Portuguese police apologise to Madeleine McCann's parents

Madeleine McCann hunt: German police make critical discovery at Portuguese reservoir

How does that ^^^ equate to this..

German Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters has revealed details of the search, but admitted he "cannot speak of the results" as it may affect the investigation.



On conclusion of said search back in May (that month again) 2023, it was reported a number of items had been found and sent to forensic science laboratory for analysis - it has since been said the forensic analysis is ongoing.

Don't mince words.

Anyone who really believes a contingent of Portuguese police called on the McCanns to apologise for the way they did their job and their treatment of the prime suspects must be off their troika.

Even Kate McCann in her book 'madeleine' highly praises the personal relationship they shared with the Portuguese police - at least until they were forced to withdraw as suspicion started to shroud.

They apologised for being nice?

So that instantly blows a hole in this ridiculous nonsense.

Back to the drawing board .

Sonia Poulton has her say.

And an update from Pat Brown.

From the website of the Policia Judiciari yesterday

PJ police confirm “steps continuing” in case of missing Madeleine McCann

 https://www.portugalresident.com/author/natashadonn/]

Natasha Donn  30th October 2023


Detectives have reportedly “apologised” for handling of case
In a statement issued today, Portugal’s PJ judicial police have clarified that “steps are continuing” as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, “to fully clarify the situation”.

The statement comes after the BBC in UK reports that “Portuguese police have apologised to the parents of Madeleine McCann for the way they handled the three-year-old’s disappearance”.

None of this is mentioned in the PJ statement*, which simply explains “that, as part of the investigation into the disappearance of an English child in the Algarve in 2007, steps are continuing to be taken to fully clarify the situation”.

The short text continues: “In this context, and as has been made public in due course, in close liaison with the German (BKA) and English (Metropolitan Police) authorities, formal investigation and forensic tests have been carried out in Portugal and abroad, as well as sharing information and revisiting testimonies.

“As is also normal in this type of situation and in line with good practice, face-to-face contacts were made with the relatives of the missing child, providing – only – the procedural situation within the scope of the ongoing inquiry pending before the Faro District Public Prosecutor’s Office”.



According to the BBC, “a delegation of senior officers travelled from Lisbon to London earlier this year. They met Gerry McCann, Madeleine’s father, and apologised for the way detectives investigated the case and treated the family.

“The McCann family has not commented on the apology and their daughter’s disappearance remains unsolved.
“Portuguese police now say their initial investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance was not handled properly, there was insufficient importance given at the time to missing children and that her parents’ position as foreigners in an environment they did not understand was not appreciated”, the BBC’s report goes on.

Anyone who remembers those days and weeks following Madeleine’s disappearance will recall the massive press pack camped in Praia da Luz, and the apparent extreme importance given by authorities, both Portuguese and British, to the child’s disappearance. Thus why this reference to “insufficient importance” comes now – 16 years after the little girl went missing without apparent trace – is unclear. There do not appear to be any new leads in this mystery in spite of the flurry of activity around the Arade dam earlier this year.

Reiterating that the Portuguese police “have now admitted that the investigation was not conducted correctly”, the BBC’s report ends with the information that “after years of investigation, Portuguese officers this year backed the German authorities, who believe that German Christian Brueckner (sic) murdered the child”.
This is something that Mr Brückner himself has consistently denied.

The BBC’s report concludes that “Hans Christian Wolters, the German prosecutor in the case, welcomed Portugal’s apology, saying: “It’s a good sign. It shows that there is progress in the McCann case in Portugal”.
Again this observation is not immediately borne out by the content of the PJ  statement.
*SIC Notícias on Monday evening carried a news item to insist that Portugal’s PJ police did NOT travel to UK to apologise to the parents of Madeleine McCann. They went, as the statement issued earlier today explains, to update the couple on the situation as of ‘now’.

