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Thursday 01 November 2007 |
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Gerry McCann returns to work at Glenfield Hospital, for 3 afternoons
a week, but with no patient contact.
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Yet another alleged sighting of Madeleine in Morocco. This time
by Naoul Mahli, a 30 year old Spanish resident visiting relatives in Fnidk, Northern Morocco. And, yet again, it appears to
be old news used to fill an empty front page as the alleged sighting happened on 21 August.
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Saturday 03 November 2007 |
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The McCanns mark 6 month's since Madeleine's disappearance with
an evening ecumenical prayer service at the local Church of St Mary and St John in Rothley. Kate and Gerry had attended earlier
in the day, with Sean and Amelie, for a period of private prayer.
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Unseen Madeleine picture released BBC News
The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have released a previously unseen picture of their daughter to mark six months
since she disappeared. The photograph of Madeleine sitting on a Shetland pony beside her mother was taken 20 days before her
disappearance.
On Saturday Kate and Gerry McCann renewed their appeal for information and attended a prayer service. Madeleine, of Rothley,
Leics, vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal on 3 May, days before her fourth birthday.
Work return
The photograph was shot at the Hatton Country World park in Warwickshire on 13 April.
Following Saturday's vigil at the Church of St Mary and St John in Rothley, family spokesman Clarence Mitchell spoke
to BBC News 24 about recent speculation surrounding the case. He played down reports that friends who dined with the McCanns
on the night of Madeleine's disappearance are soon to be designated as suspects by Portuguese police.
He said: "If the Portuguese police choose to re-interview some of their friends, it may happen, that is for the Portuguese
police and Portuguese authorities to decide. So far they have not said that... we've had no indication whatsoever that the
friends will be made arguido."
The McCanns, both 39, remain suspects with "arguido" status in the case, but deny any involvement.
Mr McCann plans to return to his job as a consultant cardiologist at Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, full-time in January.
On Thursday, he went back to work for three half-days a week and with no direct contact with patients.
'Entirely innocent'
Mr Mitchell also responded to speculation that the Portuguese authorities may shortly close the case. He said: "Well,
I hope they wrap it up by finding Madeleine of course, that's what we all want.
"If the Portuguese police are in a position to one, find Madeleine, or at least establish what has happened to her within
the next seven weeks, well then that's good news.
"The first stage of that will be that Kate and Gerry should be eliminated from the inquiry because they are entirely
innocent. They have nothing to hide."
Mrs McCann has also appealed for new information about her daughter's whereabouts to mark six months since her disappearance.
In a statement to mark sixth month since their daughter's disappearance, Mrs McCann said: "There is no doubt that the best
place for
her to be is with her family.
"We know somebody somewhere can make this happen. That person has the ability and power to bring about so much joy as
well as bring peace to themselves." She urged anyone with information regarding the child's whereabouts to "pass it on".
Traces found on fleece and stained jeans
By Dominic Herbert
A BAG of clothes containing DNA linked to Madeleine McCann has been found dumped by a road in Portugal. The white carrier
bag was discovered in a layby two weeks ago near Faro airport, the News of the World can reveal.
Maddie's parents Kate and Gerry McCann have learned the bag contained a blue fleece jacket and a pair of adult jeans
with traces of DNA that contained "moderate" links to the missing four-year-old. There was also a SHOWER CURTAIN inside.
News of the find came as it emerged police hunting for the youngster have asked the Mafia to help. Crime godfathers in
Morocco—where there have been several alleged sightings of Maddie—have been told cops will scale back drug busts
if they do.
Meanwhile, the bag, found by a passer-by, was sent to a UK lab in Birmingham for forensic tests. A leaked report showed
experts concluded the clothes contained bodily fluid and traces of hair that could have come from Maddie.
Skin
Other items recovered from the bag included a white flannel, a green elastic band, a light green child's T-shirt with
a green flower on the front and a pink and blue pencil case with a pink heart motif. A source said: "The bag could be crucial.
