Is Scotland Yard fit to carry out Madeleine McCann Review?

by **Tony Bennett** 17.07.11 16:57

Considerations:

1. The Met failed to investigate 'phone hacking
2. Stephenson, and Assistant Commissioners Heyman and Yates accepted hospitality, dinners etc. from the Murdoch executives, at a time when they were investigating crimes by the NOTW
3. Hayman went on, after retiring, to receive large sums for writing in Murdoch papers
4. Stephenson appointed arrested NOTW executive Niall Wallis and paid him £1,000 a day for 'advice' and speech-writing - and didn't tell the Met Police Authority
5. The Met failed to investigate payments by NOTW to police for informtation after Rebekah Brooks admitted them to a Commons Select Committee
6. Stephenson accepted free care at Champneys, whose marketing company was owned by Niall Wallis
7. Stephenson accepted directions from David Cameron and Theresa May to spend £3.5 million in a Madeleine McCann Review whose awowed intention was 'to support the family'
8. The announcement of the Scotland Yard Review was made by David Cameron in the Sun, who simultaneously published Dr Gerald McCann's letter asking for a Review
9. The Sun serialised Dr Kate McCann's book: 'madeleine'

by Big Vern 17.07.11 20:45

No they are not!

by Willo 17.07.11 22:48

It is obvious the British legal system is totally corrupt. A fact the McCanns were very aware of and counting on.

It seems there is no one you can trust and the whole force is riddled with illegal practices or those that know these practices are going on. This needs to be addressed urgently. I see more accusations, more lies, more revelations, more walking on to their swords, more arrests, more denials, more riots, more murder, more apparent suicides, more silence, more cover ups, more smoke, more resignations, more mirrors, more violence and more cowardice before this cancer is removed from the British Isles. It will take a while, it is very deep.

There will be a few honest men who will stand up to be counted, maybe one or two who will be strong enough and lucky enough to survive and change the course of British history. False icons will be exposed and secret organisations and pacts will be uncovered. Unbelievable tales of cruelty, brutality and suffering will uncovered. Children will be saved and justice for others will be heard. Jersey? Aberdeen? Portugal? I'd like to think that the purge would be complete but I doubt it. The main players have maybe already slipped away seeing the destruction of this empire ahead. Still it's only the UK, quite insignificant in the overall picture I expect.

Makes the PJ seem quite competent by comparison, even by McCann standards.

I think perhaps the PJ should handle both the McCann review and the NI investigation while internally the Brits sort themselves out.

by littlepixie 17.07.11 22:54

I just hope whatever stranglehold the UK has had over the PJ gets blown away soon and no I don't trust the MET to review the McCann case. I just hope now that they are scared there are one or two who will do the job they are paid to do.

by **Tony Bennett** 17.07.11 23:32

Willo wrote:It is obvious the British legal system is totally corrupt. A fact the McCanns were very aware of and counting on.

It seems there is no one you can trust and the whole force is riddled with illegal practices or those that know these practices are going on. This needs to be addressed urgently. I see more accusations, more lies, more revelations, more walking on to their swords, more arrests, more denials, more riots, more murder, more apparent suicides, more silence, more cover ups, more smoke, more resignations, more mirrors, more violence and more cowardice before this cancer is removed from the British Isles. It will take a while, it is very deep.

There will be a few honest men who will stand up to be counted, maybe one or two who will be strong enough and lucky enough to survive and change the course of British history. False icons will be exposed and secret organisations and pacts will be uncovered. Unbelievable tales of cruelty, brutality and suffering will uncovered. Children will be saved and justice for others will be heard. Jersey? Aberdeen? Portugal? I'd like to think that the purge would be complete but I doubt it. The main players have maybe already slipped away seeing the destruction of this empire ahead. Still it's only the UK, quite insignificant in the overall picture I expect.

Makes the PJ seem quite competent by comparison, even by McCann standards.

I think perhaps the PJ should handle both the McCann review and the NI investigation while internally the Brits sort themselves out.

