I missed your post earlier Ica but you have raised a very valid point as to why six senior British police officers (referred to mostly as Inspectors) were in PdL less than 48 hours after she disappeared and just as the sea and land search for her was in full swing. I have never ever heard of such a thing happening in any other case of an abduction abroad.
It is also very revealing that the Chancellor of the Exchequer namely Gordon Brown saw fit to telephone the McCanns directly. It would certainly appear that there was an awful lot more going on behind the scenes than the public or the press were ever aware of at the time.
First of all, has it been established that six senior officers from LP were in PdL less than 48 hours later?
- Two FLOs arrived on 5 May, according to their statements, from LP, but would they have been senior officers?
Kate mentions that three arrived in her book, although it's not clear who the third one was (pp.102-3).
- Forensic psychologists from CEOP and an analyst from NPIA arrived the following week.
- It's not clear when exactly DCS Bob Small arrived (he was obviously there for the van episode).
- José de Freitas (SOCA) was there at some point over the summer, though I'm not sure when he turned up.
It's not clear how long these people actually stayed.
- What's odd about Gordon Brown phoning Gerry, the father of a missing child? Or Cherie Blair contacting Kate?