"The DNA isn't an exact match to Maddie's, but it does link. It is the first clue found outside the apartment complex
and could provide a trail."
The report—which was handed to detectives ten days ago—was obtained by the News of the World
from Portuguese police sources. The jeans contained more than 60 different stains.
The report concluded: "The blue fleece and jeans were found to contain traces of congealed skin and hair. They were found
to contain DNA characteristics that could be attributed to Madeleine McCann." No traces of Maddie's DNA were found on any
of the other items.
The fresh clues will give Kate and Gerry, both 39, renewed hope of finding their daughter alive six months after she
disappeared. Last night a friend of the McCanns said: "It potentially suggests that someone has taken her then disposed of
the clothing.
"They have done it near Faro which could imply they have gone in the direction of the airport. It backs up the idea she
was abducted."
Last Sunday the News of the World revealed that the crack Spanish detective agency hired by the McCanns,
Metodo 3, are convinced the youngster was snatched to order then smuggled from Portugal to Morocco. Last night it looked like
Mafia bosses will AGREE to use their underworld connections in the hunt for Maddie.
Mob bosses who supply millions of pounds of cannabis around the world effectively control vast areas of the North African
country. The authorities believe Maddie may be hidden in the moutainous Rif region and that the Mafia there provide the best
hope of finding her.
A source close to the Moroccan security services told us: "The gangs can put the word out and will be able to find out
through the underworld network connecting every city, town and remote village. When they want to find out information, they
can."
Maddie disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Portuguese resort Praia da Luz on May 3, just days before her
fourth birthday.
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Wednesday 07 November 2007 |
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Thursday 08 November 2007 |
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A number of newspapers headline with the news that 2 of the Tapas
group are seeking to provide fresh statements but wish to remain anonymous because they fear pressure from
the McCann family and friends. The reports are instantly dismissed as 'simply untrue' by Clarence Mitchell.
Portugese police sources have repeatedly claimed that inconsistencies
in the accounts given by the 'Tapas 7' are at the heart of their enquiry.
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A new witness, who was the first to see Kate McCann moments after
she realised her daughter Madeleine had disappeared, has given a dramatically different account of what happened that night.
A waiter at the Portuguese holiday complex where the family were
staying said instead of running back to the tapas bar where she was dining with her husband Gerry and friends, Kate McCann
raised the alarm from the balcony of their apartment.
The Portuguese man said that instead of running back to the tapas
bar where the McCanns and their friends were dining Kate McCann screamed: "They've taken her, they've taken her, they've taken
our little girl."
This version of events contrasts dramatically with the account friends
of the McCanns have given.
Newspaper reports suggest that the McCanns will consider sueing
the Portugese police for £1 million if they are eventually released from their arguido status without charge.
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Saturday 10 November 2007 |
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One Sunday newspaper headlines with a 'sighting' of Maddie
in Bosnia.
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Newspapers release the first picture taken inside apartment 5A.
It shows the apartment after the police had conducted all their forensic tests.
Police rule out the possibility that Madeleine was buried at sea
after a hi-tech Navy search failed to find her body.
But they remain convinced she is dead.
The McCanns face a barrage of criticism with the publication of
the first book on the case. Written by two Portuguese journalists, the book - entitled Maddie 129 - covers the 129 days between
Madeleine's disappearance and the McCanns' return to Rothley in Leicestershire.
It raises questions about allegedly "unnatural" behaviour
of the McCanns and their friends following the discovery that Madeleine was missing. Mr Mitchell said: "We do not comment
on speculation from any direction - be it from lawyers or so-called authors."
Detectives are reportedly investigating a series of text
messages sent and received by Gerry McCann on the night his daughter disappeared. The consultant cardiologist is alleged to
have exchanged up to 14 messages on his mobile phone during dinner with the so-called Tapas Nine on May 3.