I agree with the sentiment expressed here and have for months been thinking that there should be a national organisation set up to combat this culture of sleaze and corruption which has taken hold in so many police forces. One commentator said recently that the single most important contributory factor in the ongoing and escalating trade in illegal drugs is corrupt relations between drug dealers and police officers.

If forming such an organisations, I would call it: ACPO.

Action against
Corrupt
Police
Officers

by ROSA 18.07.11 0:10

i dont know much about the MET but i hope Goncalo will reveal what he knows soon
pop2

by Guest 18.07.11 9:43

Willo wrote:It is obvious the British legal system is totally corrupt. A fact the McCanns were very aware of and counting on.

It seems there is no one you can trust and the whole force is riddled with illegal practices or those that know these practices are going on. This needs to be addressed urgently. I see more accusations, more lies, more revelations, more walking on to their swords, more arrests, more denials, more riots, more murder, more apparent suicides, more silence, more cover ups, more smoke, more resignations, more mirrors, more violence and more cowardice before this cancer is removed from the British Isles. It will take a while, it is very deep.

There will be a few honest men who will stand up to be counted, maybe one or two who will be strong enough and lucky enough to survive and change the course of British history. False icons will be exposed and secret organisations and pacts will be uncovered. Unbelievable tales of cruelty, brutality and suffering will uncovered. Children will be saved and justice for others will be heard. Jersey? Aberdeen? Portugal? I'd like to think that the purge would be complete but I doubt it. The main players have maybe already slipped away seeing the destruction of this empire ahead. Still it's only the UK, quite insignificant in the overall picture I expect.

Makes the PJ seem quite competent by comparison, even by McCann standards.

I think perhaps the PJ should handle both the McCann review and the NI investigation while internally the Brits sort themselves out.

Well said Willo [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

by **PeterMac** 18.07.11 9:57

Against those views is the fact that every move, every decision made by Redwood will be under intense scrutiny.
He dare not take risks with his own career. The sword of Damocles hangs over him.

by Angelique 18.07.11 10:04

Willo

Yes - well said and I agree wholeheartedly.

Trouble is - it's a huge beast and runs so deep and vast that it may not be possible to wrest the power that they have from them simply because it is such a great source of income to those involved.

by Guest 18.07.11 10:08

I hope you are right PeterMac, but something in the pit of my stomach tells me that anyone who receives a salary, will do as the paymaster says, or has to find another job.

by Dr_Evil 18.07.11 20:32

ROSA wrote:i dont know much about the MET but i hope Goncalo will reveal what he knows soon

I hope so to, but i fear he doesn't know anything more than he has already said. If he did know then surely he would have passed it onto the Police .

by **sharonl** 18.07.11 20:51

According to Stephenson he was able to carry out the £3.5m review because the Murder rate was down and he had men spare. All the rats seem to be deserting the sinking ship, passing the buck and back stabbing, at this rate there will be very few officers free to carry out the task, besides who would oversee this review now?

In answer to your question Tony, no they are absolutely not fit to carry out this review, but they do somehow fit in very well with the rest of the McCann team.

by Gillyspot 19.07.11 19:34

I had written to my MP regarding my concerns on the met police review yesterday.

"Dear ....

Many thanks for your letter regarding the News International takeover of BSkyB it was very informative. (got letter back in 3 days from my email)

I have another major concern at this time and this is regarding the Metropolitan Police's current review into the Madeleine McCann disappearance. I feel that with all the current doubts regarding this police force and its apparent lack impartiality that this review should be moved to another UK police force. The McCann's publicist Clarence Mitchell has close ties to senior figures within the Murdoch empire. This coupled with the latest scandal coming out over the last weekend regarding the Ex Metropolitan Police Commissioner Paul Stephenson and also his Assistant Commissioner John Yates seeming inability to carry out a review in 2009 of the telephone hacking scandal of 2006 stating that there was no evidence (but had only spent 8 hours reviewing the evidence if the media are correct), leads me to believe that the Metropolitan Police may not be trusted or at least be seen to be trusted (if recent events and allegations are anything to go on).

