McCanns Private Investigators contract ended

by winjoy 28.10.12 0:24

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by Guest 28.10.12 0:40

Thanks winjoy.

MADDIE MCCANN PRIVATE EYES OF

Sunday October 28,2012

By James Murray and Tracey Kandohia

KATE and Gerry McCann are no longer employing private detectives to search for their missing daughter Madeleine.

They are pinning all hopes of finding their child on Scotland Yard detectives who are conducting an “investigative review” of evidence but have yet to make a breakthrough.

The Sunday Express understands the McCanns stopped using former police detectives Dave Edgar and Arthur Cowley some months ago when their contract ran out.

While they worked on the case they built up a good relationship with Kate and Gerry, of Rothley, Leicestershire, who felt they applied sound common sense to their inquiries in Britain and Portugal.

“There was no fall-out,” said a source. “They did the work as required and got on well with Kate and Gerry. Their contract simply came to its natural end.

“It was felt the lead should be taken by the Scotland Yard detectives working on the review. Dave and Arthur passed over all their material to the Yard officers.” There has been no mention of the decision to end the contract on the McCanns’ findmadeleine website, which still states: “The majority of the fund money has been and continues to be spent on investigative work to help find Madeleine.

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It was felt the lead should be taken by the Scotland Yard detectives working on the review
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A source

“Additionally money continues to be spent on the wider ‘Awareness Campaign’, reminding people that Madeleine is still missing and to remain vigilant.”

The fund has been bolstered by at least £1million raised from Kate’s bestselling book Madeleine.

It was published in May 2011 shortly after the fourth anniversary of her eldest child’s disappearance from the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.

At the book’s launch, GP Kate, 44, said: “While she remains missing, the onus is on us to keep looking for her. Investigations and campaigns cost money, which has to be raised by us.

“Every penny we raise through the sales of this book will be spent on our search for Madeleine. Nothing is more important to us.”

Then, after successfully lobbying David Cameron, Scotland Yard was called on to conduct the review using some of the force’s best murder detectives.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who leads the review codenamed Operation Grange, said earlier this year he believed Madeleine, then three, had been snatched by a stranger and could be alive.

At that time his team was following 195 potential new leads. Portuguese police chiefs, who head all global investigations, have refused officially to re-open the case, although some officers have been assigned to assist the Yard.

In August, Met Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe appeared to cast doubt on the review’s future when he said he would ask David Cameron how long he would fund it for.

However, there was good news last week when the Home Office said there was no deadline on the work being conducted in secrecy by detectives.

A spokesperson said: “We have no plans to end the funding and the review into the search for Madeleine will continue.” It is thought it will have cost £2.5million by the end of the year.

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Bit behind aren't they the Express, didn't they go just after the review started.

by Guest 28.10.12 0:47

Here is a news article from Portugal from MAY 2012 which says they stopped working for the McCanns when SY started the review, (which was around May 2011 topic on link below from May.....

Despite having forgone private detectives since the British police began working on the case, keep costs assessors and operation of telephone lines and website.

But Gerry McCann states that "once responsible for the disappearance is found, the remaining money will be used to help other families or organizations

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So according to this article they were gone when SY began on this case, which was May 2011? Express a bit late on parade[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

by Guest 28.10.12 1:00

[quote Express]

” There has been no mention of the decision to end the contract on the McCanns’ findmadeleine website, which still states: “The majority of the fund money has been and continues to be spent on investigative work to help find Madeleine.

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by winjoy 28.10.12 1:05

Hi candyfloss - it is still good that the Express has raised the issue of the fund now that the PIs are no longer on the pay roll!! It may stop people continuing to donate perhaps. lol!

by ShuBob 28.10.12 1:05

From the tone of the article, it would appear the Express are questioning the fund's objectives i.e. that money will be spent on funding their own investigation. As the newspaper points out, even though they parted company with the PIs long ago, they still haven't updated their website with the information.

One bit of new information I found in the article is that the Home Office have apparently said they have no deadline for the review. This follows the Met commisioners recent comments about asking the PM about how long he's prepared the fund the review.

by uppatoffee 28.10.12 7:18

“Every penny we raise through the sales of this book will be spent on our search for Madeleine. Nothing is more important to us.”

Good to see Kate confirming this. I'm sure many people will be looking for verification of this in the published accounts this year. If this figure does not appear, could they be done for fraud?

by aiyoyo 28.10.12 7:34

ShuBob wrote:From the tone of the article, it would appear the Express are questioning the fund's objectives i.e. that money will be spent on funding their own investigation. As the newspaper points out, even though they parted company with the PIs long ago, they still haven't updated their website with the information.

One bit of new information I found in the article is that the Home Office have apparently said they have no deadline for the review. This follows the Met commisioners recent comments about asking the PM about how long he's prepared the fund the review.

