Madeleine: British man who went to a party in a 'wealthy suburb' of Manchester on 17 August - and was spoken to by a 'respected barrister' who later broke down in tears - arrested by Greater Manchester Police last night in the hunt for missing girl

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/madeleine-mccann-man-arrested-greater-2366183

It's pure spin as the arrest appears unrelated to Maddie's disappearance  

So let me try to understand:  A man goes to a party, meets another man he does not know; tells this man he has "met Madeleine on a Med. island and was introduced to her" [not a verbatim quote].  Why would he report this to a stranger?  Did he meet this child in a social situation - a local neighbourhood gathering, or at a party on the island?  Or in more covert circumstances.  If the former, why was it not reported to the island police at the time?  If the latter, why risk telling a stranger?

Very hard to make sense of it.

Funny that it seems the arrest has nothing to do with Andy's revelations. But at least the Grangers have another thing to investigate, and on a Mediterranean island!

lj wrote:Funny that it seems the arrest has nothing to do with Andy's revelations. But at least the Grangers have another thing to investigate, and on a Mediterranean island!

Probably another 'innocent' man stigmatised for life by the McCanns unending search for 'suspects'

No smoke without fire, and all that!

What happened to that Lawllor guy?

"Tourist resorts popular with Brits are now thought to feature in the active enquiry.  A family source confirmed last night 'This is high up on the credibility scale'"  

Meanwhile, back at a hostelry near NSY, it's trebles all round as Andy has guaranteed the jollies will continue unabated. 

How many countries around the globe have resorts which are popular with Brits?  Will the Met's finest be sunning themselves exercising their investigative skills in or around the the beaches of Brighton, Skegness, Blackpool, Canvey Island, Newquay etc, or will they concentrate their efforts on the Costas, Balaerics, Sardinia, Tuscany, the Greek Islands, Turkish Coast, Cyprus, the Seychelles, Goa, Bangkok, Hawaii, Tahiti, Bondi Beach before indulging in a spot of genteel detecting in Mexico, Cuba, Florida, the Bahamas, et al? 

My money's on Barbados featuring in Grange's December diary.  It's where all the smart money usual suspects gather on the 25th.  No doubt the Met will authorise DC Plod to be accompanied by his wife and family (at a specially negotiated low airline fare/reduced rate luxurious hotel room) when he sets off to make those essential enquiries which could have been done by phone/fax/email/video conferencing at minimal cost.

With regard to the 'family source', is this one and the same source who was quoted in the Express a couple of days ago to the effect that St.K8 was ready to help shut Dr Amaral up forever?   Is the source related to any directors of FindMadeleine.com.Limited and/or are they paid from the proceeds of the scam donations to the Fund which leaves no stone unturned when it comes to burying the truth?

There is definitely more to this story.

This solicitor did not ask the man to go to the Police with his info, instead he asked to remain anonymous!

This man was arrested on suspicions of drug possession and indecent images downloading...?
Err...did the Police had knowledge of that when they busted him?
Since he's info pertaining to Maddie, one would have thought the the correct Police procedure would be to invite him in for an interview and NOT arrest him on suspicion of something else totally unrelated to Maddie, or is there a connection somewhere?

This type of character in the same party/social gathering as a solicitor? A drug fueled party?

Well we will wait and see.   Crimewatch on Monday, arreseted September.   
 
This story has come from a family source.   We will wait and see.

Edited to change arrest info.

The link to this story disappears before it can be read but it's surely a very quick regurgitation of the one from last week.

https://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t7918-new-madeleine-mccann-sensation-witness-tells-barrister-he-saw-girl-alive-just-weeks-ago-mirror-6-10-13

P.S. The link is now working again. It's the same story. Even most Mirror readers will remember it from a week ago!

plebgate wrote:Well we will wait and see.   Crimewatch on Monday, arreseted September.   
 
This story has come from a family source.   We will wait and see.