Could you please contact Mr David Cameron and ask him if he will consider this option please.

This review is costing the tax payer (including me) a large amount of money and therefore it should be an open and transparent review and any results and the reasons and any evidence that has led to them should be published in a full dossier available for all to read. Also I am concerned that the McCann's "open letter" in the Sun (a Murdoch paper) on 12th May 2011 was responded the following day by Mr Cameron. This seems a remarkable short period of time for him to agree to their demands particularly as we as a country are in a large financial hole and every penny that can be saved should be saved in my opinion.

Perhaps I am being too cynical but I am very concerned that this review doesn't have the appearance of a whitewash which it may well do if it carried out by the Metropolitan Police.

Please can you write back and give me your thoughts on this matter."

What does anyone think. Will I get an answer this time?

by pennylane 19.07.11 20:03

That's a really excellent letter honeybunch.... I do hope you get a reply soon, and will share it with us. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

by Gillyspot 19.07.11 20:36

Thank you. Of course I will let you all know as soon as I know. Obviously not in 3 days on this one - that will never happen. laughat

by pauline 19.07.11 20:48

Good letter Honeybunch. Could I ask that all UK residents on this forum write a similar letter to their MP. i cant as I live in Ireland.

by Gillyspot 19.07.11 20:49

Could you please alter the letter though so it doesn't look like a mass broadcast and then may get ignored.

by pennylane 19.07.11 21:30

In reply to Tony's OP..... I agree with other posters here that the Met is not to be trusted!

Teresa May sent the McCanns packing last year when they tried to bully her during a face-to-face meeting, hence it was baffling to witness Cameron's instant capitulation to their demands for a Review.

Now that Stephenson and Yates have been whooshed, and there is intense focus on the integrity of the Met, perhaps there is room for cautious optimism in that the Maddie Review will start from the beginning, by investigating the McCanns and their ridiculous, ever changing, version of events. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

by pennylane 19.07.11 21:31

I look forward to reading your reply, honeybunch xx [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

by **PeterMac** 20.07.11 9:12

pennylane wrote:
Now that Stephenson and Yates have been whooshed, and there is intense focus on the integrity of the Met, perhaps there is room for cautious optimism in that the Maddie Review will start from the beginning, by investigating the McCanns and their ridiculous, ever changing, version of events.

That is certainly my hope. Whatever DCI Redwood does will be scrutinised by ever more senior staff, and the final report will hang over him and his future career forever. He has to do it properly, and has to be seen to have examined all possible avenues of enquiry.
For him it could mean promotion.
By the way, is it just my imagination, or have Katey and Gerry and Clarrie been very quiet over the last few weeks since all these enquiries started ?

by Guest 20.07.11 9:21

Yes I do agree that the McCanns and Clarence seem to be lying low at the moment as opposed to simply lying. Let's hope that this farce is brought to an end soon.

by **Tony Bennett** 20.07.11 10:47

PeterMac wrote:
pennylane wrote:
Now that Stephenson and Yates have been whooshed, and there is intense focus on the integrity of the Met, perhaps there is room for cautious optimism in that the Maddie Review will start from the beginning, by investigating the McCanns and their ridiculous, ever changing, version of events.
That is certainly my hope. Whatever DCI Redwood does will be scrutinised by ever more senior staff, and the final report will hang over him and his future career forever. He has to do it properly, and has to be seen to have examined all possible avenues of enquiry. For him it could mean promotion...[SNIPPED]

Just to place the following on the record for all to see - please see the other Scotland Yard thread where I give details of the address of the Madeleine McCann Review Team and refer to our Recorded Delivery letter of 11 July 2011 sent to the Review Team.

Our letter included this paragraph:

QUOTE

What we need to know, in the clearest possible terms, please, is whether your team is prepared to review in full any evidence, foresnic or circumstantial, that tends to show that Madeleine died in the McCanns’ apartment in Praia da Luz, and her body then hidden - as well as examining the evidence that Madeleine may have been abducted, a matter which even the McCanns’ own chief spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, conceded publicly on 6 January this year was only ‘a hypothesis, an assumption’.

