Has Martin Smith Changed his Opinion ?

[ferryman]

So you agree, then, that Martin Smith almost certainly no longer believes he saw Gerry?

[faithlilly]

So you agree, then, that Martin Smith almost certainly no longer believes he saw Gerry?

You have still to provide a previous example of where Martin Smith has used the term police to mean PIs.

[ferryman]

You have still to provide a previous example of where Martin Smith has used the term police to mean PIs.

Don't need to.

[G-Unit]

In January 2008 he was 60-80% certain that he saw Gerry McCann. In late 2013 he said nothing had changed except the Tanner sighting had been eliminated. The e-fits were produced with the help of a team of investigators who were not convinced by the Tanner sighting and who thought there were inconsistencies in the group's statements. That may be why Mr Smith cooperated with them but not with Brian Kennedy. The McCanns threatened those investigators with legal action if they disclosed the e-fits and their report. There is no proof he changed his mind about who he saw, just wishful thinking by some people.

[ferryman]

In January 2008 he was 60-80% certain that he saw Gerry McCann. In late 2013 he said nothing had changed except the Tanner sighting had been eliminated. The e-fits were produced with the help of a team of investigators who were not convinced by the Tanner sighting and who thought there were inconsistencies in the group's statements. That may be why Mr Smith cooperated with them but not with Brian Kennedy. The McCanns threatened those investigators with legal action if they disclosed the e-fits and their report. There is no proof he changed his mind about who he saw, just wishful thinking by some people.

A simple question.

Why would Martin Smith (or his wife, on record verbatim as saying she no longer believes the man the family saw that night was Gerry) produce efits (by whatever technology) of a man they believed was Gerry?

[pegasus]

A simple question.

Why would Martin Smith (or his wife, on record verbatim as saying she no longer believes the man the family saw that night was Gerry) produce efits (by whatever technology) of a man they believed was Gerry?

MS said in press early 2008 he had no contact with investigating police since May 2007. But in the files is proof that he had contacted Gardai and LP in Sept 2007 and the PJ phoned him in late Sept 2007 and he agreed to fly to Portugal. This is proof that witnesses keep secret their real communications with police Ferryman.

[misty]

MS said in press early 2008 he had no contact with investigating police since May 2007. But in the files is proof that he had contacted Gardai and LP in Sept 2007 and the PJ phoned him in late Sept 2007 and he agreed to fly to Portugal. This is proof that witnesses keep secret their real communications with police Ferryman.

What Ferryman is trying to say is - why would you need to draw an efit of a man you say is THE man in the video clip?

[pegasus]

What Ferryman is trying to say is - why would you need to draw an efit of a man you say is THE man in the video clip?

A agree and I don't think he did either of the efits. For example the 2 efits could be by the eldest two children.

[misty]

A agree and I don't think he did either of the efits. For example the 2 efits could be by the eldest two children.

I'm not so sure about that. MS was the one who was pressing to identify the man as GM....and MS was the only one Amaral wanted to recall to Portugal.
My gut feeling is, had Amaral remained in charge, MS would have altered the time of his sighting to well past 10pm.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2034661/EvoFIT-technology-revolutionising-way-police-catch-criminals.html
I scored a sad 0/10 on the famous faces.

[ShiningInLuz]

I'm not so sure about that. MS was the one who was pressing to identify the man as GM....and MS was the only one Amaral wanted to recall to Portugal.
My gut feeling is, had Amaral remained in charge, MS would have altered the time of his sighting to well past 10pm.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-2034661/EvoFIT-technology-revolutionising-way-police-catch-criminals.html
I scored a sad 0/10 on the famous faces.

That link was excellent on so many counts.  Many thanks!

[stephen25000]

A simple question.

Why would Martin Smith (or his wife, on record verbatim as saying she no longer believes the man the family saw that night was Gerry) produce efits (by whatever technology) of a man they believed was Gerry?

Why do you perpetuate the lie that Mr. Smith has changed his mind, when there is no verified statement from him that he has ?

[Mr Gray]

Why do you perpetuate the lie that Mr. Smith has changed his mind, when there is no verified statement from him that he has ?

smith was never sure in the first place and didn't see the mans face.....the important thing is it wasn't Gerry he saw

[blonk]

Why do you perpetuate the lie that Mr. Smith has changed his mind, when there is no verified statement from him that he has ?

The answer is quite clear, as 'ferryman' has clearly set out in post after post after post.

Namely: Actions speak louder than words.

He has actively co-operated with the McCann Team since January 2008 and that is clear evidence, by his actions, that he does not think he saw Gerry McCann on 3 May 2007.

Moreover he has publicly called for the police and public to 'find the abductor'.

Not that I believe for one moment that he ever seriously believed he had seen Gerry McCann.

I totally fail to understand why some put so much weight on a man who...

* over four months later
* was just 60% to 80% sure he had seen Gerry McCann
* based only on 'the way he was carrying Sean'
* who took 11 days to say so [9 to 20 September]
* took 13 days to report his sighting,
* together with the rest of his family, gave FOUR wholly contradictory reasons for this inexplicable 13-day delay. and
* then began wholehearted co-operation with the McCann Team just three months later.


As someone else said up the thread, his shaky evidence would be torn to shreds within minutes if he ever took  the witness stand   

[Alfred R Jones]

In January 2008 he was 60-80% certain that he saw Gerry McCann. In late 2013 he said nothing had changed except the Tanner sighting had been eliminated. The e-fits were produced with the help of a team of investigators who were not convinced by the Tanner sighting and who thought there were inconsistencies in the group's statements. That may be why Mr Smith cooperated with them but not with Brian Kennedy. The McCanns threatened those investigators with legal action if they disclosed the e-fits and their report. There is no proof he changed his mind about who he saw, just wishful thinking by some people.

His wife has stated explicitly that they are hugely sympathetic to the McCanns, a sentiment she's highly unlikely to utter IMO if her husband (who she once agreed with) was adamant that he is still 60-80% certain he saw Gerry.  Anyone ignoring this fact is trying hard to avoid the elephant in the room.

[Lace]

I found this on the wiki pages -


Exton questioned the significance of the Tanner sighting of a man carrying a child at 21:15 near apartment 5A, and focused instead on the Smith sighting at 22:00. The Oakley team produced e-fits based on the Smiths' description. This was a sensitive issue, because in September 2007 Martin Smith had watched footage of the McCanns arriving in the UK from Portugal, and believed he recognized Gerry McCann as the man he had seen with the child at 22:00. Smith came to accept that he was mistaken: at 22:00 witnesses placed Gerry McCann in the tapas restaurant. Nevertheless, the publication of the Smith e-fits, which bore some resemblance to Gerry, would have fed the conspiracy theories about the McCanns.[41]