Met Police say 38 persons of interest including 12 UK nationals.

[John]

I hope you're wrong Shona but I fear you might be spot on.   

[John]

I think a lot will now depend on the relationship the UK police have built up with their Portuguese counterparts  over the last 2 years - which from what we hear is a good one.     IMO It was clear that Amaral bitterly resented the involvement of the UK police  - and indeed was quite paranoid about them - an attitude which would not be condusive to collaberation or co-operation during the enquiry.      With him totally out of the picture, I don't think that has been the case between SY and their counterparts in Portugal.  In fact probably quite the opposite.

IMO.

The last thing the PJ want now is for the British Met Police to show them up.  Sad but true.

[Matthew Wyse]

Former coordinator Goncao Amaral might very well be out of the formal investigation but many of his officers who were involved are still there and will be loyal to him even now.  An axe to grind comes to mind.

I think a lot will now depend on the relationship the UK police have built up with their Portuguese counterparts  over the last 2 years - which from what we hear is a good one.     IMO It was clear that Amaral bitterly resented the involvement of the UK police  - and indeed was quite paranoid about them - an attitude which would not be condusive to collaberation or co-operation during the enquiry.      With him totally out of the picture, I don't think that has been the case between SY and their counterparts in Portugal.  In fact probably quite the opposite.

IMO.

[AnneGuedes]

I think a lot will now depend on the relationship the UK police have built up with their Portuguese counterparts  over the last 2 years - which from what we hear is a good one.     IMO It was clear that Amaral bitterly resented the involvement of the UK police  - and indeed was quite paranoid about them - an attitude which would not be condusive to collaberation or co-operation during the enquiry.      With him totally out of the picture, I don't think that has been the case between SY and their counterparts in Portugal.  In fact probably quite the opposite.

IMO.

Forget inspector Amaral, your dearest black sheep.
What about the relationships between inspector Rebelo and the McCanns ? What can you extrapolate from them ?

[AnneGuedes]

Former coordinator Goncao Amaral might very well be out of the formal investigation but many of his officers who were involved are still there and will be loyal to him even now.  An axe to grind comes to mind.

The UK tabloids with their amazing insults certainly favoured that loyalty.

[puglove]

I hope you're wrong Shona but I fear you might be spot on.   

Six years, sightings of a man carrying the poor little baby away, spiteful folk muddying the waters, and Kate McCann growing frailer and more desperate by the day. Desperate torture of a (admittedly smug) couple who basically f..ked up, like we all do. And paid the ultimate price.

[AnneGuedes]

The last thing the PJ want now is for the British Met Police to show them up.  Sad but true.

Why ?

[AnneGuedes]

And paid the ultimate price.

Madeleine ?

[AnneGuedes]

The McCanns have no idea what happened to their daughter

I'm very interested in knowing why you're sure of that.

[Benice]

The last thing the PJ want now is for the British Met Police to show them up.  Sad but true.

This is true John, but a diplomatic approach could avoid that - and I'm sure Portugal as a modern democracy would want to show the world how serious they are about solving crime - especially crimes against children  in their country. 

I truly believe that in the past such crimes were deliberately kept out of the public domain -  because of the impact they would have on the tourist industry.

Portugal urgently needs to change it's Secrecy Laws IMO.

[puglove]

Madeleine ?

Yes. Sorry, Anne, I have no idea which side you're on (apparently there are two - Mccann [ censored word ]s and Mccann supporters, both are spurious considering that a tiny child was taken while her parents over-indulged) but I do believe that Madeleine paid the ultimate price. And I struggle with the tennis lessons, jogging, and Kate's insistence that we read about her sex life with Gerry. God forbid, if I lost a child I would struggle with breathing. I probably wouldn't publish a book and tell the world that I felt the need to resume a healthy sex life.

[John]

Why ?

You ask why Anne?

The Portuguese are a very proud people, the GNR and especially the PJ will be extremely resentful at having to play second fiddle to a foreign police force on their patch...a fact of life unfortunately.

The damage done to tourism on the Algarve by the McCann case was widespread.  What really astounds me is the timing of this announcement by the Met which couldn't have come at a worst time for Portugal given the imminent tourist season.

[AnneGuedes]

Yes. Sorry, Anne, I have no idea which side you're on (apparently there are two - Mccann [ censored word ]s and Mccann supporters, both are spurious considering that a tiny child was taken while her parents over-indulged) but I do believe that Madeleine paid the ultimate price. And I struggle with the tennis lessons, jogging, and Kate's insistence that we read about her sex life with Gerry. God forbid, if I lost a child I would struggle with breathing. I probably wouldn't publish a book and tell the world that I felt the need to resume a healthy sex life.

I totally agree with you, Shona. I'm no [ censored word ] nor supporter of the McCanns, I feel like living in another world. But how can I judge them ? I know that, as the poet said, "human kind cannot bear too much reality". And I can't go on neglecting that, however painful this is.

[puglove]

I'm very interested in knowing why you're sure of that.

Oh, hush. I'm not Ann Eaton on the blue forum, and I have no agenda on here. If only you weird b....rs could pull your heads out of your arses, you might realise that whoever took Maddie had a key, and knowledge of the compound. It's not rocket science.

[AnneGuedes]

You ask why Anne?

The Portuguese are a very proud people, the GNR and especially the PJ will be extremely resentful at having to play second fiddle to a foreign police force on their patch...a fact of life unfortunately.

The damage done to tourism on the Algarve by the McCann case was widespread.  What really astounds me is the timing of this announcement by the Met which couldn't have come at a worst time for Portugal given the imminent tourist season.

I don't agree, John. I've lived in Portugal for 33 years and I had no preparation at all to their mentality, having a Calvinist education, though the spirit which animated the great discoveries wasn't unfamiliar to me. Raul Ruiz once called the Portuguese "the athletes of the low profile", and this is very right. They're proud, yes and luckily, but they'll accept (the fatum) whatever SY will discover if and only if the AG's conclusion isn't just thrown to the garbage bin : no evidence of the crime that resulted in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been found.
On the tourist topic, serious sociological studies deny any relation between the diminution of mass tourism and the McCann case. The global tendency is towards residence tourism, people (like the Smith family) having a double residence. If you wish, I have a good link (in French).