Have we learnt anything from the Maddie case?

[Eleanor]

The coordinator of the first investigation was sacked and the investigation taken over by Rebelo whose very first task was to clean up the mess left behind and sort the files into some form of digitised order.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-488802/Madeleine-New-police-chiefs-fury-mess-inherited-predecessor.html

Incompetence of that scale in a missing child case ~ any case for that matter is absolutely mind boggling.  I think if you study the situation as it was at the time you will find that the bulk of usable material was that recovered after Amaral's departure is entirely due to the Rebelo investigation.  Who in my opinion never quite get the credit they are due for the professionalism they showed in extricating the PJ from the disaster they inherited from Amaral.

But even they could not make up the ground that had been lost.

And we never did find out the truth of what happened to The Gaspar Statements.

Were they sent by The UK Police, and then buried under the mess left by Amaral?

[Benice]

I think the condition Kate found the window and the blind in was certainly an issue a competent investigation would have studied very carefully indeed.

Instead according to Jose Manuel Olivera, Crime reporter for the 'Diario de Noticias' the Portuguese press immediately began to receive leaks from the police that the witnesses' account of events was not believed and was nothing more than a "badly told story".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/7106086.stm

In my opinion knee jerk attitudes like that arrived at so instantaneously and leaked to be prejudicial to the main witnesses, could only have been detrimental to the search for a missing child whoever that child might have been.

I have never understood why the decision to publicly denigrate and insult the McCanns and their friends - and with such indecent haste imo  -  was deemed to be necessary in the first place.    What on earth was it meant to achieve?

[Carana]

And we never did find out the truth of what happened to The Gaspar Statements.

Were they sent by The UK Police, and then buried under the mess left by Amaral?

Hard to know exactly what happened about those, but that the PJ somehow mislaid them would seem to be a reasonable guess. If Paiva didn't even know of their existence, how would this reply make sense?

To: Ricard Paiva
From: DC 1756 Mike MARSHALL
Ref: David Payne
Date: October 24, 2007

Leicester Police Constabulary

Ricardo,

As requested, appended are the statements of Arul and Katherina Gaspar.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/KATERINA-PAYNE-INCIDENT.htm

[Carana]

I have never understood why the decision to publicly denigrate and insult the McCanns and their friends - and with such indecent haste imo  -  was deemed to be necessary in the first place.    What on earth was it meant to achieve?

I don't know if you're familiar with the pro-PJ media blitz against the Ciprianos, once a certain coordinator took over...

[Eleanor]

Hard to know exactly what happened about those, but that the PJ somehow mislaid them would seem to be a reasonable guess. If Paiva didn't even know of their existence, how would this reply make sense?

To: Ricard Paiva
From: DC 1756 Mike MARSHALL
Ref: David Payne
Date: October 24, 2007

Leicester Police Constabulary

Ricardo,

As requested, appended are the statements of Arul and Katherina Gaspar.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/KATERINA-PAYNE-INCIDENT.htm

Just as I thought.  Paiva could hardly have requested something that he knew nothing of.

[faithlilly]

The coordinator of the first investigation was sacked and the investigation taken over by Rebelo whose very first task was to clean up the mess left behind and sort the files into some form of digitised order.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-488802/Madeleine-New-police-chiefs-fury-mess-inherited-predecessor.html

Incompetence of that scale in a missing child case ~ any case for that matter is absolutely mind boggling.  I think if you study the situation as it was at the time you will find that the bulk of usable material was that recovered after Amaral's departure is entirely due to the Rebelo investigation.  Who in my opinion never quite get the credit they are due for the professionalism they showed in extricating the PJ from the disaster they inherited from Amaral.

But even they could not make up the ground that had been lost.

Rebelo did everything in his power to bring the party back to do a reconstruction and also insisted on their requestioning. That really doesn't sound like a coordinator who believed Amaral had been looking in the wrong place, and a hand-fed piece by Clarence to a friendly churnalist doesn't change that fact.

[Carana]

On the leaked diary saga:

Leveson inquiry: Daniel Sanderson Leveson inquiry: Daniel Sanderson gives evidence

12.18pm: Daniel Sanderson the News of the World reporter whose name appeared on the Kate McCann diary story in the News of the World, is up next.

