Exploring the reasons and motivation behind Portuguese re-opening of the case.

[Benice]

Yeah I was living in WMids at the time. WMSCS was disbanded late eighties as I recall. Their notorious case being the alleged pub bombers where statements were crudely changed and pocket books rigged. My point I think is:- are you suggesting that we had no justice at all before interviews were taped or that taping merely eliminated one place that could be open to abuse? Your post reads like you are suggesting the former.

The West Midlands Crime squad was a thoroughly bad lot - and a law unto  themselves IIRC.  It was a good day for justice when they were disbanded.   IMO Portugal is about 40 years behind the UK and there are pockets of similarly corrupt  policemen still around.   Since Portugal became a democracy they are gradually moving away from that situation - but it will take time.    IMO the days when the word of a policeman was automatically believed by courts over any member of the public - (which is how is used to be in the UK), are numbered - but they still have a long way to go.  My own observation is that it has been a case of two steps forward and one step back thus far.

Prosecuting policemen like Amaral and Tavares etc for perjury and torture are examples of 2 steps forward.  Prosecuting Leanora Cipriano for not being able to identify her torturers was one step back IMO.







 





 

[Estuarine]

The West Midlands Crime squad was a thoroughly bad lot - and a law unto  themselves IIRC.  It was a good day for justice when they were disbanded.   IMO Portugal is about 40 years behind the UK and there are pockets of similarly corrupt  policemen still around.   Since Portugal became a democracy they are gradually moving away from that situation - but it will take time.    IMO the days when the word of a policeman was automatically believed by courts over any member of the public - (which is how is used to be in the UK), are numbered - but they still have a long way to go.  My own observation is that it has been a case of two steps forward and one step back thus far.

Prosecuting policemen like Amaral and Tavares etc for perjury and torture are examples of 2 steps forward.  Prosecuting Leanora Cipriano for not being able to identify her torturers was one step back IMO.

The UK police were not beyond a little tampering as early as the CND demonstrations in the late 1950s. The Southend force early 1960s, The SPG of the 1970s/1980s didn't help either. There will always be bent coppers. As far as Dr Amaral is concerned it is my belief he was shoved off sideways by his own side because of the potentially forthcoming (at the time) perjury trial which would have made him an unreliable witness in the event the McCann case went to court. It makes more sense than phone calls from Gordon Brown although it is less interesting and has no legs for the conspiracy theorists.