Robert Murat - The Strongest Link?

 
This forms part of my personal theory as to what could have happened to Madeleine McCann. It is one of three possibly unexplored ‘aspects’, which might be key to solving the mystery.
 
In late April 2007 and around midnight, an urgent distress call was made from Portugal (Praia da Luz or vicinity), to the United Kingdom. It related to an unexpected event that led to the death of a young (British) child, Madeleine McCann. The unusual circumstances surrounding the ‘accident’ necessitated drastic, even unlawful action to conceal the incident and protect those involved.
 
Such a seemingly impossible task, on foreign soil, required immediate and expert guidance. In also needed to be followed-up by professional support ‘on the ground’. It called for a secretive stratagem to ensure constant ‘hands-on’ control, direction and the ability to ‘change course’ at any specific time. This was not attainable by the ‘man in the street’ and required absolute professionalism.
 
The ‘operation’ in Praia da Luz definitely had its moments, but tight control and political intervention ensured that it remained on track. In a rare public gaffe, Gerry McCann almost unmasked one of the key role players in the top-secret ‘military-style’ manoeuvre. He had avoided providing a direct answer to a seemingly innocent question as to whether he knew Robert Murat before May 2007. At the time, no one grasped the importance or probable dire consequences of the casual blunder.
 
Gerry’s wrong reply, could have exposed the lie of the century – “the abduction of Madeleine McCann from Apartment 5A on the evening of 3 May 2007”. Those three pillars of lies, courtesy of the ‘unseen experts’, were channelled through the willing media from the onset, to etch any parent’s nightmare in the minds of people all around the world – the disappearance of their child. The intricate scheme not only succeeded, it also saved Gerry and Kate McCann from sheer perdition.
 
Until today, 16 years later, critics still condemn the parents for leaving their three siblings “alone in an unlocked apartment” on the night of “3 May 2007”, while wining and dining with their friends. Interested persons often debate as to why the parents never made use of the affordable “child care” facility in the evenings. The answer is rather simple. After the second day of their holiday, the McCann's could never explain to any carer why there were only two children to watch over in apartment 5A, instead of three.
 
So, where should the spotlight fall to solve this seemingly never-ending mystery? Firstly, one needs to brush aside the absurd “abduction” myth. With that out the way, all that remains, is to find some tangible hard evidence. The obvious best place to start would be around the same time the urgent ‘stratagem’ had its origin – in late April 2007.
 
Around midnight on the 29^th or early morning of 30^th April 2007, Robert was informed of an ‘event’ that occurred in Praia da Luz. In a matter described as grave as ‘national security’, his ‘specialized services’ were required in the coastal holiday town. Murat responded as expected and took a flight on 1 May 2007 to Faro Airport. There he was met by his mother who lived in nearby Praia da Luz.
 
Being familiar with Praia da Luz and Algarve, Robert could provide the much-needed ‘relief’ those in distress required. His fluency in Portuguese opened another significant door – as interpreter for the local police investigators. It neatly positioned him to keep abreast of the police investigation and learn of any major developments. On discovering the focus of the police was shifting towards the missing child’s parents, the experts in the shadows realised they needed to find a titanic distraction.
 
 
They were obviously aware of Robert’s personal financial crisis and offered him a guaranteed windfall of fortune. He agreed and the brilliant plan saw the interpreter from the UK ‘thrown to the dogs’. Some of the very same persons he had quietly supported in their time of need, suddenly recalled seeing him under suspicious circumstances in the vicinity of Apartment 5A the night Madeleine disappeared.
 
The Portuguese investigators fell head-on into the trap. They grabbed the headlines of newspapers around the world with their claim of having made a ‘major breakthrough’ in the case. The “ill-fated” Robert Murat was identified as their first official ‘arguido’ or formal suspect, in the disappearance of four-year old Madeleine McCann.
 
The new focus of the police brought immediate relief to Gerry and Kate including their nervous doctor entourage. It provided them with days, later weeks in which to ‘catch their breath’ and play out their role as grieving parents and witnesses to the world. The events thereafter are nothing less than mind-boggling and today the McCann's are far removed from their once threatening perdition.
 
With no abduction having taken place, Robert was never in any danger of being prosecuted. He played his role perfectly and as assured by the wily tacticians, he received his handsome reward. In July 2008 the High Court in London awarded him £600,000 in libel damages from 11 British newspapers – not too shabby for a few months of ‘unbearable pain and suffering’.
 
