The same article also says:
snip>>>>>The request is the second made since DCI Nicola Wall took over Operation Grange from former boss Andy Redwood at the end of last year, but the first letter she will have been involved in preparing.
Regular meetings DCI Redwood held with his Portuguese counterparts in the Algarve city of Faro have been put on hold since DCI Wall took over*.<<<<<snip
*Maybe they have caught up with the concept of video conferences !
That change, I believe, tells us something about what is going on within OG at this time.
Video conferences are fine for routine, repetitive progress updates. They are pretty much useless for key meetings, where you want body language feedback, ability to dig out additional data and the such like.
Nicola Wall's Lisbon 'summit' was with all the key players, so video conference was a non-starter.
But why waste time on face-to-face overseas meetings every month, if what you are saying is 'we are making progress, we are following up leads"?
If/when another face-to-face meeting occurs in Faro, it will be the sign that there are more developments ahead.