Former McCann PI "Who is protecting Maddie's kidnapper?"

[Angelo222]

Thirty + years in the RUC and Cheshire constabulary would perhaps give him slightly more experience of facing downwind when pissing in the wind than most of us would ever hope to have.

His experience of searching for Madeleine McCann in the Algarve possibly had more in parallel with his experience of Northern Ireland badlands while a serving officer with the RUC ... although he would have had no firearm for protection when working in the Algarve.

If Madeleine was kidnapped as Dave Edgar thinks she may have been he will have a fair idea of the type of individual capable of performing such an outrage.

Kidnapping was very much a tool of the trade used by a variety of perpetrators in his younger RUC experiences ... so give the man the respect he is due ... if he says he thinks Madeleine McCann was a kidnap victim ~ and more importantly, that she may well have survived and still be alive ... I think it is well worth giving his informed opinion the consideration it is due.

There's a big difference between child abduction and terrorism and I can't recall a single instance of the former in NI so tools of the trade would have been of somewhat slim pickings.

I stand by my comment that Edgar has brought nothing new to the investigation so his belief in abduction is merely that.

[Mr Gray]

While it can change, it has not.

As things stand, the McCanns are still off-limits. Fact.

You don't know if it's changed
You still don't understand opinion and fact
Comprehension...zero

[Angelo222]

We already know what Edgar achieved last time.

Diddly Squat.

He did manage to show that either Jane Tanner or Gerry McCann are completely mistaken as to the encounter with Jez Wilkins and that one of them is a not a credible witness.

[Benice]

While it can change, it has not.

As things stand, the McCanns are still off-limits. Fact.

So in view of your claim that the McCanns are 'off limits'  - how do you think SY would deal with any evidence in the files which emerged during the investigation which clearly pointed a finger at the McCanns?   Would they ignore it on the grounds they have been told the  McCanns are 'off limits' ?     Surely not.

[G-Unit]

He did manage to show that either Jane Tanner or Gerry McCann are completely mistaken as to the encounter with Jez Wilkins and that one of them is a not a credible witness.

And he cared not a jot. He went so far as to say it didn't matter where the people concerned were located.

[Mr Gray]

While it can change, it has not.

As things stand, the McCanns are still off-limits. Fact.

So you now admit it could change
So the McCanns are simply not suspects

[Brietta]

We already know what Edgar achieved last time.

Diddly Squat.

Let us be clear about this ... you know 'diddly squat' about what David Edgar might have achieved during his three year search for Madeleine McCann.

You know 'diddly squat' what information was included in the files he handed over to Scotland Yard when they started reviewing Madeleine's case.

You know 'diddly squat' what use SY was able to make of some of the contents contained therein.

It is interesting that he has stood back from the SY investigation ... until now.  As we know, incarceration in the Algarve was a trail he was following before passing on his files.  Perhaps the opinion he has reprised in the press mirrors what Scotland Yard investigators would like to say.

[G-Unit]

The only person known to have gone jogging with Kate is Matthew.  Did other friends jog with Kate?

I happen to know the route is narrow, does not have a pedestrian-only area, is busy, and a (large) bus service runs on it.  Assuming Kate and Gerry entered via that route on 28 May, Kate would have had access to all of that information, or its equivalent.  And if not, a question arises as to how Kate or Matthew found out about it.

A few days after Madeleine went missing, Kate and Gerry went jogging past the villa Clement Freud had owned and up to the top of the hill.  There is no explanation as to how this route was found.  But it is a much safer route than the M537.

I have seen plenty of cyclists on the M537, typically with a fluorescent top for visibility.  I cannot recall seeing a jogger.

Didn't Operation Grange show some interest in that road during their digging exercise?

[Brietta]

There's a big difference between child abduction and terrorism and I can't recall a single instance of the former in NI so tools of the trade would have been of somewhat slim pickings.

I stand by my comment that Edgar has brought nothing new to the investigation so his belief in abduction is merely that.

I don't know what child abductions he might have worked while in the RUC neither do I know how involved he was in working against terrorists.  Given the time, the place and his job I think we can take it as a given that he has worked against unscrupulous hard men for whom abduction ... including the heartless abduction of the innocent ... was very small beer.

Dave Edgar worked Madeleine's case for three years ... if he has an opinion that Madeleine may well survive ... I think that is an opinion worth listening to.

The theory has much more to recommend it than Amaral's. 
Amaral's theory requires more 'proof of death' than Amaral's say so ... and to date, that has not been forthcoming.

[G-Unit]

It is the job of prosecutors to decide whether there is a basis for pressing charges against someone.

If they decide there isn't, their conclusion is that the person (or persons) has/have no case to answer.

The McCanns had and have no case to answer.

Madeleine's kidnappers do. 

If Operation Grange bring Madeleine's kidnappers to book, the Supreme Court judges will look very silly.

Being unable to gather the evidence needed to prosecute says nothing about the guilt or innocence of a suspect. As the crime wasn't identified speaking of kidnappers is a bit of a leap, I think.

The McCanns may be innocent, but it has no bearing on the SC decision because they never said they were guilty.

[Mr Gray]

Being unable to gather the evidence needed to prosecute says nothing about the guilt or innocence of a suspect. As the crime wasn't identified speaking of kidnappers is a bit of a leap, I think.

The McCanns may be innocent, but it has no bearing on the SC decision because they never said they were guilty.

If there is no evidence then it suggests that the suspect may be innocent

[stephen25000]

I don't know what child abductions he might have worked while in the RUC neither do I know how involved he was in working against terrorists.  Given the time, the place and his job I think we can take it as a given that he has worked against unscrupulous hard men for whom abduction ... including the heartless abduction of the innocent ... was very small beer.

Dave Edgar worked Madeleine's case for three years ... if he has an opinion that Madeleine may well survive ... I think that is an opinion worth listening to.

The theory has much more to recommend it than Amaral's. 
Amaral's theory requires more 'proof of death' than Amaral's say so ... and to date, that has not been forthcoming.

An opinion based on what.

He found nothing.

[Brietta]

There is a plethora of internet opinion designed to throw any indication of Madeleine McCann's survival into disrepute.

Why should that be?

Quite obviously if Madeleine is a kidnap survivor there are those who have a vested interest in keeping it that way.

Certainly, in the absence of proof of Amaral's assertion of her death ... the proper course of action is to look for proof of life.

There are many walled and gated estates in Portugal where she could well be living her life in full sight.  As we know, the flaw in her eye is not unique to her and in a country where a great deal of effort has been expended to ensure the theory of her death is deeply embedded in the psyche ... who is going to remark on it anyway?

[G-Unit]

If there is no evidence then it suggests that the suspect may be innocent

Not necessarily.

[Mr Gray]

Not necessarily.

I said suggests may be innocent
That would be one reason for there being no evidence