UNQUOTE

As there has been no reply nor acknowledgement to the letter yet, I 'phoned the Metropolitan Police, and this is how the call went:

9.52 Dialled 101 (new non-emergency contact number for the Met). Message says: 'We are connecting you to Essex Police. If you need to speak to another Police Force, please press 1'. So I pressed '1' and was then given 5 options, one of which was the Metropolitan Police. On pressing that, I was told that I was being connected to the 'Metropolitan Police Control Room' but that 'all lines are currently busy'. Two minutes later, a female answered. I asked for 'Thomas Bowen or Andy Redwood' of the Madeleine McCann Review Team. After another little while, the lady came back and said: 'They're all in a meeting. Someone will 'phone you back after the meeting'.

10.11 Call from an officer whose name sounded like 'Sam Weatherspoon'. I couldn't hear the surname very well, and asked him to repeat it. He said: 'I don't normally give out my surname. I can give you my collar number if you want'. He told me he was 'Sam', collar number 220629.

He asked why I had called. I referred to my letter of 11 July. He didn't know anything about it. He did however say: 'We have a note that you contacted us on 7 July asking for contact details for the Madeleine McCann Review Team, that is all'. He asked what the 'crux' of my letter was, and I read out the above paragraph.

He said he had 'no idea' if my Recorded Delivery letter had been received or not. I suggested I could e-mail it to him. He said: 'We are not giving out any e-mail addresses for anyone in this team'.

I suggested I could fax the letter to him her and now. He hesitated and said 'Possibly...' and then said: 'I suggest you wait a couple of days or so to see if it has been received'. I asked again if I could have the fax number so I could fax my letter straightaway and he said: 'No, I am refusing that. We will wait for two more days and then we may be able to give you the Fax No. out if it's not been received by then'.

He then spent some time saying that the Review Team was 'unlikely to answer any letters'.

He revealed that he was in 'Enquiry Section' of the 'INTEL' Team, i.e. the Intelligence Team, and said he was a 'Field Intelligence Officer'.

He then most helpfully explained that the Madeleine McCann Review Team was split up into a number of sections, I think he said three main sections, and he was in the 'Intelligence Section'.

He then attempted to answer the question above that I posed in my letter. I explained again that there was absolutely no point in sending him any information that might suggest that Madeleine McCann died in the McCanns' holiday apartment if the Madeleine McCann Review Team had ruled out that possibility in advance and was not prepared to pursue every single reasonable line of enquiry, including that one.

He replied: "Well, we will take information, but you may not get a reponse". Pressed as to whether, specifically, the Review Team was looking, or would look, at lines of enquiry based on a suspicion that Madeleine McCann had died in her parents' apartment - and that the McCanns and others had covered this up, he replied: "Yes, of course, absolutely, we will look at all lines of enquiry including that one, we have a duty to do so, we are not ruling anything out, we will consider everything". I then asked, so if I send you information which suggests lines of enquiry which sare based on the hypothesis that Madeleine McCann died in her parents' apartment, you will undertake to examine it?". He replied: "Yes, of course. There is no doubt about that".

On that basis I thanked him for his information and made a diary note to check on Friday whether my Recorded Delivery letter has yet 'arrived'.

I would repeat my plea on the other thread that if anyone thinks they have credible evidence that Madeleine McCann died on her parents' apartment, and can suggest valid lines of enquiry for the review Team to pursue, e.g. on circumstantial evidence, creche records, 'phone records, Brian Kennedy's intimidation of witnesses, etc., they should contact Detective Chief Inspector Redwood at Belgravia Police Station.

by pennylane 20.07.11 17:40

Thank you for supplying the details of your phone call Tony! I read it with my mouth open... what brilliant questions you asked Sam Witherspoon.... you definitely got down to the nitty gritty.... all very encouraging, and I hope they really are going to look at all angles as the intelligence officer inferred....