A fund for a missing child should always be Charity based otherwise the family cant blame people for being curious what they do with the money.
Family members should never benefit from the unfortunate fate of the child regardless whether the perpetrator is known or stranger to the victim.

by Guest 28.10.12 7:39

So the contract ended - was this before or after they searched the lawless hills for the secret lair that Dave Edgar is quoted in the media as saying that Maddie is being held captive in?

Did they search and not find her? If so they could have said something in the national press so that people armed with their good quality wristbands, t-shirts, and holiday packs do not bother to trawl the lawless hills on behalf of Maddie's parents.

Or did they just not bother to search again because [a] it was too dark or [b] because they were "incredibly busy" releasing balloons or doing a 'charity run' and Maddie is still be being held captive by a paedophile who is treating her like a princess?

Problems, problems...always problems with these people.

thinking

by **Tony Bennett** 28.10.12 8:18

So, the Express announces casually that the McCanns are no longer employing private investigators and says that 'the contract with Dave Edgar and Arthur Cowley 'ended months ago'.

Is that the truth?

NO.

Why isn't it the truth?

Because Arthur Cowley, in his own words, said he hadn't worked for the McCanns' private invesigation since February 2010: see below.

The matter of Arthur Cowley's involvement in the private investigation, and the deception over his so-called company 'ALPHAIG' (which the British media took to refer to an allegedly well-established private investigation company called 'Alpha Investigations Group) was exposed in articles on The Madeleine Foundation website and in a thread first started on this forum on 9 May 2011:

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This thread is well worth revisiting in connection with questions about the McCanns' private investigation, and begins with a photo of the cottage 1,000-feet up on Halkyn Mountain which is Cowley's home and was claimed to be the 'headquarters' of ALPHAIG.

In June June 2011 sharonl found (and published on the above thread) a translation of an article in a Portuguese newspaper, shortly after The Madeleine Foundation made its revelations about the ALPHAIG deception and Cowley's mountain cottage.

The interesting thing was that this article appeared just 4 weeks after our revelations about Cowley on this very forum.

Here is the article, I have tidied up the translation:

QUOTE

Arthur Cowley, one of the last private detective hired by Madeleine McCann's parents, confirmed he had already abandoned the investigation.

"Frankly, I haven't been involved in the investigation for almost sixteen months", said Cowley, stressing that he no longer worked for the McCanns nor anyone else.

Officially, the former police officer has ceased operations for medical reasons. Recruited as a private detective to help with the invesigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann case, age and diabetes have brought his involveemnt to a close.

According to a close friend, Cowley has been in hospital several times and even, if he does not talk much about his illness, his condition is serious.

Described by former colleagues as honest and upright, Cowley recently refused the offer from a British tabloid which offered him 'hundreds of thousands of euros' in exchange for details of his work with the McCanns.

A story that, according to Cowley himself, would never be told. He said: "I have sworn secrecy to Kate, I intend to uphold my promise".

UNQUOTE

by Woofer 28.10.12 9:01

omg - the Express can`t even get their spelling right in the headline -

" Maddie McCann Private Eyes Called Of "

And can`t even get Tracey Kandohla`s name right

by **PeterMac** 28.10.12 11:12

In which case -
How can TB's alleged statements be interfering with the search for Madeleine ?

1 The parents never even started
2 Even the people they have been pretending were searching, have now finished.

Are they going to blame TB for that ?

by Guest 28.10.12 11:25

They're doctors and don't know the difference between months and years ...?
Perhaps a good thing that Kate doesn't practise anymore and Gerry hopefully has an assistant to do the counting ;-)

by **Tony Bennett** 28.10.12 11:56

PeterMac wrote:In which case -
How can TB's alleged statements be interfering with the search for Madeleine ?

1 The parents never even started
2 Even the people they have been pretending were searching, have now finished.

Are they going to blame TB for that ?

Yes, I think they are. They will say that even though they and the private investigators have stopped searching, I am hindering hundreds of millions worldwide from searching.

I would just repeat here this FACT.

After millions of pounds have been spent on the private investigators, the McCann Team have yet to give us even ONE usable fact about who the abductor might be and where s/he might have taken Madeleine. It's even worse than looking for a needle in a haystack

by aiyoyo 28.10.12 11:57

If Arthur Cowley hasn't worked for the Mccanns since 2010 why did kate say the bewk profits will go to the fund for the search?

How is she hoping to find Maddie in the Court rooms God only knows.

by Guest 28.10.12 12:12

aiyoyo wrote:If Arthur Cowley hasn't worked for the Mccanns since 2010 why did kate say the bewk profits will go to the fund for the search?

How is she hoping to find Maddie in the Court rooms God only knows.

***
Don't forget they also looked for her in Berlin, Amsterdam, the Vatican, the White House, Fatima and more recently Scandanavia, Australia, Brazil and the USA again. And in the first couple of years on their computer, every day!