12 March 2023
Robert’s UK telephone and/or cellphone records from 29 April until 3 May 2007 would reveal the identity, date and time, of any incoming callers from Portugal or the UK. Any calls Robert made thereafter would have included persons he trusted explicitly and whose assistance he required immediately (in Praia da Luz), or in the next few days. The name of a Russian friend comes to mind.
 
The afore-mentioned begs two questions;
1.                   Were the telephone/cellphone records of Robert Murat for the period mentioned above drawn and properly scrutinised? If so, when did this occur and by whom?
2.                   In the late April 2007 midnight ‘heat of the moment’, did Robert use his personal finances to book his early flight to Faro Airport, or was his trip to Portugal funded by another party?
Was his banking and Credit card records during that period and soon thereafter (any hasty deposits), ever scrutinised? Where can the results of these findings be accessed? Of course if they were never sourced by the police … they still exist today!
Lastly, is Robert’s once trusted Russian associate who lived in Praia da Luz in 2007 battling to make a living like most? Or, did he too experience a windfall of good fortune?

Well written Bird131 and thank you for bringing the name Madeleine McCann back in focus - I realise how difficult that is sixteen years down the line with little or nothing new to discuss.

Your synopsis on the subject of Robert Murat runs parallel in principle to that of forum member, Tony Bennett. You've been around the forum for quite a while now so perhaps you've managed to navigate the forum and located past discussion on Murat and his business associate, Malinka.

I'm very rusty on the subject nowadays but from memory the particular points you raise have been discussed in-depth in the past, as far as practicable without access to the finer case detail. For that reason alone, a lot of theory presented was speculation - alas, there are so many pieces of the puzzle missing it's not possible to have a clear picture on any area of the case. Apart from the known fact that Madeleine McCann arrived in Portugal on Saturday 28th April 2007 and disappeared sometime between then and when the Portuguese police were alerted on the night of 3rd May 2007.

At this stage, before going back over the months/years of CMOMM commentary, I can only speak in support of Gonçalo Amaral and his team of officers - I see no reason to think the investigation wasn't conducted with due diligence. Robert Murat was the first prime suspect, from that simple fact I can only conclude he was thoroughly investigated, along with his family, associates - indeed his whole life.

Personally I think too much emphasis has been placed on Robert Murat, I don't believe him to have been an integral part of any conspiracy - I think he was/is just a victim of circumstance.

I'll have a look back over the past when I have time - if someone doesn't get there before me. Meanwhile thanks again for taking the time.

I can't resist uploading this video clip again - Gerry McCann acting like a petulant child.

LOL. So that's a yes.

An article published by the Daily Express - it has no merit.  There is no evidence anywhere to suggest Robert Murat took any one of the Tapas group to court.

Robert Murat was awarded 600,000k through the law courts for bogus reports made about him by the British press.  

Tapas group members were likewise awarded compensation through the law courts for the same reason.

That is fact!

Murat settlement: Papers pay £600,000 to Murat for libels in Madeleine case

· Two friends will also receive six-figure payouts

· Solicitor attacks 'reckless disregard for the truth'

Stephen Bates
Fri 18 Jul 2008 00.01 BST

Robert Murat, the British expatriate property consultant libelled in more than 100 articles in the British tabloid press over the disappearance in May last year of Madeleine McCann from Praia da Luz, the Portuguese resort where he lived, accepted more than £600,000 in damages from 11 national newspapers yesterday.

At a hearing in the high court lasting less than seven minutes, the media organisations (the Daily and Sunday Express and Daily Star from Express Newspapers; the Daily Mail, Evening Standard, and Metro of Associated Newspapers; the Daily and Sunday Mirror and the Scottish Daily Record of the MGN group; and News Group's Sun and News of the World - which together have a combined print circulation of 15m copies) acknowledged that the stories they had run about Murat over nine months were entirely untrue, should never have been made and were unreservedly withdrawn.

Similar acknowledgements were made about articles libelling Michaela Walczuch, an ex-business partner and friend of Murat, who was also in court, and Sergey Malinka, an IT consultant and friend of the two, who will also receive six-figure damages.

Among the false and highly defamatory allegations, many spread luridly across front pages, were claims that Murat, who had offered to help the police investigation and translate for journalists, was himself involved in the girl's disappearance, that he and his friends had been part of a paedophile ring, that they had lied to the police, and that DNA evidence of Madeleine had been found in his house. There were even allegations that his behaviour was similar to that of the Soham murderer Ian Huntley. Malinka was also falsely accused of having convictions for child sex offences.