Edited to change arrest info.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/video/front-pages-13th-october-2013-053141596.html

This has since been denied as having a connection to Madeleine according to the video link above.

GRACEFUL1 wrote:

plebgate wrote:Well we will wait and see.   Crimewatch on Monday, arreseted September.   
 
This story has come from a family source.   We will wait and see.

Edited to change arrest info.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/video/front-pages-13th-october-2013-053141596.html

This has since been denied as having a connection to Madeleine according to the video link above.

Thank you Graceful1.  

plebgate wrote:

GRACEFUL1 wrote:

plebgate wrote:Well we will wait and see.   Crimewatch on Monday, arreseted September.   
 
This story has come from a family source.   We will wait and see.

Edited to change arrest info.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/video/front-pages-13th-october-2013-053141596.html

This has since been denied as having a connection to Madeleine according to the video link above.

Thank you Graceful1.  

None of that story makes any sense. 

Maybe it was a last desperate attempt at spin by the McCanns but it could also have been a message to the McCanns to stop with the fake sightings or there will be arrests.

Full article

Madeleine McCann: British man arrested in the hunt for missing girl
13 Oct 2013 08:48

Suspect held in a swoop by Greater Manchester Police after the Sunday Mirror revealed that a man bragged about seeing Madeleine alive just weeks ago

The dramatic arrest of a Brit in the hunt for Madeleine McCann has been described as “potentially highly significant”.

It has boosted the hopes of the missing youngster’s anguished parents Kate and Gerry.

A source close to the couple said: “The arrest only happened as a result of a claim that Madeleine may still be alive.”

The suspect was held in a swoop by Greater Manchester Police after the Sunday Mirror last week revealed that a man bragged about seeing Madeleine alive just weeks ago.

A respected barrister told us the man boasted to him that he had met the child on a Mediterranean island. It was claimed Maddie was “introduced” to the man this summer.

It is understood that the Manchester officers who made the arrest also seized computers from a private address and sent them for forensic examination.

Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange team have been handed the barrister’s detailed statement, which is rated as “high up on the credibility scale”.

The Yard officers had reopened the probe into the disappearance of Madeleine, then aged three, from the McCanns’ holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.

The dramatic twist in the inquiry comes as Kate and Gerry, both 45, prepare to appear in a Crimewatch appeal on BBC1 tomorrow night.

It is understood they are being kept fully briefed on developments.

We told last week how the barrister went to police after being told of the Maddie sighting.

Tourist resorts popular with Brits are now thought to feature in the active inquiry. A family source confirmed last night: “This is high up on the credibility scale.

"The barrister did the right thing by going to police. His information has gone into the Operation Grange system and I know they are working on it.

[ PICTURE: New hope: Madeleine McCann ]

“The fact that he was prepared to risk his reputation by making the statement does suggest that it is credible. There are tip-offs and sightings all the time and many of them can be ruled out immediately as either complete fantasy or because there is no credibility to the source.

“This one is more credible because of the nature of the man who brought it to the authorities’ attention.”

The Sunday Mirror can reveal that the arrested man was at a party attended by the barrister at a private home in an upmarket suburb of Manchester on August 17.

During the evening, the lawyer had a conversation with the man, who told him he had met Madeleine on the island in the Med this summer.

The barrister, shocked and distressed by what the man said about the alleged encounter, contacted his local police force the next day then gave a formal statement.

The barrister, who agreed to speak to us but who we are not naming at his request, refused to comment further on the arrest.

He explained: “I cannot risk compromising the investigation or the search for Madeleine. If she is alive but now ­disappears again, I would never be able to forgive myself.”

But a separate source close to the arrest said: “A guy at the party told the barrister he had been introduced to Madeleine on the island in the summer.

“The barrister took that to mean that she was with another adult at the time but doesn’t know who it was or anything about them.”

It is unclear whether the barrister was able to give officers the name of the man he spoke to at the party.