An interesting quote BTW: Described by former colleagues as honest and upright, Cowley recently refused the offer from a British tabloid which offered him 'hundreds of thousands of euros' in exchange for details of his work with the McCanns. A story that, according to Cowley himself, would never be told. He said: "I have sworn secrecy to Kate, I intend to uphold my promise".
Sworn secrecy, is that the same as a non-disclosure clause in a contract ...?

by **Tony Bennett** 28.10.12 12:21

Châtelaine wrote:An interesting quote BTW: Described by former colleagues as honest and upright, Cowley recently refused the offer from a British tabloid which offered him 'hundreds of thousands of euros' in exchange for details of his work with the McCanns. A story that, according to Cowley himself, would never be told. He said: "I have sworn secrecy to Kate, I intend to uphold my promise".
Sworn secrecy, is that the same as a non-disclosure clause in a contract...?

Châtelaine, much more than just an 'interesting' quote, I think, against the background of a couple who claim their search for Madeleine has been 'transparent'. To swear secrecy could I think mean any of the following:

1. Cowley has signed a non-disclosure contract, probably on being employed by the McCanns/Brian Kennedy in the first place

OR

2. Cowley has sworn an Affidavit to say he will never disclose Kate McCann secrets

OR

3. Cowley, when he was finishing working for the McCanns, said something like: 'Honest, Kate, cross my heart and hope to die, I swear on my dog's life that all your secrets are safe with me'.

I wonder if it was true that Cowley was offered hundreds of thousands of pounds by a tabloid for his secrets? It would come in handy for refurbishmemt of that tumble-down cottage on windy Halkyn Mountain

by Woofer 28.10.12 12:38

What a prat - merely saying that indicates that there are, definitely, secrets

by **PeterMac** 28.10.12 13:11

But under oath, in court . . . ?

And it also suggests that he would not tell Operation Grange about what he had done, or what he knew.
I wonder why the "secrets" do not help to find Madeleine ?

by aiyoyo 28.10.12 13:26

Châtelaine wrote:
aiyoyo wrote:If Arthur Cowley hasn't worked for the Mccanns since 2010 why did kate say the bewk profits will go to the fund for the search?

How is she hoping to find Maddie in the Court rooms God only knows.
***
Don't forget they also looked for her in Berlin, Amsterdam, the Vatican, the White House, Fatima and more recently Scandanavia, Australia, Brazil and the USA again. And in the first couple of years on their computer, every day!

An interesting quote BTW: Described by former colleagues as honest and upright, Cowley recently refused the offer from a British tabloid which offered him 'hundreds of thousands of euros' in exchange for details of his work with the McCanns. A story that, according to Cowley himself, would never be told. He said: "I have sworn secrecy to Kate, I intend to uphold my promise".
Sworn secrecy, is that the same as a non-disclosure clause in a contract ...?

Sworn secrecy? A hem - WHY?
If this were to be pointed out in Court, that would immediately raise suspicions.
Naturally the Judges and/or Jury would want to know the rationale behind the Sworn Secrecy, especially since the search was conducted using Public donated fund, so sworn secrecy and public donations dont go hand in hand. It just does not add up.
Why cant the public be updated from time to time about the search just in general. Surely it is in the public interest to know how the search is progressing since the mccanns are constantly asking people to help to look out.

One pertinent question: why is sworn secrecy contractual particularly between Kate and PI?
Does it mean Kate was personally involved directly in the hire of Cowley, and other Trustees not involved in the decision, hence not involved the sworn secrecy contract?

Swear secrecy to what anyway - not to talk about the search or something else?

So was CM lying then when he promised fund transparency?
Did he consult with Kate before he said that - because Kate personal contractual secrecy agreement with the Cowley is the opposite of transparency.

It leaves one wondering what sort of PI whose job is to search so publicly for a high profile missing child would agree to be gagged?
You would have to assume the price tag must he handsome to make it worth his while to agree to be gagged about his work. Else why agreed to be gagged over such a high profile missing child when it is in the public interest to know the progress or development of the search.

Even tabloids attractive offer did not sway him...must be some gag eh!

If and when the PIs are ever called up as witnesses in Court, there will be some bombshell stories to pry out of the PIs no doubt.

by Woofer 28.10.12 13:29

PeterMac wrote: But under oath, in court . . . ?

And it also suggests that he would not tell Operation Grange about what he had done, or what he knew.
I wonder why the "secrets" do not help to find Madeleine ?

Shame imo he`s going to end his career with a charge of perverting the course of justice, unless he has a change of heart and decides to end it honourably.

by aiyoyo 28.10.12 13:37

PeterMac wrote: But under oath, in court . . . ?

And it also suggests that he would not tell Operation Grange about what he had done, or what he knew.
I wonder why the "secrets" do not help to find Madeleine ?