The solicitor for the three, Louis Charalambous, told Mr Justice Eady: "The defamatory allegations ... should never have been made and are unreservedly withdrawn. The defendants wish to make unreserved apology for the false, defamatory allegations which they published."

No newspaper executive, news editor or editor was in court to hear their solicitor Keith Mathieson briefly confirm the papers' apology, regret the distress they had caused and to confirm their agreement to pay costs and substantial damages.

Outside the court, confronted with eight television crews, seven reporters and more than 20 photographers, four rows deep, Murat answered questions in English and Portuguese. "This has been incredibly difficult. It was devastating. It is a vindication," he said. He spoke of the destruction of his family's life and the immense distress the articles had caused.

Charalambous said: "Until now Robert Murat has had to watch silently as the worst elements of the British media have gone about destroying his good name and reputation. The behaviour of the tabloid journalists and their editors has been grossly irresponsible, demonstrating a reckless disregard for the truth. The record sum of £600,000 in damages will help him and his family rebuild their lives.

"Let's not forget Mr Malinka's and Ms Walczuch's lives have also been devastated by the baseless, inaccurate media coverage ... today's public apology and the six-figure sum in damages that each of these parties have also secured will go some way to compensating for the distress they have suffered and restoring their good names. It will bury the lies published about them."

Sources at the newspapers have suggested that sharing of liability meant they got off relatively financially lightly, though it may make them more cautious about running scurrilous allegations made abroad, at least for the time being.

As he left Murat was surrounded by photographers, some of whom pulled open the door of his taxi as it tried to drive away.

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£375,000 damages for Tapas Seven

Express apologises for Madeleine McCann claims

Friends of family allege articles hampered search

Owen Bowcott
@owenbowcott
Fri 17 Oct 2008 00.01 BST

Express Newspapers will pay £375,000 in libel damages to the friends of Kate and Gerry McCann who were on holiday with them when Madeleine McCann vanished.

The money will be donated by the group - known as the Tapas Seven - to the Find Madeleine Fund, according to a statement detailing the settlement that was read out at the high court in London yesterday.

About 20 articles, published in the Daily Express, the Sunday Express and the Daily Star between July and December last year, suggested that at least some of the seven - particularly Dr Russell O'Brien - had been identified as potential suspects by the Portuguese authorities.

They also implied that the group - Jane Tanner, O'Brien, Fiona and David Payne, Matthew and Rachael Oldfield and Dianne Webster - had covered up the true facts and misled the authorities investigating the disappearance of Madeleine from an apartment in Praia da Luz, on the Algarve in Portugal, in May 2007. On the night she disappeared the group were dining with her parents in a restaurant close to the couple's apartment.

Keith Mathieson, for Express Newspapers, said the company "apologises for publishing false allegations about them" and "regrets the distress caused". It will pay their legal costs and the three newspapers are publishing apologies.

The settlement is the latest payout by the media over the Madeleine McCann story. In July, Robert Murat - the Briton made an official suspect by Portuguese police - accepted a £600,000 damages settlement over allegations in 11 UK newspapers that he had been involved in Madeleine's disappearance. His suspect status was subsequently removed.

Earlier this year Madeleine's parents also won a libel settlement and apology from Express Newspapers for suggesting they had been responsible. On that occasion the newspaper group paid £550,000 to the Find Madeleine campaign. The Daily Express and Daily Star both carried front-page apologies under the headline Kate and Gerry McCann: Sorry.

In his statement to the court, the solicitor-advocate, Adam Tudor, told the judge, Mr Justice Eady: "[Express Newspapers] accepts that these allegations are wholly untrue and that there is no evidence to support them.

"The defendant acknowledges the actions of the claimants were entirely proper and were motivated by a desire to find Madeleine and to support the McCann family through a very difficult and stressful time."

Outside the court, Fiona Payne read out a statement on behalf of the group: "The defamatory stories written about us were not only extremely damaging on a personal level, but we strongly feel were detrimental to the search for Madeleine. This aspect has been particularly heartbreaking to witness. Although we are very pleased with today's result, it changes little when Madeleine's plight remains ongoing."

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Let us never forget Jon Clrke's and Lori Campbell's role in the Murat Libel.

How much did Clarke make out of selling the invented story ?
We shall never know, but his property empire started to expand from that time

From Clarke:

I was on the scene only 12 hours after Madeleine McCann went missing and I am as certain today as I was then that she was abducted by a predatory paedophile.