Requests for the McCanns’ mobile phone records
are among a series of letters of appeal drawn up by the Portuguese police. But the public prosecutor Jose Magalhaese Meneses
has refused to give his approval for the letters to be sent to British authorities until he sees stronger evidence against
the couple.
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Tuesday 13 November 2007
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194
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Sighting in Bosnia is disputed by Bosnian police who say they have
received no reports from the person concerned, either to a police officer or a police station.
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Wednesday 14 November 2007
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195
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Newspapers, quoting a 'senior source', say that Paulo
Rebelo and his detectives have drawn up a list of over 100 questions that they wish to put to the McCanns and their friends
who holidayed with them in Praia da Luz. This process is known as 'letters of appeal' and, despite drawing up all the legal
documents, they are unable to serve them as the public prosecutor has allegedly said that there is not enough evidence to
proceed.
The 'source' also expressed frustration at the length of time it
was taking to get the final test results back from the FSS in Birmingham. These forensic tests are believed to relate
to evidence taken from the McCanns' apartment and Renault Scenic hire car, that were sent to the UK for analysis over
3 months ago.
The 'sighting' in Bosnia is revealed as Tea Dedic, 3, a local
Bosnian girl. The Daily Mail provide detectives with a car registration number and they track her down within the hour.
It was revealed this evening that Gerry is a key Government medical
adviser.
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Thursday 15 November 2007
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196
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The McCanns had hoped that a
change in Portugal's secrecy laws yesterday would give them access to vital details on the case - including evidence against
them.
But they were told that the law
would not apply to them because the case was "too complex". Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "It has dashed their hopes.
They have no idea what evidence the police have against them."
Police fear the case may never
be solved which means the McCanns may have to live with their arguido status.
A solicitor,
reportedly acting for one of the Tapas group who wants to change their story, claims the police inquiry has
been hampered by "political interventions."
He alleges Gerry and Kate have received "far beyond normal" help from the UK Government, including
calls from PM Gordon Brown, since Maddie vanished from their Praia da Luz apartment on May 3.
The UK-based lawyer told Spanish newspaper El Mundo: "I’m afraid these
interventions have been prejudicial not only to my client, but also for determining the truth."
Kate and Gerry McCann could face court action over alleged child
neglect, after a retired solicitor announced he aims to launch a private prosecution against the couple. He has applied
for a summons to be issued and is waiting the response.
Anthony Bennett alleges that the McCann's were guilty of neglecting
Madeleine and their 2-year-old twins under Section 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 - a claim the McCann's strenuously
deny.
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Friday 16 November 2007
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Jane Tanner breaks her silence in a BBC Panorama special programme
'The Mystery of Madeleine McCann' to be screened on Monday 19 November. She continues to insist that she saw a child being
carried away and now believes that it was Madeleine. Interestingly, she states she found out at 10.00pm when Rachael
Oldfield came round to her apartment to tell her. Previously, it was believed that she was at the Tapas bar with the
rest of the group.
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Saturday 17 November 2007
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Spanish TV station Antena3 claims that the Tapas9 had a meeting
today in a hotel in the UK. This was set up by the Metodo 3 team and lasted from 10 til 4.
The alleged purpose of this meeting was to "aclarar donde están
las contradicciones" (clear up any possible contradictions in their statements).
Antena3 claimed that none of the 9 will change their statements
and that 3 are prepared to indicate directly that Robert Murat was in the area both before and after the alarm was raised.
See also entry for 10 December 2007 when the British press pick up on the story.
'Detectives' working for the Spanish agency Metodo 3, hired by the
McCann's, claim to be closing in on her 'abductor' and are 100% sure she is alive.
They claim a woman has come forward to report that she saw
a child, matching Madeleine's description, sitting inside a stationary van with a woman, 2 days after Madeleine's disappearance.
It is reported that a man, who shares the same description as the man seen by Jane Tanner on the evening of May 3rd, stood
outside the van.
The witness allegedly states that the woman
then 'bundled' the blonde girl into a waiting car containing another man.
