what this "contract" likely is.

This is an extract from the PM I sent to Jill:

----------//----------

After analyzing and re-analyzing the transcript, it is my understanding, based on the conversation (which was translated in Portuguese by one of PJ interpreters), that Murat is not talking about a secret contract with the British security services, but the contract he made with the PJ, which was to offer translation services.

If we take into account the context of the phone call, we discover that Murat and Brunt seem to be on familiar terms. From the conversation, we find that Brunt is trying to find a credible lawyer who could help Murat in how to proceed with making a statement to the press (preferably Sky News), without passing on sensitive information about the investigation itself. Martin Brunt suspects that one of the lawyers who contacted Murat could be an undercover agent working for the PJ, and may be trying to probe him. For this reason, he's asked by Murat to see if they could find a lawyer in Lisbon. At this point, I want to cite some relevant excerpts from the conversation (translated by me):


Martin Brunt: I'll tell you what we're going to do.

Robert Murat: Did you talk to the lawyer?

Martin Brunt: Two things! We spoke to the Sky's lawyer...

Robert Murat: Right...

Martin Brunt: Who is of the opinion that the contract* you signed relates to your work as a translator.


*acordo = deal, contract, pact...

(...)

Martin Brunt: But our stand in relation to this, at the moment, as I previously explained, is that we consider very important - and I think that was your opinion initially - to do something in order to get something from your side...

Robert Murat: Yes, and that doesn't get me immediately arrested! [inaudible]


Later, in the phone call:


Martin Brunt: And if we agree to this...

Robert Murat: Yes?

Martin Brunt: If we could appear for 15 minutes... [inaudible]

Robert Murat: I have no problem in making a statement. That's not...

Martin Brunt: Ok...

Robert Murat: I have no problem, as long as... As long as I have legal authorization* to do it. Because I don't want to end up in prison... [sighs]

Martin Brunt: That'd be the last thing we want to...

Robert Murat: First, for something I didn't do, and second, for something which, in fact, I did which was to break their contractual [terms]...

Martin Brunt: I understand that and I understand the sensitive nature of everything we've been working with since we arrived here, so...

*cobertura legal = legal consent.


From this, it seems that Murat needs advice from a lawyer in order to make a statement to the press (get his message across, without giving too much details), and he needs legal authorization/consent to do it, otherwise he may be breaking judicial secrecy, which is a crime under Portuguese law and can carry a maximum jail sentence of 2 years.

As Murat says above, he doesn't want to end up in prison:

1. for something he didn't do (kidnapping Madeleine)
   
2. breaking the contract with the PJ, and therefore violating judicial secrecy
   

It doesn't seem feasible that Murat would be arrested by the Portuguese police if he had broken a contract with MI5. If that were the case, he would be prosecuted in the UK, not in Portugal.

As we know, Murat was responsible for translating some English witness testimonies, and he also seemed very keen on interfering with the investigation (as noted by Inspector Varanda). He cannot simply go around and tell people about sensitive information, if the investigation is under judicial secrecy. He could potentially go to jail for it.

Now, I do think it's important to know what kind of relationship Brunt has with the Murat family. It seems very strange that a supposedly independent Sky News journalist would be willing to help the then formal suspect of "abducting" Madeleine McCann. Martin Brunt was noted on his Wikipedia webpage to having "insider information" on many high-profile events, especially being the first to report the official government narrative (that the 7/7 London attacks were carried out by terrorists).

If he's working for intelligence agencies or some other organization with nefarious purposes, this ought to be exposed.

However, as for the contract - I think that was a mere misinterpretation.

----------//----------

I bring this up because I think it's very important to help CMOMM and its contributors with any confusion that may arise during its research.

I'm always willing to contribute in any way that I can.

All very interesting. Thank you.