What was remarkable back then, during those early hours, was just how lackadaisical the police effort was to find her. When I arrived, a couple of local cops milled around, while a few expats scratched their heads. Robert Murat, the first arguido (formal suspect), gushed to me about everything he knew about the case.

Source:
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Was it at this point that Clarke then used Campbell to implicate Murat?


Campbell later backed up a Story spun by Methodo 3.



Link/Page Citation

Byline: By LORI CAMPBELL

MADELEINE McCann suspect Robert Murat is back in the frame after two new witnesses say they saw him the night the four-year-old disappeared.

The British expat has always insisted he spent the entire evening of May 3 inside his mother's villa.

But the new accounts - handed over to detectives hired by the McCanns - threaten to contradict his alibi.

Five people have now reported seeing Murat, 33, outside the McCanns' apartment that night.

The private detectives from Metodo 3 (M3) are also investigating a tip-off that Murat had connections to the criminal underworld and was working as a police informant.

The latest witnesses contacted M3 separately to say they spotted Murat walking along a road outside the McCanns' apartment the night Madeleine was snatched.

The tourists, who were on holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, have given detailed statements which contradict Murat's claim that he did not leave his mum Jennifer's home.

The McCanns' friends Fiona Payne and Rachel Oldfield have told police they saw Murat at the Ocean Club resort at 11.45pm, two hours after the alarm was raised. A third pal, Russell O'Brien, says he saw him at 1am.

A source inside M3 said: "There are serious questions around Murat's alibi. He says he was at his mum's house and did not learn of Madeleine's disappearance until the following morning.

"But his claims have now been challenged by five eyewitnesses. Three of the McCanns' friends have always insisted they saw him that night. They say they are sure it was him because of his distinctive right eye.

"Now two new people have contacted us saying they are certain they also saw him. They do not know each other and called our hotline independently."

M3 is also working on a tip that Murat had acted as a police informer.

Our source said: "It explains why police were so quick to allow him to work as a translator and enter the crime scene after she disappeared."

Murat is claimed to have dramatically changed his alibi in a police investigation before he was declared an official suspect.

He had initially told friends he was with his girlfriend Michaela Walczuch, 34, when Madeleine was snatched.

But as detectives grilled him 11 days later, he allegedly claimed he had been at his mum's home nearby. She backed her son's alibi.

M3 are also working on a theory a "spotter" took pictures of dozens of girls at the resort before Madeleine was picked out by a paedophile gang. Our source said: "Detectives are sure Madeleine was stolen to order."

Source:
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Was it at this point that Clarke then used Campbell to implicate Murat?

That sentence is written as a statement of fact - where is the evidence to substantiate this casual remark?

Never forget, social media might be a spacial void allowing people to roam about uninhibited hiding behind electronic anonymity but at the end there is a person - flesh and blood.

It's unreasonable to suggest Lori Campbell in particular ran a story about Robert Murat and Metodo3, the majority of press stories come from a central source - Associated Press by example, then individual press outlets/reporters put their own slant on the story.  Even stories published as exclusives and/or breaking news invariably come from a central source.

The subject of media/press reportage of the Madeleine McCann case has been covered extensively here on CMOMM, it shows in detail how the media blitz of early hours, weeks, months and years distorted every single piece of information emanating from an official source, replacing truth, fact, evidence and common sense with salacious gossip!  If looking for a mastermind behind the misinformation, it's not unreasonable to factor-in members of the Tapas group - Rachael Oldfield by example, she had media contacts the BBC in particular.  The McCanns themselves and their group of friends seemed to be quite willing to condemn Robert Murat - without any evidence to back their attempts at defamation.

I purposely copied over the court settlements of Robert Murat and Tapas group members because they identify the newspapers involved in the libelous press reports, the instigator/s of this false reportage spread abroad will never be known - if indeed there was/is an instigator.  The first and most important consideration when opining on the media and press is their reliability, their reputation as a medium for the truth, their morality and integrity. Certainly they talk a good job but they seldom live-up to that talk.

They publish to sell copy, be it hard copy or the web.

On that subject, can I ask again that you refrain from posting up irrelevant random stuff  and links that don't lead anywhere.

This is not a game or witch hunt, the thread was initiated to delve deeper into Robert Murat's position in the intrigue.

In conclusion, imagine for moment someone publicly denouncing you as a paedophile or a murderer, or any other heinous criminal.  You might know you are 100% innocent but mud sticks.