The sighting allegedly took place in central Portugal, 90 miles
from Praia da Luz.
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Sunday 18 November 2007
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It is revealed that Kate McCann has refused to take a lie detector
test despite previously stating, on 21 September, that she would take one to prove her innocence.
Don Cargill, chairman of the British and European Polygraph Association,
said the McCanns told him they would only take the test if it was 100 per cent accurate and admissible in a Portuguese court.
"I was left with the impression the whole thing was a PR exercise
to get sympathy at a time when Kate was under increasing scrutiny." said Mr Cargill.
Jenny Murat, Robert's 71-year old mother, has reacted angrily to
claims by the McCanns and their friends that her son was involved in Madeleine's disappearance. She accuses them of 'lying'
and states that Robert was at home with her on the evening of May 3rd.
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Monday 19 November 2007
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200
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Newspapers now claim the woman seen sitting in a stationary van
with a child, 2 days after Madeleine's disappearance, has been identified by the witness as Michaela Walczuch, Robert
Murat's girlfriend.
The story has now developed into a 'child wrapped in a blanket'
who was taken from Walczuch's car and 'bundled' into another car containing a man.
Michaela Walczuch issues a strong denial to the claims.
Meanwhile, in Praia da Luz, it is revealed that Paulo Rebelo and his detectives carried out
a fresh search of the local church 'informally and with maximum discretion' 2 weeks ago. They also searched
the surrounding area, including the old cemetery which is now a garden. It is also revealed that they have spoken to
the priest several times.
The Panorama programme 'The Mystery of Madeleine McCann is screened. It contains the first
interview with Tapas group member Jane Tanner and previously unseen 'home movie' footage of the McCanns in Praia da Luz, around
August time.
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Tuesday 20 November 2007
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201
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The account of the latest 'sighting' develops further
as Robert Murat and Luis Antonio, Ms Walczuch's ex-partner, are drawn into the story as being the two men who were
at the scene.
It is revealed Luis Antonio used to work in the pool at the Ocean
Club complex and this, according to Metodo3, enabled him not only to watch the comings and goings at the apartments but also to
get Michaela Walczuch access the club grounds. Why she would need access to the club grounds when the McCanns' apartment
was outside the Ocean Club is not explained.
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Wednesday 21 November 2007
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Portuguese police will travel to Britain to interview the McCanns’
holiday friends 'within days', it has been claimed.
State Prosecutor Jose Magalhaes e Menezes has completed a legal
letter with an official request that will be sent to British police this week, the Portuguese newspaper Jornal de Noticias
said.
Detectives will focus on 'certain contradictions' in the original
statements given by the seven friends who dined with Kate and Gerry McCann the night Madeleine went missing and still consider
the witnesses 'fundamental' to the case.
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Thursday 22 November 2007
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Pinto Monteiro, Portugal's top law officer has made an astonishingly
brutal assessment of the chances of Madeleine McCann being alive by claiming: "If she was kidnapped, it's natural her abductor
has already killed her."
Police have already admitted they think Madeleine is dead if her
parents were involved in her disappearance.
In a thinly-veiled attack on Gerry and Kate McCann, Attorney General
Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro claimed the huge publicity surrounding the case would have turned Madeleine into a liability
if she had been abducted.
He said: "There's a greater possibility of the girl being dead than being alive."
And
seconding the pessimism of police chiefs about solving the case, he added: "If you asked me at this moment in time if I was
going to discover anything, I'd have to say 'I don't know.'"
Pinto Monteiro's comments were made in an interview with Portuguese
current affairs mag Visao.
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Friday 23 November 2007
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It is revealed that Kate McCann has had drug tests to prove she
was not on anti-depressants when her daughter vanished. The mother-of-three wanted to counter allegations that she needed
medication because she was hysterical and unstable around the time Madeleine went missing on May 3.