‘Close liaison’ with the German (BKA) and English (Metropolitan Police) authorities can also not be interpreted as PJ police ‘backing’ the German authorities theory that Christian Brückner murdered Madeleine McCann.
natasha.donn@portugalresident.com

Tony Bennett wrote:I was very sad when I read these words in the press reports: “A delegation of senior officers travelled from Lisbon to London earlier this year. They met Gerry McCann, Madeleine’s father, and apologised for the way detectives investigated the case and treated the family.”

Mercifully we now know and the BBC and all the Gutter Media knew at the time, that NO SUCH APOLOGY HAD BEEN GIVEN.


So judgment may still be given on a Temporal plane

We live in hope.

I'd still like to know why they came to England to give the McCann's an update on the situation now.
I saw last night, they came to tell them they had done all they could do and the German and British police were dealing with it now.

The McCann's are strangely silent, considering this is an opportunity to get themselves in the limelight again.

PeterMac wrote:

Tony Bennett wrote:I was very sad when I read these words in the press reports: “A delegation of senior officers travelled from Lisbon to London earlier this year. They met Gerry McCann, Madeleine’s father, and apologised for the way detectives investigated the case and treated the family.”

Mercifully we now know and the BBC and all the Gutter Media knew at the time, that NO SUCH APOLOGY HAD BEEN GIVEN.


So judgment may still be given on a Temporal plane

Tony, you should be Rejoicing that your Opponent is so Inept, he is revealing his own Lies.

Silentscope wrote:Tony, you should be Rejoicing that your Opponent is so Inept, he is revealing his own Lies.

Who pray is Tony's Opponent?

Madeleine apology makes NO difference: Vicar close to McCanns on Kate and Gerry’s REAL priority

By Georgia Pearce

Published: 01/11/2023 - 09:40

Father Hubbard said Kate and Gerry McCann 'want to focus attention on looking for their daughter'

A vicar who spent time with Madeleine McCann's parents in Portugal has revealed the real priority for Kate and Gerry, after their daughter went missing in 2007.

Father Haynes Hubbard, who is a close friend of the McCann's, told GB News that an apology from the Portugese police into their handling of Madeleine's disappearance makes "no difference".

This follows a new BBC documentary for Panorama, which investigates the still unsolved mystery of what happened to Madeleine McCann, after she disappeared from a Praia Da Luz holiday apartment on the Algarve in Portugal.

The BBC have claimed that Portugese police recently travelled from Lisbon to meet with Kate and Gerry McCann, to apologise for how they handled the investigation when it first happened.

Recalling what happened following Madeleine's disappearance on May 3, Hubbard said they "became friends with Kate and Gerry" because they had young children and they "needed a place to come and hide".

He added that Kate and Gerry were "being pressed mercilessly by the police and by the press, to kind of say things that the police and the press wanted them to say".

Reacting to the BBC's revelation of an "apology" to the McCann's by Portugese police, Hubbard claimed: "From the very beginning, Kate and Jerry have not been in the least bit interested in any of the externalities.

"All they want is to focus attention on looking for their daughter. So a police apology really doesn't make much difference to them."

Reflecting on the impact of Madeleine's disappearance on her mother Kate, Hubbard revealed she "wants the world to focus on finding out what's happened to Madeline."

Hubbard told GB News: "All she's got of her daughter is old photographs of when she was three years old.

"You know, her daughter's now 19 or 20 or whatever Madeleine is, and Kate doesn't have any photographs of the last 16 years. That's what matters."

German Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters has claimed missing Madeleine is dead, and that she died in Portugal.

Speaking in new BBC documentary, 'Prime Suspect: Who Took Madeleine McCann?', Wolters said he is "sure" Madeleine died in Portugal.

When pressed on whether the German authorities are aware of the location of the crime, Wolters simply replied "maybe".

Wolters also told the investigative journalist that they have "only one suspect at the moment".

They believe 46-year-old German national Christian Brueckner was the man responsible.

https://www.gbnews.com/news/madeleine-mccann-latest-police-apology-makes-no-difference-says-vicar

Madeleine McCann: Until there’s PROOF she’s dead – she’s NOT dead, crime expert

By Georgia Pearce

Published: 01/11/2023 - 10:17

Simon Harding says Portugese police 'potentially lost some significant evidence' in their initial investigation

Director at the Specialist Crime Consulting Group, Simon Harding, has suggested that Madeleine McCann could still be alive.