OFFICIAL INQUIRY FILES and DOCUMENTS
CASE AGAINST ROBERT JAMES
QUERIOL EVELEIGH MURAT

This information belongs to the Ministério Público in Portimão, Portugal.
It was released to the public on 4 August 2008 in accordance with Portuguese Law

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Verdi [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] wrote:

That sentence is written as a statement of fact - where is the evidence to substantiate this casual remark?

If you have uncovered no Evidence, then this answers my Question.

Robert informed him that he was to be an interpreter for the police, and even if he did not want to be there was nothing he could do to avoid, that by law he could not refuse this.

Processos Vol V

Pages 1352 to 1355

Witness statement

Jorge Manuel Rocha da Silva

Date: 2007.05.16

This seems to infer that Murat was requested or ordered to Interpret by the PJ.

This seems to infer that Murat was requested or ordered to Interpret by the PJ.

Snipped from link I posted above [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]..

Of the many elements collected, and pointing out, that at this moment in the investigation, the occurrence of an unusual situation, relative to an individual identified as Robert James Queriol Eveleigh Murat.

This individual, voluntarily, went to the GNR post alleging that he was an interpreter of the English language, and could be useful in helping to realise diligences. He was directed to the elements of this police which were at the locale. Right on this day and on the following days, he helped in various diligences realised by this police, namely in the inquires of the British functionaries of the LOC.

At this point in time we noted immediately a strange comportment, especially with the press/media, alleging that he did not want to be photographed, or to make allusions to this presence.

We stress that at this time, we were contacted by various journalists, who alleged that they had noticed his strange comportment, and that he showed himself to be extremely curious. When they tired to capture his picture, he repudiated this vehemently, alleging that he was father to a little girl, the same age as Madeleine and was in the middle of a divorce.

Confronted with this incoherent comportment, Robert Murat, showed much nervousness and offered to stop providing services, if that was our desire.

Smear: Gerry and Kate McCann's holiday friends have been accused of having met chief suspect Robert Murat before Madeleine's disappearance


It claimed police spoke to Dr O'Brien after it was discovered the pair were both in Exeter days before Madeleine was kidnapped.
Murat spent 10 days in there, arriving back in the Algarve on May 1 - 48 hours before Madeleine was snatched.
Dr O'Brien and his partner Jane Tanner, also 36, moved to a rented home in the city four weeks earlier, it was reported today.
Find Madeleine campaign manager Justine McGuinness denied that either O'Brien or Tanner met with Murat prior to the disappearance of Madeleine.

Source:
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Maybe this is what Gerry did not want to 'go into'? Gerry did not know Murat, he just might have known OF him?

Thanks Silentscope, just a simple 'yes' or 'no' from Gerry would have satisfied the media. Remember when Gerry also said words to this effect; "There is no evidence to link us to Madeleine's death" ... when he should have said "disappearance". G&K made a heap of 'mistakes', not something one would expect from a pair of intelligent and innocent parents.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Bird131 wrote: not something one would expect from a pair of intelligent and innocent parents.

Murat was also no Bond.
He never left any Bugs in the PJ's Offices.
He was uncovered swiftly as a 'Mole'.

Not something I expect any STASI or MI5 Agent would be proud of.

When he said : Robert informed him that he was to be an interpreter for the police, and even if he did not want to be there was nothing he could do to avoid, that by Law he could not refuse this.

If he was not referring to Portuguese Law - then by whose Laws was he ordered/obliged to do this?

For crying out loud - you're doing it again, taking fringe press reports as gospel and weaving it into a Bondesque world of fantasy.  By all means live by the Hollywood portrayal of gangsters and espionage if that's your bag but please don't use it here on CMOMM to build an imaginary scenario using a missing three year old child as your toy.

The witness statement your 'source' has presented was not recorded verbatim, the witness would appear to be nothing more than a distant business acquaintance - it's not wise to try analyzing every single word documented.  Bear in mind also, the document is a translated version of the original - a lot can happen between the two.  Why do you continue to cite a probable misinterpretation when the official documentation is presented?

Of the many elements collected, and pointing out, that at this moment in the investigation, the occurrence of an unusual situation, relative to an individual identified as Robert James Queriol Eveleigh Murat.

This individual, voluntarily, went to the GNR post alleging that he was an interpreter of the English language, and could be useful in helping to realise diligences. He was directed to the elements of this police which were at the locale. Right on this day and on the following days, he helped in various diligences realised by this police, namely in the inquires of the British functionaries of the LOC.