McCann told the inquiry that publication of the diary left her feeling "violated".

12.19pm: Sanderson explains how he got in touch with a Portuguese journalist and they discussed payment for a copy of the diary. Sanderson then liaised with the news editor at the time, Ian Edmondson.

Edmondson hired a freelancer, Gerard Couzens, who is based in Spain to travel to Portugal to meet the journalist and collect the diary.

Sanderson says he wasn't aware at the time that the ultimate source was the Portuguese police.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/blog/2011/dec/15/leveson-inquiry-derek-webb-colin-myler-live


Mr Jay

Was there anything about the diary which caused you to speculate as to its source or was your state of mind the same as it had been previously?
Link in context
Link
Mr Daniel Sanderson

Thinking back, I mean it had obviously been translated from English to Portuguese. I mean, the source was -- I suppose, thinking back, it must have come from the Portuguese police, absolutely.
Mr Jay

Why do you say that?
Mr Daniel Sanderson

From memory, when I was looking through the documents, I believe there were comments on certain pages, I think. I can't remember.
Mr Jay

Which -- obviously you don't speak Portuguese --
Mr Daniel Sanderson

No, but there were notes and comments, and I don't know, it looked like some kind of official document, if that makes any sense.
Mr Jay

So was it at that point that you realised that the source was probably the Portuguese police?
Mr Daniel Sanderson

Oh yes, no absolutely, absolutely.
Mr Jay

Did that cause you any concerns?
Mr Daniel Sanderson

The whole thing caused me concern. The whole thing caused me concern.
http://leveson.sayit.mysociety.org/hearing-15-december-2011/mr-daniel-sanderson


Prior to the NoTW more "sympathetic" extracts, "choice" extracts (from the pro-PJ persective) did the rounds as soon as the McCanns left for the UK


Kate 'complained frequently'
2007-09-13 14:25

Lisbon - Portuguese newspapers on Thursday quoted what they said were extracts from the personal diary of Kate McCann, portraying her as a woman worn out by her three children, including missing toddler Madeleine.

The daily Publico said a copy of the diary had been seized during a police search of the Portuguese holiday home of the couple, who have been named as official suspects in the search for Madeleine.

Jornal de Noticias said the diary and other personal documents were now in the hands of examining magistrate Pedro Danielo dos Anjos Frias, who under Portuguese law must rule if they can be used as evidence.

Correio da Manha said that Kate McCann complained frequently in her diary that her children were "hysterical" and Madeleine in particular was hyperactive, while her husband Gerry did not help in household tasks.

According to Publico, events following the disappearance of Madeleine from the family's holiday apartment on May 3 while her parents were dining nearby with friends, are also described.

They include "the mother's anguish and despair, the solidarity of friends and the impact in the media", Publico said, adding that the police were interested in making comparisons or checking for contradictions in the various entries.

Publico said Portuguese prosecutors had asked the judge to summon Kate McCann back to Portugal from Britain, where they returned on Sunday.

According to Philomena McCann, Kate's sister-in-law, police suspect her of accidentally killing Madeleine then hiding her body.
https://www.news24.com/World/News/Kate-complained-frequently-20070913


ETA: I'd forgotten that there's a thread on the topic:
http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=5973.60

[Eleanor]

Rebelo did everything in his power to bring the party back to do a reconstruction and also insisted on their requestioning. That really doesn't sound like a coordinator who believed Amaral had been looking in the wrong place, and a hand-fed piece by Clarence to a friendly churnalist doesn't change that fact.

And while Rebelo was in England for the requestioning, the PJ was leaking wholesale again.

Rebelo didn't even bother to wait for the requestioning of David Payne before hot footing back to Portugal.

[Mr Gray]

Mark Rowley May 2017:
No matter how much some want it not to be,the first investigation is/was ok with non other than the Assistant Commissioner of the MET police,those tasked with investigating a crime in a foreign country where they have no jurisdiction..