Madeleine, who was three-years-old when she disappeared, went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Portugal on the evening of May 3.

Since her disappearance in 2007, many searches have taken place in a bid to find answers to the case, which remains unsolved.

In a new BBC documentary for Panorama, named 'Prime Suspect: Who Took Madeleine McCann?, investigators claim that Portugese police flew from Lisbon to London to meet with the McCann family and apologise for how they handled the case of Madeleine.


Simon Harding says 'there doesn't seem to be anything concrete to suggest that she is dead'

Speaking to Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster on GB News, Simon Harding reacted to the latest claim by the BBC and stated that Kate and Gerry McCann "haven't commented" on the apology.

He revealed that Kate and Gerry more than likely they "would have come out and said" that an apology wasn't made, as opposed to "being quiet on it".

In the BBC documentary, German prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters claimed that he believes Madeleine McCann is "dead", and was "killed in Portugal".

The journalist asked Wolters whether the German authorities are aware of the location of the crime, to which he simply replied "maybe".

Reacting to the claims, Harding said: "I've led a number of homicide investigations in London and until you get actual proof that somebody is dead, of course you you shouldn't be thinking that way.

"You know, that's why they are still active on the case, because there doesn't seem to be anything concrete to suggest that she is dead.

"I know the the German police I think in 2020 suggested that their belief was that she was dead and this is the time that Bruckner became their key suspect.

Harding continued: "So I think in my opinion and I think the opinion of the Met Police, certainly the people that I know that work on that case before I retired would suggest that until there is something that tells them otherwise, then of course this is an active inquiry for somebody that's still missing."

Harding also shared his insight into the initial handling of the case by Portugese police, where in the first few months had wrongly claimed that Kate and Gerry McCann were involved in Madeleine's disappearance.

He highlighted: "The way that they were treated in the original inquiry, those prejudices and those judgements that were made about them to start with will have surely lost evidence, because you know you get tainted and you're blinkered in the way that you deal with something.

"And that's that's probably one of the biggest things, because the Met have come in and said 'what's left that we can do' and that's really the fundamental problem.

"That's why that apology should be there, because the way that you dealt with it in the very first start, the Portuguese police, has potentially lost some significant evidence and leads."

https://www.gbnews.com/news/madeleine-mccann-crime-expert-claims-missing-girl-may-still-be-alive

Silentscope wrote:
Tony, you should be Rejoicing that your Opponent is so Inept, he is revealing his own Lies.

Who pray is Tony's Opponent?

You fail to respond .... I ask again, who pray is Tony's Opponent?

It's important that you clarify.

I can only Suspect Tony's opponents are 'Team McCann' or 'The Fat Controller' as the Forum sees it.

Whoever is pushing these Storylines needs a better imagination.

Your Post #72 got buried, sorry I missed it.

Are we to believe that a team of Portuguese police who "work in silence" travelled to the UK to update the prime suspects on the investigation.

I don't think so.

They did meet the McCanns because it is claimed on their website but I would imagine that when they did, It would have been to only to interview them.

Your words directed to a specific forum member..

Silentscope wrote:Tony, you should be Rejoicing that your Opponent is so Inept, he is revealing his own Lies.

So I ask again, pray who is Tony's Opponent?

Who is this he who is so inept he is revealing his own lies?

For the purpose of clarity, there is no forum fat controller - whoever gave you that idea?

I hope this doesn't get conveniently buried so it skips your notice. sorry for you it doesn't skip my notice.

@ Verdi #75
Whoever it Is, or whoever they are. Might be Better?


PeterMac believes the Fat Controller is whoever is pulling the Strings behind the Media coverage. I agree this is a possibility.

Nobody is saying that the Forum has a Fat Controller.

Your words..