At this point in time we noted immediately a strange comportment, especially with the press/media, alleging that he did not want to be photographed, or to make allusions to this presence.

We stress that at this time, we were contacted by various journalists, who alleged that they had noticed his strange comportment, and that he showed himself to be extremely curious. When they tired to capture his picture, he repudiated this vehemently, alleging that he was father to a little girl, the same age as Madeleine and was in the middle of a divorce.

Confronted with this incoherent comportment, Robert Murat, showed much nervousness and offered to stop providing services, if that was our desire.

The video clip of Gerry McCann's response when asked if he knew Robert Murat is vague to say the least - it's not known when where or why and above all else, the interviewer sounds very much like Sandra Felgueiras, the Portuguese journalist   .  What was the context of the conversation?  Of course Gerry McCann knew Robert Murat, albeit circumstantial.  Murat was on the scene early Friday 4th May, he volunteered his services as interpreter - he helped the McCanns and their friends communicate with the police.  From my experience, that's what people do if they have the ability.

If you take the time to read his documented history, Robert Murat also worked with the Norfolk police as an interpreter for Portuguese immigrants working at a well-known turkey farm.

As I said up-page, this is not a game.

Noted [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Crusader and [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Silentscope. So, were Murat's UK cellphone/telephone records and Credit card (the payment for his flight to Portugal), scrutinised? That's my only real interest.

Judging by this extract from the PJ files released into the public domain, it would appear the PJ did thoroughly investigate Robert Murat and all concerned..

Background information on Robert Murat and Michaela Walczuch

Relating to R.J.Q.E.Murat it was determined:
1. he lives at Casa Liliana ..... Lagos;
2. at the same address but in a separate house lives his mother J.A.Murat;
3. he was born on ... 1973;
4. he has passport number ... ;
5. his NIF is ... ;
6. he can be contacted on telephones 282... and 919... ;
7. he has e-mail address: ... ;
8. profession: provider of services;
9. holder of bank account at Banco Santander, co-holder M.Walczuch, born ...; NIF ...; contactable by phones 282... and 919...; mail: ...; profession provider of services; resident of Rua ... Lagos; BI ...;
10. MW has another bank account (cheque) on which she frequently uses a debit card ...;
11. the following movements have occurred between January and May ...;
12. into this account MW makes regular low-value deposits of cash and cheques;
13. In 2005 RM submitted a tax return for business-related income ... paid to him by a company ...;
14. In 2005 MW submitted a tax return for business-related income ... paid to her by a company ...;
15. the company that paid both was ... in Lagos ...;
16. in recent days RM has been seen at the following addresses in Lagos ...;
17. both those locations are registered in the name of the company above ...;
18. attached is the identity card of MW, data from her driving licence and her vehicle, Peugeot 205, colour grey and licence ..- ..- ..;

Portimao, 7 May 2007
Inspector, M.P.

I'm sure if there was any reason to doubt the timing of Murat's return to Portugal at the beginning of May 2007, the PJ would have investigated, as it stands there is no recorded indication that he had an ulterior motive when booking his return flight to Portugal. As for having prior knowledge of any of the Tapas group, Exeter by association, so what? Any thoughts about Murat being alerted by one of the Tapas group really doesn't fit in with the suggested scenario in any way shape or form.

The subject is spiraling out of control, leaving only the wreckage of fact and evidence.

Robert Murat himself insists he was set-up and from where I'm standing I'm inclined to think the same - at least nothing so far has been presented to make me think otherwise. Too many fingers pointing in his direction for my liking, all of which where in some way connected to the Tapas group. Even down to the journalists who thought his behaviour strange - who knows what conversations took place off-camera so to speak, it could easily have been one of the Tapas group who sowed the seed of doubt.

Maybe the group didn't like the idea of an Englishman interpreting and in liaison with the police, surely it's much easier to mislead - miss vital information, when speaking to someone with little or no knowledge of the language.

I think Robert Murat to be an ordinary bloke going about his business until that fatal day he offered his services as interpreter. I could of course be very wrong but until such times as compelling evidence to suggest otherwise is forthcoming, I will stick with my gut instinct.

Having said that, I will continue to rummage about for anything that might constructive to the debate.

Thanks Verdi ... truly appreciated.

At your service - sorry it's not more constructive but there's nothing to be gained from baseless speculative imaginations built on nothing but shifting sands.



But here we are still, that must say something!