Certainly now is the time to up the pressure on the Met.... just in case someone at the top thinks they can 'pass go' and jump straight to Jane Tanner's ridiculous abductor sighting and dodgy alibi for Gerry McCann. They need to know how many people are watching them!

That was very encouraging to read, thank you again, and I hope you receive a decent reply to your excellent letter. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Hopefully we will see justice after all.

by Big Vern 20.07.11 17:56

See justice?.....The gruesome twosome are not only protected by Murdoch's media, they have the entire British Press on their side, Three consecutive PMs, the BBC, ITV and the bent Police.
The only way these vile people will ever pay for what they did is if a whistleblower emerges.
We can only hope and pray that Goncalo Amaral was right when he went on record as saying "It’s too big and too serious a burden to be concealed by so many people for their entire lives"

by **Jill Havern** 20.07.11 17:59

Big Vern wrote:The only way these vile people will ever pay for what they did is if a whistleblower emerges.

Hmmm...it seems that when a whistleblower emerges....they die. sad

by pennylane 20.07.11 18:21

PeterMac wrote:
pennylane wrote:
Now that Stephenson and Yates have been whooshed, and there is intense focus on the integrity of the Met, perhaps there is room for cautious optimism in that the Maddie Review will start from the beginning, by investigating the McCanns and their ridiculous, ever changing, version of events.
That is certainly my hope. Whatever DCI Redwood does will be scrutinised by ever more senior staff, and the final report will hang over him and his future career forever. He has to do it properly, and has to be seen to have examined all possible avenues of enquiry.
For him it could mean promotion.
By the way, is it just my imagination, or have Katey and Gerry and Clarrie been very quiet over the last few weeks since all these enquiries started ?

They are very quiet all of a sudden, and I reckon it's due to white knuckle fear!

Mitchell is probably hoping the dust will settle, and that nobody will emphasise his own sleazy links... but I reckon the press will continue to regurgitate his 'Kate and Gerry' articles containing his numerous quotes...... just to make him feel even greener around the gills. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

by **Tony Bennett** 20.07.11 18:21

pennylane wrote:Thank you for supplying the details of your phone call Tony! I read it with my mouth open... what brilliant questions you asked Sam Witherspoon.... you definitely got down to the nitty gritty.... all very encouraging, and I hope they really are going to look at all angles as the intelligence officer inferred....

Certainly now is the time to up the pressure on the Met.... just in case someone at the top thinks they can 'pass go' and jump straight to Jane Tanner's ridiculous abductor sighting and dodgy alibi for Gerry McCann. They need to know how many people are watching them!

That was very encouraging to read, thank you again, and I hope you receive a decent reply to your excellent letter. Hopefully we will see justice after all.

pennylane, first of all thanks very much for your kind comments.

At this juncture I think it's worth noting that, in relation to the 'phone hacking scandal, it was one lone journalist, Nick Davies: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ...

...who persisted for years, burrowing away at the extent of 'phone hacking, who is largely responsible for the whole matter burst on the scene like a dam breaking. And he did it against a background of the NOTW and NewsCorp denying there was a problem, and the top brass of the Metropolitan Police glibly saying there was 'nothing to investigate'. Now we know differently.

I don't think we have grasped sufficiently that this Scotland Yard Review into Madeleine's disappearance means that the disgraceful Leicestershire Police Force is now effectively out of the picture and that Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood and members of his team have, in a sense, a clean sheet to work on. They can look at all the documents and consider afresh where the balance of the evidence leads.

They won't, I am sure, be posting up a link on their website to the McCanns' 'Find Madeleine Fund'.

The main anxiety is: are they there, as David Cameron said on 12 May when announcing the Review, 'to support the family'?

Or is their purpose: 'to carry out a thorough review into all the evidence without fear or favour'?

That is what I am trying to tease out from them.