Results of the toxicology tests on hair samples from Mrs McCann
show no evidence of any drugs in her body at any stage in the last eight months. Hair from her two-year-old twins Sean and
Amelie was also tested to show they had not been given sedatives.
The drug tests were carried out by Home Office approved experts
in September after the finger of suspicion was first pointed at the couple. The results will be a key element in a dossier of evidence which the McCanns hope will demolish the Portuguese police
case against the couple.
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Saturday 24 November 2007
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Jehovah's Witness church elder, Brother Teofilo Castela, casts doubt
on Michaela Walczuch's alibi for the evening of May 3rd, by claiming that "She was thrown out of the church more than a year
ago and doesn't attend."
Mr Castela said "There was a problem with the rules and she was
cast aside. It was before this year. I haven't been interviewed by police and the police haven't been here."
However, Murat's lawyer, Francisco Pagarate denied the claim and
stated "Michaela says she was at the Jehovah's Witnesses in Lagos on May 3. She remembers being there."
Walczuch was apparently unavailable for comment.
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Sunday 25 November 2007
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206
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It is revealed that private detectives, from the Metodo 3 agency
hunting for Madeleine McCann, were once arrested in a phone-tapping scandal linked to leading politicians and businessmen.
Five senior members of the family-run firm Metodo 3, including director-general
Francisco Marco, who is liaising with Kate and Gerry McCann, were held amid claims of industrial and political espionage.
Mr Marco's mother, Maria Fernandez Lado, 57, who founded the agency
23 years ago, was pictured in handcuffs after being arrested as she handed a client a cassette allegedly containing a phone-tapped
conversation.
The agency is believed to charge up to £2,000 a day and, with a
six-month contract that will include expensive travel and technology costs, the final bill is likely to be as much as £750,000.
Initially, it is reported that the full costs will be paid by Brian
Kennedy, the McCanns' millionaire benefactor, but on 28 November 2007 it is revealed that costs for the agency's work will
be met by Madeleine's Fund.
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Monday 26 November 2007
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207
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'Sources' from within the FSS in Birmingham have allegedly stated
that items submitted to them for forensic analysis are being held in high-security storage, under lock and key. In particular,
what is thought to be one of the most important pieces of evidence - a section of boot lining from the Renault Scenic
hire car, which the McCanns' hired just before their trip to Rome.
If true, this would undermine the recent tests commissioned by the McCanns, designed to absolve
them of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance, as they were not conducted on the correct material.
The McCanns’ official spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, confirmed
that a piece of evidence had been retained by the Forensic Science Service but added that this did not alter the couple’s
position.
Mr Mitchell said: "We do not believe that this affects the results
of our tests at all. They were extremely thorough and covered all aspects of the vehicle. The piece retained by the Forensic
Science Service is extremely small. If anything has been found on it there is a wholly innocent explanation for it."
Several other pieces of crucial forensic material are also being
kept in the high-security storage facility at the laboratory in Birmingham, it is claimed.
Publico, a Portuguese national daily newspaper, reports that the
Portugese police believe Madeleine may have been killed when a 'paedophile intruder' accidentally suffocated her after entering
the McCanns' holiday apartment. They claim police are now working on the theory that a prowler, who had been monitoring
the McCann family’s daily activity, tried to silence the child after she started screaming. After accidentally killing
her, the intruder allegedly panicked and fled with the body.
The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell has stated that Gerry and
Kate do not believe this theory, and maintain that their daughter is alive and being held somewhere. The fact that Gerry checked
on the children at 9 pm and the intruder was allegedly seen by Tanner at 9.15 pm means that the entire incident would have
happened in a matter of minutes. "Any abductor would not have had time to do what is alleged here," said Mitchell.
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Tuesday 27 November 2007
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Portuguese newspaper 24 horas
reports an astonishing attack by Robert Murat’s Portuguese lawyer on Kate and Gerry McCann, claiming they
deserve to be cursed for leaving their children alone.