Silentscope wrote:Tony, you should be Rejoicing that your Opponent is so Inept, he is revealing his own Lies.

Silentscope wrote: I can only Suspect Tony's opponents are 'Team McCann' or 'The Fat Controller' as the Forum sees it.

Silentscope wrote:PeterMac believes the Fat Controller is whoever is pulling the Strings behind the Media coverage. I agree this is a possibility.

Your post was directed at a specific member of this forum, you said his Opponent is so inept he is revealing his own lies.

Who is he and what lies has he been revealing?  You still haven't explained.  Your + his + he + lies are specific, not a generalisation so your words can't be casually dismissed as "I suspect or might be" or whatever else.

PeterMac is not the forum, he is a forum member just the same as any other, we are all equal here on CMOMM and thus play an equal part.

For your edification 'The Fat Controller' is a satirical phrase used when talking of any anonymity who might be pulling the strings.

This is of particular concern because of the trouble Tony Bennett has experienced in the past, it's important his name is not used out of place - Tony does not have opponents!

My Post was in support of PeterMacs view that Justice might be served by God, and that Tony should be happy that the Portuguese Police have revealed that no Apology was ever given to the McCanns.

Your attempts to get me to name a specific Individual have failed.
Trying to twist my words is not going to work Verdi.

My Suspicions stand.

I despair.

According to the GB News video I up-loaded here on CMOMM a couple of days ago, the Portuguese police told the BBC Panorama team they traveled to the UK 'earlier this year !!!'

If there be any truth in this story about apologies it would have been splashed across the headlines and entered on the Find Madeleine official updates long long ago.

Maddie: Judiciary Police continue investigations

Editor 31 October 2023

The Judiciary Police clarified yesterday that, in the investigation into the disappearance of English child Madeleine McCann, in the Algarve in 2007, steps continue to be taken, aiming to clarify the situation, and that they are still in contact with the child's relatives.

"In this context and as opportunely made public, in close coordination with the German (BKA) and English (Metropolitan Police) authorities, formal acts of investigation and expertise have been carried out, in Portugal and abroad, as well as sharing information and revisited statements", said the Judiciary Police (PJ) in a statement.
According to the PJ, as "it is also normal in this type of situation and corresponds to good practices", face-to-face contacts were made with the relatives of the missing child, transmitting only "the procedural status, within the scope of the ongoing investigation, pending at the Public Ministry of the District of Faro".

This clarification from the PJ comes after the BBC, cited by the EFE agency, reported that the PJ apologised to the parents of Madeleine McCann, who was 3 years old at the time of her disappearance, for "the way it dealt with the girl's disappearance in the Algarve, in May 2007".

According to the same news, a delegation of PJ agents travelled from Lisbon to London at the beginning of this year to apologise to Gerry McCann, Maddie's father, after the parents were named as suspects in the girl's disappearance.

Madeleine McCann disappeared from the room where she was sleeping at a resort in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, while her parents were having dinner with friends nearby.

In September 2007, the parents - Kate and Gerry McCann - were considered suspects in the initial Portuguese investigation, then led by detective Gonçalo Amaral, but this status was withdrawn from the PJ inspector the following year.

Gonçalo Amaral went on to accuse the parents of involvement in their daughter's disappearance and even wrote a book related to the case of Maddie's disappearance.

However, Portuguese police have now admitted that the investigation was not correctly conducted.

After years of investigation, Portuguese agents this year supported the German authorities, who believe that German Christian Brueckner murdered the child, according to the BBC program.

According to the BBC, Hans Christian Wolters, the German prosecutor on the case, welcomed Portugal's apology, saying: "It's a good sign. It shows that, in Portugal, there is progress in the McCann case."

https://algarvedailynews.com/news/22621-maddie-judiciary-police-continue-investigations

Interesting comment in it's own right..

According to the BBC, Hans Christian Wolters, the German prosecutor on the case, welcomed Portugal's apology, saying: "It's a good sign. It shows that, in Portugal, there is progress in the McCann case."