SY looked at the evidence against the McCanns and decided they were not involved...they looked at the rest of the evidence and found investigative opportunities had been missed....so they were not happy with the previous investigation.... otherwise they would not be there..all my opinion

[Carana]

Rebelo did everything in his power to bring the party back to do a reconstruction and also insisted on their requestioning. That really doesn't sound like a coordinator who believed Amaral had been looking in the wrong place, and a hand-fed piece by Clarence to a friendly churnalist doesn't change that fact.

I think we've been through this before, Faith. Why didn't Amaral organise a reconstruction while the group was there? It can hardly be because he didn't want the McCanns to know he suspected them when the "badly told story" article appeared on 5 May.

"Esta é uma história muito mal contada"

por José Manuel Oliveira e Paula Martinheira
05 maio 2007

Uma criança inglesa desapareceu do quarto de hotel onde dormia com os irmãos mais novos, na Praia da Luz, no Algarve, enquanto os pais jantavam num restaurante do aldeamento. Autoridades e populares lançaram-se em megaoperação de busca, já alargada a Espanha.

O desaparecimento de Madeleine McCann, a criança inglesa de três anos que se encontrava de férias em Lagos, "é uma história muito mal contada", confidenciou ao DN fonte da Polícia Judiciária de Portimão. A afirmação reflecte as dúvidas das autoridades face aos depoimentos "confusos" expressos ontem pelas testemunhas ao longo de todo o dia.

(...)

http://www.dn.pt/especiais/interior.aspx?content_id=977892&especial=Caso%20Maddie&seccao=SOCIEDADE

[Benice]

I don't know if you're familiar with the pro-PJ media blitz against the Ciprianos, once a certain coordinator took over...

Ahh yes - the use of the media to publicly conduct 'character assassinations' of witnesses in order to influence public opinion against them also featured prominently in the LC case imo.

A shameful abuse of the Secrecy Laws IMO - as victims could face prison sentences if they attempted to publicly defend themselves.

AIMHO
 

[Eleanor]

Any of us who were around ten years ago are all back where we were then.  It was a pig's breakfast of an investigation, which was designed to get Amaral and cohorts off the hook of their previous pig's breakfast.

Fortunately, it didn't work on this occasion.  But then Amaral wasn't dealing with uneducated peasants the second time around.
God might have helped them if the parents of Mdeleine had been.

[Alice Purjorick]

On the leaked diary saga:

Leveson inquiry: Daniel Sanderson Leveson inquiry: Daniel Sanderson gives evidence

12.18pm: Daniel Sanderson the News of the World reporter whose name appeared on the Kate McCann diary story in the News of the World, is up next.

McCann told the inquiry that publication of the diary left her feeling "violated".

12.19pm: Sanderson explains how he got in touch with a Portuguese journalist and they discussed payment for a copy of the diary. Sanderson then liaised with the news editor at the time, Ian Edmondson.

Edmondson hired a freelancer, Gerard Couzens, who is based in Spain to travel to Portugal to meet the journalist and collect the diary.

Sanderson says he wasn't aware at the time that the ultimate source was the Portuguese police.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/blog/2011/dec/15/leveson-inquiry-derek-webb-colin-myler-live


Mr Jay

Was there anything about the diary which caused you to speculate as to its source or was your state of mind the same as it had been previously?
Link in context
Link
Mr Daniel Sanderson

Thinking back, I mean it had obviously been translated from English to Portuguese. I mean, the source was -- I suppose, thinking back, it must have come from the Portuguese police, absolutely.
Mr Jay

Why do you say that?
Mr Daniel Sanderson

From memory, when I was looking through the documents, I believe there were comments on certain pages, I think. I can't remember.
Mr Jay

Which -- obviously you don't speak Portuguese --
Mr Daniel Sanderson

No, but there were notes and comments, and I don't know, it looked like some kind of official document, if that makes any sense.
Mr Jay

So was it at that point that you realised that the source was probably the Portuguese police?
Mr Daniel Sanderson

Oh yes, no absolutely, absolutely.
Mr Jay

Did that cause you any concerns?
Mr Daniel Sanderson

The whole thing caused me concern. The whole thing caused me concern.
http://leveson.sayit.mysociety.org/hearing-15-december-2011/mr-daniel-sanderson


Prior to the NoTW more "sympathetic" extracts, "choice" extracts (from the pro-PJ persective) did the rounds as soon as the McCanns left for the UK


Kate 'complained frequently'
2007-09-13 14:25

Lisbon - Portuguese newspapers on Thursday quoted what they said were extracts from the personal diary of Kate McCann, portraying her as a woman worn out by her three children, including missing toddler Madeleine.

