UK police chief hits back at Portuguese detective’s claims
8 November 2009 | Posted by astro
The head of Leicestershire Police has rejected claims from a former Portuguese detective that his officers withheld a witness statement from the Madeleine McCann inquiry.
Chris Eyre, the Temporary Chief Constable, said “I can assure you that at no time were statements withheld and not passed on.”
Goncalo Amaral, the Algarve detective who was removed the inquiry early on, made his claim in a book, which is now banned.
Mr Eyre responded after Freedom of Information requests were submitted by the Sunday Express.
A team of Leicestershire family officers went to Portugal on 5 May 2007 to support the McCanns.
It has also emerged that the Foreign Office has withheld details about the investigation so as not to damage relations between Britain and Portugal.
An individual submitted Freedom of Information requests to get details of negotiations by John Buck, Britain’s former ambassador to Portugal.
The then Information Commissioner Richard Thomas refused in case it caused Portugal to lose trust in Britain’s discretion.
in: Sunday Express, 08.11.2009, paper edition only
http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=6847.msg292202#msg292202
Bungling police had the details of the “main suspect” in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann for SIX YEARS without realising.
The innocent dad came forward in 2007 to say he was the person seen carrying a child in Portugal at the time the three-year-old vanished.
The unnamed dad – spotted in the Praia da Luz resort by McCann family friend Jane Tanner at 9.15pm – was among a number of British witnesses who completed questionnaires for Leicestershire police six years ago.
He is understood to have provided a detailed description of his movements on the night, including the fact he had picked up his own two-year-old daughter from a crèche close to where Madeleine vanished.
But his ‘alibi’ was only looked at this year.
Following Madeleine’s disappearance, Leicestershire police were responsible for collating all UK-based inquiries at the request of the Portuguese authorities.
Leicestershire Police yesterday refused to comment on the latest revelations.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/editors-picks/madeleine-mccann-bungling-police-prime-2965027DCI Redwood said in October: “Our focus in terms of understanding what happened on the night of May 3 has now given us a shift of emphasis. We are almost certain that the man seen by Jane Tanner is not Madeleine’s abductor.
“It takes us through to a position at 10pm when we see another man who is walking towards the ocean, close by to the apartment, with a young child in his arms.”