Police have not released any details about the man they have arrested.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said in a statement: “A man was arrested in September on suspicion of possession of drugs and conspiracy to distribute indecent images of children. He has been bailed pending further inquiries. An investigation is ongoing into this matter and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”

[Picture: New appeal: Gerry and Kate McCann]

Last week we revealed how the barrister broke down in tears as he explained what he had been told.

Speaking to us as he walked his dog in a park near his large home in the North West of England, he said: “I can’t tell you exactly why I believe what I was being told. It was just a gut feeling.

"I knew that by reporting it, it would compromise me in all sorts of ways.

“But it was something I couldn’t ignore. If I hadn’t said anything I couldn’t have lived with myself.”

Asked what it was about the ­description the man at the party gave him of the girl he said was Madeleine, the barrister said: “I have told the police everything that I was told about her. They know what that was and that is why they have acted.”

Meanwhile Kate and Gerry, of Rothley, Leics, are set to speak of their hope that their daughter will be found finally thanks to new evidence uncovered by a UK police probe.

Former GP Kate and consultant ­cardiologist Gerry will appear live on BBC1’s Crimewatch at 9pm tomorrow.

Detectives will appeal for help in solving the six-year mystery of what happened in Praia da Luz where Madeleine was on holiday with her parents and younger twin siblings.

The programme will feature a new reconstruction of events, with Madeleine played by a three-year-old girl.

The programme will also be screened in Holland and Germany.

Before this week’s arrest, officers had spoken to 442 people since Operation Grange began. The team had identified 41 “persons of interest”, including carers, residents and workers at the resort.

Det Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, the senior investigating officer, said: “I truly believe there are people out there who hold the key to Madeleine’s disappearance.”

A Scotland Yard spokesman refused to comment on the arrest and said: “We are not providing a running ­ commentary on the case.”



Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/madeleine-mccann-british-man-arrested-2366183#ixzz2hb2rh38W
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

My reading is that there is an obvious peedo connection. That would be why the barrister was so distressed and risked his reputation to tell police etc. Whether there is an ounce of truth in the whole story is another matter. It could be just feeding he new SY fabrications.

Now, from brave little Belgium:

1. VTM (Flemish national TV) just now showing the pictures of a little girl with a hat on picking up tennisballs while a dark haired man swings a racket; 
   
2. AR/SY saying that the McCs left for Tapas at 8.30, 
   
3. and finally that a man has been arrested in Manchester for telling people there that the child is still alive. 
   

So this places little Not-Maddie squarely in one subliminal message together with Not-GM

Oh, and KH saying something like she especially misses little Maddie in big crowds, suggesting maybe family gatherings or Marathon events (?)

juliet wrote:My reading is that there is an obvious peedo connection. That would be why the barrister was so distressed and risked his reputation to tell police etc. Whether there is an ounce of truth in the whole story is another matter. It could be just feeding he new SY fabrications.

Yes that struck me right from the start and made me wondered what circles the barrister moved in to hear such a story. Of course the guy could just have been fantasising either way it strikes me as a good thing he has been arrested as, unlike some of the people questioned, he does seem decidedly dodgy.

(I'm hoping this story would not have been published without the police checking to see if either the real Madeleine or a look-alike are being held by a paedophile gang for obvious reasons!)

galena wrote:

juliet wrote:My reading is that there is an obvious peedo connection. That would be why the barrister was so distressed and risked his reputation to tell police etc. Whether there is an ounce of truth in the whole story is another matter. It could be just feeding he new SY fabrications.

Yes that struck me right from the start and made me wondered what circles the barrister moved in to hear such a story. Of course the guy could just have been fantasising either way it strikes me as a good thing he has been arrested as, unlike some of the people questioned, he does seem decidedly dodgy.

(I'm hoping this story would not have been published without the police checking to see if either the real Madeleine or a look-alike are being held by a paedophile gang for obvious reasons!)