The daily Publico said a copy of the diary had been seized during a police search of the Portuguese holiday home of the couple, who have been named as official suspects in the search for Madeleine.

Jornal de Noticias said the diary and other personal documents were now in the hands of examining magistrate Pedro Danielo dos Anjos Frias, who under Portuguese law must rule if they can be used as evidence.

Correio da Manha said that Kate McCann complained frequently in her diary that her children were "hysterical" and Madeleine in particular was hyperactive, while her husband Gerry did not help in household tasks.

According to Publico, events following the disappearance of Madeleine from the family's holiday apartment on May 3 while her parents were dining nearby with friends, are also described.

They include "the mother's anguish and despair, the solidarity of friends and the impact in the media", Publico said, adding that the police were interested in making comparisons or checking for contradictions in the various entries.

Publico said Portuguese prosecutors had asked the judge to summon Kate McCann back to Portugal from Britain, where they returned on Sunday.

According to Philomena McCann, Kate's sister-in-law, police suspect her of accidentally killing Madeleine then hiding her body.
https://www.news24.com/World/News/Kate-complained-frequently-20070913


ETA: I'd forgotten that there's a thread on the topic:
http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=5973.60

Interesting.
Having waded through the contents of the link and to precis, we seem to have a very junior journalist saying he knew nothing about the provenance of the document [diary] but later on says he thinks it was leaked by the Portuguese police, he not understanding a word of the language, and giving no cogent reason for that belief. Some of the exchanges between Mr Danielson and Lord Leveson are revealing.
You wouldn't want to bat on strength of that would you?

[Carana]

Interesting.
Having waded through the contents of the link and to precis, we seem to have a very junior journalist saying he knew nothing about the provenance of the document [diary] but later on says he thinks it was leaked by the Portuguese police, he not understanding a word of the language, and giving no cogent reason for that belief. Some of the exchanges between Mr Danielson and Lord Leveson are revealing.
You wouldn't want to bat on strength of that would you?

Have a look at the news24 article I posted after the Sanderson / Leveson bit.

How did the PT press start publishing (distorted) extracts of it by Sept 13 07?

[Carana]

3.7 The protracted spate of defamatory reporting commenced in September 2007 and had to be endured by the McCanns over four torrid months ending in January 2008. It only stopped after the McCanns were driven to take legal action against the worst perpetrators. It is well known that British newspapers were relying on reports in Portuguese journals and other sources which were either associated with, close to, or directly part of the PJ. But, as the McCanns themselves explained, the British press often did not know the source; or did not know whether it was accurate, exaggerated or downright untruthful; or (as the McCanns believed) sometimes made up.21

3.8 A number of titles were guilty of gross libels of the McCanns and of serious and total failure to apply anything approaching the standards to which each has said they aspire.22 For that reason, the nature of the errors perpetrated by certain sections of the press will be explored, but at this stage it is sufficient to make the observation that, aside from the gross inaccuracy of the reporting in issue, some of it was, to put it bluntly, outrageous. One particular piece in the Daily Star published on 26 November 2007 certainly justifies being so described and Dr McCann was moved to go yet further:23

    “Q. “Maddie ‘sold’ by hard-up McCanns.” This is the article you do refer to, the selling into white slavery allegation. Probably you don’t want to dignify that with a comment?
    A. That’s nothing short of disgusting.
    MRS McCANN: I think this same journalist, if memory serves right, also said we stored her body in a freezer. I mean, we just ...
    LORD JUSTICE LEVESON: Just to make the comment, there’s absolutely no source for that assertion in the article.”
http://leveson.robertsharp.co.uk/F/chapter5/