Rebuttal of misinformation constantly tweeted - Police chief "It was right to make McCanns Arguidos"

I am fed up with seeing this tweeted over and over, so it is time to put it right, they always forget that this story later came out when he took back what he had said ............



Ex xxx_x_xxxxxx


Alipio Ribeiro Head Of Portuguese Police Apologies “mistake” to rush to make Missing Madeleine #McCann parents suspects [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]



Apologetic police chief says it was right to make the McCanns 'arguidos'


Last updated at 10:41 05 February 2008



Detectives were right to make the McCanns offiial suspects, says apologetic Portugues police chief.

Alipio Ribeiro has reportedly said sorry to his officers for saying they rushed into making Gerry and Kate McCann suspects in their daughter Madeleine's disappearance.

Mr Ribeiro apologised to a police union boss and senior detectives in the Algarve, the newspaper 24 Horas reported today.

The director of the Judicial Police said he had made an ?error of expression? when he said there had been ?hastiness? in making the McCanns ?arguidos?, or formal suspects.

Scroll down for more...

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Gerry and Kate McCann had hoped their 'arguido' status might be lifted after Portugal's most senior detective said they had rushed into naming the parents formal suspects

He apologised to Carlos Anjos, head of the Judicial Police Inspectors Union, and to officers leading theMadeleine investigation.

A union source said: ?What he says is that he didn't mean to say it, but that faced with pressure from the media, the words came out of his mouth.

He guaranteed that he maintains total confidence in the teams who investigated and are investigating the case.?

A senior police source said: ?Statements like these should be made internally, but never through the media.?

Mr Ribeiro had said in a radio interview he thought the McCanns, 39-year-old doctors from Rothley, Leicestershire, had been made official suspects too hastily and without a proper evaluation.

The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell called on prosecutors to lift their status as suspects.

But Mr Ribeiro was heavily criticised in Portugal for his remarks. Antonio Cluny, president of the District Attorney and Magistrates Council, urged him to show ?restraint?.

He said: ?This idea that authority representatives comment about ongoing judicial proceedings is becoming a very dangerous habit.?

The McCanns are expected to remain as suspects for at least three more months. Portuguese police will travel to the UK to interview the couple and the seven friends they were dining with in Praia da Luz when Madeleine vanished in May last year.

Scroll down for more ...



[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Alipio Ribeiro, Portugal's top police man, has gone back on his statement that making Kate and Gerry McCann official suspects in Madeleine's disappearance was hasty

The news will come as another blow to the couple who had expected to have their arguido status lifted after police chief Alipio Ribeiro admitted at the weekend that detectives bungled by rushing to blame them.

Government legal advisors also ruled out any intervention, according to reports in Portugal.

A source at Portugal's Attorney General's Office told Portuguese daily 24 horas: "We will be saying nothing officially about Mr Ribeiro's comments.

"The fate of Madeleine's parents will be reassessed at the appropriate moment."

The McCanns are desperate to have their "arguido" status lifted so that police focus instead on the search for their daughter.

But now, they will have to face up to the nightmare of having to wait until the end of the investigation into their daughter's disappearance before they learn if they will have to stand trial.

It is now nine months since Madeleine, then three, disappeared during their family holiday to Praia da Luz in the Algarve.

The setback for her parents comes as a team of divers were scouring a remote reservoir for their daughter's body.

Scroll down for more ...

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Madeleine went missing during a family holiday to the Algarve last May. Her parents were later named as suspects in her disappearance but have always denied involvement

Lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia organised the private search at Barragem do Arade, an isolated man-made lake, at a cost of £1,200 a day.

He claims underworld contacts told him Madeleine's body was weighted down and thrown into the water last May - the month she disappeared - after she was raped and murdered.

The human rights lawyer was first told about the reservoir on May 6, three days after the child disappeared, and told police but says they ignored him.

Madeleine's grandfather Brian Healey, 67, said he was clinging to hopes for a miracle that his little granddaughter would be found alive.

He said: "Like most people I would like to think if there is a spark of hope I have to hang on to it. They haven't found anything yet.

"We have to believe a miracle can happen. I still believe she is alive and until someone tells me different I will believe."

Portugal's Public Prosecution Service can remove someone's arguido status before a criminal probe reaches its end - but it is extremely rare.

Police have yet to quiz members of the so-called Tapas Nine - the friends who were eating tapas with the McCanns on May 3 when Madeleine disappeared.

Reports last month suggested the couple may not learn of their fate until September after public prosecutors were granted an extension to keep police files secret.

The new blow for the McCanns coincided with calls by one of Portugal's most senior public prosecutors for Mr Ribeiro to refrain from public comments about the case.

The police chief said in an interview on Portuguese radio yesterday that he thought the McCanns had been named official suspects too hastily and without a proper evaluation.

The couple's spokesman Clarence Mitchell called on prosecutors to lift their arguido status after his comments.

Antonio Cluny, president of Portugal's District Attorneys and Magistrates Council, has now urged Mr Ribeiro to show "restraint and reserve."

He added: "This idea that authority representatives comment about ongoing judicial proceedings is becoming a very dangerous habit."



Read more: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]