 I think this story is right up there with:

"Ex-pat 6' 4" basket-ball playing Angolan, Marcelinho Italiano, also an 'amateur sleuth', fled Portugal after his front teeth were knocked out by a vicious paedophile gang who had taken Maddie to the U.S."

or for that matter:

"Vital information, about a tipsy gypsy whose gang stole Madeleine, contained in letter sent by a dying paedophile, Raymond Hewlett, via a 'mystery man', to his long-estranged son, Wayne in Telford - burnt!"

or even:

"Woman looking like Victoria Beckham asking a drunk British bank manager at Barcelona dockside about 'her new daughter' at 2am is 'a strong lead'"



Let's examine aspects of both Sunday Mirror stories

LAST WEEK

The confession was made at a party in the North West of England in August and the lawyer gave a full statement to his local force, Greater Manchester Police, the following day.

Officers are taking the information seriously and are set to prepare a file for Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange team, leading the hunt.

According to a source, the informant is being treated as a credible witness because of his profession as a barrister and a pillar of the community.

Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/madeleine-mccann-alive-witness-tells-2343495#ixzz2hboCb9Cp
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

THIS WEEK

A source close to the couple [McCanns]  said: “The arrest only happened as a result of a claim that Madeleine may still be alive.”

The suspect was held in a swoop by Greater Manchester Police after the Sunday Mirror last week revealed that a man bragged about seeing Madeleine alive just weeks ago.

A respected barrister told us [the Sunday Mirror]  the man boasted to him that he had met the child on a Mediterranean island. It was claimed Maddie was “introduced” to the man this summer.

It is understood that the Manchester officers who made the arrest also seized computers from a private address and sent them for forensic examination.

Scotland Yard’s Operation Grange team have been handed the barrister’s detailed statement, which is rated as “color=#333399]high up on the credibility scale”.[/color]

The Yard officers had reopened the probe into the disappearance of Madeleine, then aged three, from the McCanns’ holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.

The dramatic twist in the inquiry comes as Kate and Gerry, both 45, prepare to appear in a Crimewatch appeal on BBC1 tomorrow night.

It is understood they are being kept fully briefed on developments.

We told last week how the barrister went to police after being told of the Maddie sighting.

Tourist resorts popular with Brits are now thought to feature in the active inquiry. A family source confirmed last night: “This is high up on the credibility scale.


"The barrister did the right thing by going to police. His information has gone into the Operation Grange system and I know they are working on it.


[Pic: New hope: Madeleine McCann]

“The fact that he was prepared to risk his reputation by making the statement does suggest that it is credible. There are tip-offs and sightings all the time and many of them can be ruled out immediately as either complete fantasy or because there is no credibility to the source.

“This one is more credible because of the nature of the man who brought it to the authorities’ attention.”

The Sunday Mirror can reveal that the arrested man was at a party attended by the barrister at a private home in an upmarket suburb of Manchester on August 17.

During the evening, the lawyer had a conversation with the man, who told him he had met Madeleine on the island in the Med this summer.

The barrister, shocked and distressed by what the man said about the alleged encounter, contacted his local police force the next day then gave a formal statement.

The barrister, who agreed to speak to us but who we are not naming at his request, refused to comment further on the arrest.

He explained: “I cannot risk compromising the investigation or the search for Madeleine. If she is alive but now ¬disappears again, I would never be able to forgive myself.”

But a separate source close to the arrest said: “A guy at the party told the barrister he had been introduced to Madeleine on the island in the summer.

“The barrister took that to mean that she was with another adult at the time but doesn’t know who it was or anything about them.”

It is unclear whether the barrister was able to give officers the name of the man he spoke to at the party.

Police have not released any details about the man they have arrested.

Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/madeleine-mccann-british-man-arrested-2366183#ixzz2hbpK8jqa
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook

++++

It is not really established that anyone really has been arrested.

If anyone has, we have no idea what the alleged offence is.

A careful reading of both the reports shows that virtually 100% of this story is sourced from "a source close to the couple [the McCanns] - which we all know is shorthand for Clarence Mitchell, the man whose job was, and probably still is, 'to control what comes out in the media'.

