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Former Det Supt Andy Tattersall |
TOP former detectives from
Greater Manchester Police could be recruited by the team trying to
finding missing Madeleine McCann.
Chief Supt Steve Heywood, head of the serious crime division of Greater
Manchester Police, has been asked to provide a list of retired or
about-to-retire officers.
Madeleine was snatched while on holiday in Portugal just a few days
short of her fourth birthday last year.
The Find Madeleine Fund was set up with help from individual donations
and is now being bankrolled by Sales Sharks boss Brian Kennedy.
It is understood that he is now considering the list provided by GMP.
Among the list of "senior investigating officers" is former Det Supt
Andy Tattersall.
Mr Kennedy has already spoken to him about the case. Mr Tattersall
retired last year but still works for the force in a civilian role
looking at historic murder cases.
Another former Manchester police officer Henri Exton, 57, is currently
involved in the hunt for Madeleine. He is understood to be a shareholder
in American-based private investigators Oakley International.
It is understood that Mr Kennedy is happy with the work being done by
Oakley but Mr Exton is taking a `back seat' following publicity around
the case.
A source close to the inquiry said: "The main concern all along has been
to find Madeleine. Everything else is secondary. It would be silly not
consider alternatives if they could help find her," said a source.
"Oakley has a contract and there is no intention of severing that. But
that's not to say that in two or three weeks or a month that might not
change,"
Mr Tattersall co-wrote with another Manchester detective, Tony Cook, the
`A to Z checklist of murder investigation' which is used by police
forces across the country. He also worked on the investigation into the
murder of special branch officer Stephen Oake which ended in the jailing
of terrorist Kamel Bourgass.
But Mr Tattersall was also involved in the Jill Dando murder case which
identified Barry George as the culprit. Mr Tattersall insisted the
conviction was safe but it was quashed on appeal.
A spokesman for GMP said: "We were approached by the charity who asked
us if we knew of any retiring or recently retired officers who could
help with their inquiries. We have given them details of some eligible
officers or former officers. As far as we are aware, no decision has
been made by the charity, but we are not involved in the selection
process."
Madeleine was abducted from the flat in Praia da Luz on May 3 while her
parents were dining 50 yards away. During the summer, Portuguese police
decided to shelve the case and lift `arguido', or official suspect,
status on Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry, both 40, from Rothley,
Leicestershire. |