Francisco Pagarete also labelled
the Metodo 3 private detectives who are investigating Madeleine's disappearance as "mercenaries."
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Wednesday 28 November 2007
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209
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Two forensic science experts, a detective with the Policia Judiciaria
and Francisco Côrte-Real, the head of the Forensic Genetics at the Instituto de Medicina Legal, in Lisbon, arrive
in Britain to review forensic evidence.
Their meeting, with officials from the Forensic Science Service
laboratory and Leicestershire police will take place tomorrow at a secret location.
According to sources, the Portuguese police want to be briefed on
the precise methods used by British scientists to analyse forensic evidence which led to the McCanns being named official
suspects in the case in September.
It is announced that Madeleine's Fund is paying the Spanish Metodo 3 detective agency £50,000
a month to continue their searches. The private detectives, hired by the McCanns to find Madeleine, are being paid up
to £300,000 for their six-month contract.
The money is to pay for the agency's huge costs in conducting the worldwide hunt. It has up
to 40 operatives working on the ground in at least three countries.
Clarence Mitchell, official spokesman for Kate and Gerry McCann,
said: "The fund has agreed to pay Metodo 3 £50,000 a month towards their costs. Some months their costs might be higher and
some months it might be lower."
This information contradicts previous reports which suggested that Brian Kennedy, the McCanns' wealthy
benefactor, would be meeting the agency's costs.
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Thursday 29 November 2007
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210
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The team of senior
Portuguese police and forensic experts spend all day discussing the DNA results gleaned by their British counterparts.
Later, Clarence Mitchell
says: "Enough is enough. There can be nothing that incriminates Kate and Gerry, because they are innocent... Forensic
evidence – if there is any – is inconclusive or explicable, so they should be eliminated from the inquiry."
At night, an FSS spokesman
says: "The tests remain ongoing. We are a world leader in DNA technology and are consulted on a daily basis by police authorities
from all over the world. We are used to dealing with language barriers and it is not an issue in this or any other case."
Michaela Walczuch has begun
legal proceedings over reports that she was seen with Madeleine days after the girl went missing from a Portuguese holiday
resort on May 3. It was claimed that she
had been seen with Madeleine in a van
100
miles from Praia da
Luz.
However, police have established
a timeline showing Ms Walczuch, who has a daughter, could not have been involved, friends say. Worshippers at a Jehovah’s
Witness meeting in Lagos told police Ms Walczuch was with them when Madeleine vanished.
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Friday 30 November 2007
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The Portuguese investigators arrive back in Faro at 8.45am this
morning. They head straight for a meeting at a Policia Judiciaria building where they are joined by Paulo Rebelo, coordinator
of the investigation.
They are then joined, 10 minutes later by Alex Ellis, the new
British ambassador to Portugal, and consulate official Angela Morado. They are reported to have stayed for about 30 minutes,
although this visit is later claimed to be 'unrelated'.
Later, Portuguese police are finally
granted permission to re-interview members of the 'Tapas Nine' and put a series of key questions to them after submitting
a letter of appeal. Their request, made weeks ago, is now cleared by Portugal's public prosecutor.
They will deliver the letters of appeal to British police, asking them to interrogate the McCanns'
friends again and to allow Portuguese officers to be be present in the interviews in order to monitor body language.
The letters of appeal are the legal documents required for the interviews
to be carried out on British soil.
It remains unclear whether Kate and Gerry McCann will also
be re-interviewed. However, a police source claimed the couple were still in the frame. He said: "Existing evidence is
far from clearing them. There are more and more indicators that they were involved in the disappearance of the child. But
it's been been difficult to prove."
It is reported that the McCanns will be travelling to an undisclosed location on Saturday.
Clarence Mitchell comments: "I cannot say where, in order to keep the privacy."
Police return a diary and computers seized from Robert
Murat's girlfriend Michaela Walczuch, 34, admitting they found nothing linking her to Madeleine's disappearance.
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