I like the way today's article says as a fact that DCI Redwood of Opertation Grange believe that this fairytale is 'high on the credibility scale'!

More trhan you can say for DCI Redwood and Clarence Mitchell...

sounds as though they had been on the sauce whoever the close/family source is for these stories.

Police deny man was held in connection with Madeleine McCann inquiry as new images of suspect released

Police have denied that a Manchester man was arrested in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

The man reportedly made claims at a house party in Manchester that he had seen missing Madeleine earlier this summer.

It was claimed that he was arrested over the alleged comments after a report from a witness, a barrister, who heard him.

But Greater Manchester Police have 'categorically' denied any link between the arrest and Madeleine, saying it had 'nothing to do' with the continuing investigation into the youngster's whereabouts.

A GMP spokesman told the M.E.N.: “I can categorically say that no one has been arrested as part of the Madeleine McCann investigation.

“It has nothing to do with Madeleine McCann, that's all I can say.”

A police statement issued over the reports said a man was arrested in September on suspicion of possession of drugs and conspiracy to distribute indecent images of children. The man, who has not been named, was later released on police bail pending further investigation. Police made no further comment.

The exact location of the arrest by GMP officers has not been revealed, but it's believed to have been in a Manchester suburb.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/police-deny-manchester-man-held-6180591

Olympicana_Reloaded wrote:Police deny man was held in connection with Madeleine McCann inquiry as new images of suspect released

Police have denied that a Manchester man was arrested in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

The man reportedly made claims at a house party in Manchester that he had seen missing Madeleine earlier this summer.

It was claimed that he was arrested over the alleged comments after a report from a witness, a barrister, who heard him.

But Greater Manchester Police have 'categorically' denied any link between the arrest and Madeleine, saying it had 'nothing to do' with the continuing investigation into the youngster's whereabouts.

A GMP spokesman told the M.E.N.: “I can categorically say that no one has been arrested as part of the Madeleine McCann investigation.

“It has nothing to do with Madeleine McCann, that's all I can say.”

A police statement issued over the reports said a man was arrested in September on suspicion of possession of drugs and conspiracy to distribute indecent images of children. The man, who has not been named, was later released on police bail pending further investigation. Police made no further comment.

The exact location of the arrest by GMP officers has not been revealed, but it's believed to have been in a Manchester suburb.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/police-deny-manchester-man-held-6180591

I'm guessing the Mirror has no inside info but is determined to cash in on the new interest sparked by the Crimewatch programme 

plebgate wrote:sounds as though they had been on the sauce whoever the close/family source is for these stories.

Are you finding it odd that the close/family source has been remarkably quiet for the past few days, plebgate?
Could it be possible they've emigrated come to the realisation that silence is golden?

juliet wrote:My reading is that there is an obvious peedo connection. That would be why the barrister was so distressed and risked his reputation to tell police etc. Whether there is an ounce of truth in the whole story is another matter. It could be just feeding he new SY fabrications.

My thoughts exactly. A party in a "well to do area in Manchester" (does such a place exist)? A man tells someone that he was "introduced" to Madeleine (obvious paedo connotation) then this person as a highly regarded er Barrister goes and spills all to the police? How about a group of journos get wind of the crimewatch programme, following the GA Libel case, fabricate the entire thing knowing that the local police will witch hunt any named suspect and they splash the whole fabrication to a newspaper whose readers are dumb enough to believe anything. Whether rightly or wrongly it doesn't look good for you if you are a suspected child abuser in Manchester

ultimaThule wrote:

plebgate wrote:sounds as though they had been on the sauce whoever the close/family source is for these stories.

Are you finding it odd that the close/family source has been remarkably quiet for the past few days, plebgate?
Could it be possible they've emigrated come to the realisation that silence is golden?

Not a quote of any kind afaiaa.

Has Pinky gone yet or does he have to give one months notice?  

Was the "respected barrister" by any chance Michael Shrimpton?