A Portuguese apology is a good sign, showing there is progress in the McCann case?

Is that intended to imply Gerry and Kate McCann are innocent victims of a botched investigation?  Should Herr Wolters be making such misleading inaccurate statements in the public domain or has something got lost in translation.



And yes, I am being facetious about translation.

The power of the press or the ignorance of the audience or the remnant of a once thriving support network?

Comments

"Will the European Court have the grace, now, to concede it screwed up in declaring Amaral's book something other than libellous?

" I'm really pleased this has come about but can't help feeling bitter on their behalf. No doubt it'll feed the dregs that have tormented the McCann's for the last sixteen years.

"Doesn't it make you angry that the Portuguese Police were hell bent on targeting the McCann's, poor Madeleine, she could have been rescued.

"Even thugs like Amaral and Almeida would have struggled to contrive a 'case' against Kate and Gerry without a helping hand from certain English dog-handler ....

Comment

NewsOpinion

JANE MOORE Portuguese cops were so obsessed with Madeleine McCann’s parents they ignored vital clues

The McCanns will never know what happened to their daughter Maddie

Jane Moore

Published: 20:36, 31 Oct 2023Updated: 21:05, 31 Oct 2023

PORTUGUESE police have finally apologised to Kate and Gerry McCann for declaring them “arguidos” in their daughter Maddie’s disappearance and failing to secure the crime scene.

One wonders whether the online trolls that continue to plague them with wholly unfounded accusations will apologise too.

But don’t hold your breath.

Either way, this public acceptance of their innocence and police acknowledgment of mistakes made at the scene will surely be of little comfort to the couple who still face life without Maddie 16 years after she was taken from their hotel apartment in Praia da Luz.

If the bedroom she went missing from had been secured properly, would it have yielded a crucial clue?

And when detectives accused her parents of being involved, were vital weeks lost when they could have been focusing on finding the real culprit who they now suspect is convicted sex offender Christian Brueckner?

The McCanns will never know.

But it’s fair to assume that these unanswered questions will only add to their continued pain and the “what ifs?” that haunt any parent of a lost child. In any such case, it’s standard practice for the police to look closely at family, friends and close associates.

But it should never be to the detriment of the ongoing, wider investigation.

In 2018, I interviewed the father of Doncaster-born Andrew Gosden who, then 14, went missing in 2007 and hasn’t been seen since.

It eventually emerged that, instead of going to school as planned, Andrew had waited in a nearby park for his parents to leave for work, then returned home to change out of his school uniform before heading to London’s King’s Cross on a one-way ticket.
Too late

The station’s CCTV cameras show him arriving in the capital.

But any street or bus footage from that point on had been erased by the time the police got round to asking for it.

An oversight, Kevin believes, perhaps borne out of their initial assumption that he had something to do with his son’s disappearance and a failure to look at alternative scenarios until it was too late.

It was Andrew’s 30th birthday in July, but Kevin and his wife Glenys still live in limbo wondering if their son is alive or dead.

And on May 12 this year, it was Maddie’s 20th birthday, prompting her parents to post: “Happy birthday Madeleine! We love you and we’re waiting for you. We’re never going to give up.”

Andrew and Maddie are just two of the 5,200 “long-term missing individuals” in the UK — 1,700 of who were children when they disappeared.

According to Missing UK, 81 per cent of children who go missing are found within 24 hours, and 91 per cent within two days.

Less than two per cent will be missing for longer than a week.

The McCanns and the Gosdens are the unlucky ones.

But they haven’t given up hope and nor should those still tasked with helping them find answers.

Equally, when a child goes missing in the future, mistakes made in their cases should act as a reminder that all potential lines of inquiry must be pursued swiftly, not just those close to home.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/24588935/police-obsessed-mccanns-major-clues-ignored/

Well Ms Moore, what vital clues did the Portuguese cops ignore - do tell.

Strikes me Ms Moore you should do your homework before attacking the keyboard with such mawkish twaddle.



You have to hand it to the tabloid press, they have a way with words.