I would encourage others to contact the Review Team to suggest what lines of enquiry they should pursue. Our letters should be polite, reasoned, and detailed. Let us remember, as I think PeterMac has pointed out, that Met Police Officers working on this Review will have a greatly enhanced awareness of their duty to be scrupulously fair, thorough and honest in their investigations. It would be wholly dishonest of them to rule out in advance the evidence that Madeleine McCann died in her parents' holiday apartment. The reputation of the officers on this team will depend on how they carry out their task.

The more good, reasoned letters they get from people like members of this forum, the greater will be the pressure on the Review Team's leaders to investigate the McCanns and their friends. They will have to record in their policy files hpw and why they have responded to any evidence supplied to them.

by aiyoyo 21.07.11 6:09

Tony Bennett wrote:
pennylane wrote:Thank you for supplying the details of your phone call Tony! I read it with my mouth open... what brilliant questions you asked Sam Witherspoon.... you definitely got down to the nitty gritty.... all very encouraging, and I hope they really are going to look at all angles as the intelligence officer inferred....

Certainly now is the time to up the pressure on the Met.... just in case someone at the top thinks they can 'pass go' and jump straight to Jane Tanner's ridiculous abductor sighting and dodgy alibi for Gerry McCann. They need to know how many people are watching them!

That was very encouraging to read, thank you again, and I hope you receive a decent reply to your excellent letter. Hopefully we will see justice after all.
pennylane, first of all thanks very much for your kind comments.

At this juncture I think it's worth noting that, in relation to the 'phone hacking scandal, it was one lone journalist, Nick Davies: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] ...

...who persisted for years, burrowing away at the extent of 'phone hacking, who is largely responsible for the whole matter burst on the scene like a dam breaking. And he did it against a background of the NOTW and NewsCorp denying there was a problem, and the top brass of the Metropolitan Police glibly saying there was 'nothing to investigate'. Now we know differently.

I don't think we have grasped sufficiently that this Scotland Yard Review into Madeleine's disappearance means that the disgraceful Leicestershire Police Force is now effectively out of the picture and that Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood and members of his team have, in a sense, a clean sheet to work on. They can look at all the documents and consider afresh where the balance of the evidence leads.

They won't, I am sure, be posting up a link on their website to the McCanns' 'Find Madeleine Fund'.

I wonder whether the review team is aware find Madeleine fund is linked onto LP's website. While they are reviewing the case one would have thought they should ask LP to remove it because they have yet to determine the legitimacy of the fund.
We know its a fraud but the Police while investigating should not be seen to be biased and take a one-sided view because that shows blatant inability to be objective.

The main anxiety is: are they there, as David Cameron said on 12 May when announcing the Review, 'to support the family'?

Or is their purpose: 'to carry out a thorough review into all the evidence without fear or favour'?

That is what I am trying to tease out from them.

I would encourage others to contact the Review Team to suggest what lines of enquiry they should pursue. Our letters should be polite, reasoned, and detailed. Let us remember, as I think PeterMac has pointed out, that Met Police Officers working on this Review will have a greatly enhanced awareness of their duty to be scrupulously fair, thorough and honest in their investigations. It would be wholly dishonest of them to rule out in advance the evidence that Madeleine McCann died in her parents' holiday apartment. The reputation of the officers on this team will depend on how they carry out their task.

The more good, reasoned letters they get from people like members of this forum, the greater will be the pressure on the Review Team's leaders to investigate the McCanns and their friends. They will have to record in their policy files hpw and why they have responded to any evidence supplied to them.

by Guest 21.07.11 7:45

I will be sending Andy Redwood a full analysis of all the MW and OC documentation quite soon. I'm sure they have enough to read for the time being from Tony and Kiko and we don't want to overwhelm them all at once, now do we. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

by Gillyspot 21.07.11 8:05

I will write also to the team. I haven't heard from my MP as yet but wasn't expecting to but now I hear the wonderful Cressida Dick (of n Jean Charles de Menezes fame) is now in post I am imagining that I will get a letter saying all is well at the Met now. And this is bearing in mind that she was in charge of the "gold room" when he was shot.

Have been having a thought that maybe it isn't the Mccann's who are being protected but either Mark Warner owners or Ian Symington they were certainly a lot more connected?