Eh, hold on....can't be correct that - since Andy Redwood said they had pooled documents from three sources (including that of the PIs) for the review? So is Andy Redwood missing some documents from mccanns last PIs?

All their PIs will be up shit creek without a paddle when the shit hits the fan.
Too late to surrender without legal ramifications if they'd helped to pervert the course of justice.

by aiyoyo 28.10.12 13:40

Woofer wrote:
PeterMac wrote: But under oath, in court . . . ?

And it also suggests that he would not tell Operation Grange about what he had done, or what he knew.
I wonder why the "secrets" do not help to find Madeleine ?

Shame he`s going to end his career with a charge of perverting the course of justice, unless he has a change of heart and decides to end it honourably.

Too late for honorable retreat, his name is listed as mccanns PI, already entangled with the mccanns crime.

by Woofer 28.10.12 14:41

aiyoyo wrote:
PeterMac wrote: But under oath, in court . . . ?

And it also suggests that he would not tell Operation Grange about what he had done, or what he knew.
I wonder why the "secrets" do not help to find Madeleine ?

Eh, hold on....can't be correct that - since Andy Redwood said they had pooled documents from three sources (including that of the PIs) for the review? So is Andy Redwood missing some documents from mccanns last PIs?

All their PIs will be up shit creek without a paddle when the shit hits the fan.
Too late to surrender without legal ramifications if they'd helped to pervert the course of justice.

Well it would be a bit daft to tell SY all Kate`s secrets. Like M3, only `official` type files would have been handed over IMO.

by jozi 28.10.12 14:45

Châtelaine wrote:
aiyoyo wrote:If Arthur Cowley hasn't worked for the Mccanns since 2010 why did kate say the bewk profits will go to the fund for the search?

How is she hoping to find Maddie in the Court rooms God only knows.
***
Don't forget they also looked for her in Berlin, Amsterdam, the Vatican, the White House, Fatima and more recently Scandanavia, Australia, Brazil and the USA again. And in the first couple of years on their computer, every day!

An interesting quote BTW: Described by former colleagues as honest and upright, Cowley recently refused the offer from a British tabloid which offered him 'hundreds of thousands of euros' in exchange for details of his work with the McCanns. A story that, according to Cowley himself, would never be told. He said: "I have sworn secrecy to Kate, I intend to uphold my promise".
Sworn secrecy, is that the same as a non-disclosure clause in a contract ...?

How strange is this, surly he disclosed his story and findings to SYP in the hunt for the whereabouts of Maddie and who took her, how can someone with close links have sworn secrecy to Kate ??? ..... Unless the secret is, being paid to do NOTHING, that, I can understand and would indeed need to be sworn to secrecy !!!

by aiyoyo 28.10.12 14:45

But he hasnt really any real work so where would he find files for Redwood's team?
He was hired on paper only, hired and dropped very quickly once his hq was made known.

by Guest 28.10.12 14:55

I should actually have bolded two words more: I have sworn secrecy to Kate.
Anyone having worked on a professional mission would answer questions sooner with: I have signed a non-disclosure contract with the Fund. It is against my professional code to give you any details.

It would be interesting [there's that word again] indeed to have all of the PI's giving evidence under oath in a court of justice. And if, I say if, they've fabricated stories [Posh-look-alike comes to mind], have kept secrets or indeed have done "nothing" as may [I say may] have been required, they should have been interviewed by New Scotland Yard and told them so. IMO, of course.

by jozi 28.10.12 14:58

[quote="aiyoyo"]But he hasnt really any real work so where would he find files for Redwood's team?
He was hired on paper only, hired and dropped very quickly once his hq was made known.[/quote ]

Isnt he the one that said she was in a lair in those Portuguese hills ? Think he also discovered the Mrs Beckham look a like being involved ?
Did he also say about the woman on the quay waiting for someone to deliver her child ???

Maybe I'm wrong but his files must be packed with all the investigating that he did/ discovered.......

by Guest 28.10.12 15:28

Sunday, 28 October 2012

The McCann Fund Farce

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by Guest 28.10.12 15:43

[quote="jozi"]

aiyoyo wrote:But he hasnt really any real work so where would he find files for Redwood's team?
He was hired on paper only, hired and dropped very quickly once his hq was made known.[/quote ]

Isnt he the one that said she was in a lair in those Portuguese hills ? Think he also discovered the Mrs Beckham look a like being involved ?
Did he also say about the woman on the quay waiting for someone to deliver her child ???

Maybe I'm wrong but his files must be packed with all the investigating that he did/ discovered.......

***
Jozy, we're talking Cowley and you're referring to Edgar.
BTW the woman on the quay was the Posh-look-alike.
No offense meant. Just trying to avoid a mix-up ending in long conversations ;-)