PJ Already on Attack Against Home Office

A diplomatic war is looming between Britain and Portugal over the probe into Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

Portuguese police are fuming after a Home Office official said UK officers were taking "all possible steps" to further the inquiry, the Daily Star Sunday can reveal.

The assurance came in a letter to a member of the public, though police here have always said they only co-ordinate and complete inquiries for Portuguese investigators - who have shelved the case.

Strained

One Portuguese officer told us: "There has been a suspicion for a long while that British police are going behind our backs. We need explanations."

A government source said: "There have been many sensitive issues surrounding the case. Relations have, at times, been strained between the two countries and this will not help."

British inquiries have been handled by police in Leicestershire, the home of Maddie's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann.

A force spokesman said: "Any deployment of officers to Portugal to work on the inquiry from the UK would have to be requested and sanctioned by the Portuguese authorities."



in: Daily Star Sunday, 21.02.2010, paper edition only - courtesy of McCannFiles

One Portuguese officer told us: "There has been a suspicion for a long while that British police are going behind our backs. We need explanations."

Not quite.

The explanations needed are

- why were the vast majority of resources of the investigation directred towards finding the McCanns guilty, instead of trying to find Madeleine
- why have no sightings, or evidence been investigated since the archiving of the case, even evidence considered credible by other police agencies.

Asking questions of the British police is superfluous, and merely a distraction from the poor handling of the case by the PJ. It is the PJ that were in charge of the case, not the British police.

One Portuguese officer told us: "There has been a suspicion for a long
while that British police are going behind our backs. We need
explanations."

explanations??Ok....a small British child is missing and was abducted from your country,you have failed to investigate the case properly,you have ignored hundreds of leads,you have hindered the search,you have closed the case.

END OF. consider your explanation explained!

Explanations? Well PJ, if you had done your job properly, maybe nothing had happened, and you´re not under heavy fire. It is you PJ who caused all this mess, now answer for it, now hang in there with your responsabilities. Why are you PJ so worried because you PJ thinks that British Police are going behind your backs, furthering the investigation? What are you PJ afraid of? You PJ should welcome this, instead of asking explanations.

Agree with you pedro.

this reminds me right back at the start when the British police were desperate to go over to Portugal and help them ...They could see they wee struggling and asked if they could take dogs over to Portugal to help them with the inquiry.The pj told them no,they said they were handling the case well and could do it alone.That their dogs were more than capable of tracing Madeleine's scent.They said they didn't need any help.

Now imo ....all hands on deck is the best in a situation like this, is it not?

They have always feared the British involvement and thats probably why gonc got mouthy and ended up being taken off the case.

Why didn't he want the British to come and help,to poke their noses in and dig and delve into the investigation??

If there was nothing to hide then their would be nothing to fear.

I agree with you Clairesy my friend.

What a cheek. Why are The British Police still investigating? Although I doubt they are going behind the backs of anyone.

They are doing it because they are still receiving credible leads that The PJ are ignoring. That's why. What a bloody stupid question.

There is something very nasty going on, and it's The PJ that don't want the case reopened. They are shelving new evidence to ensure that the case doesn't get reopened. Why else would they do this? There just is no other reason.

Something will have to be done, although I do not know what. But it won't go away.

Who on earth do they think they are to demand an explanation, sheesh the audacity of it!

Forget the bloody politics and put this little childs rights first!

You´re absolutely right Tinkerbell.

Methinks they don't want their ineptness exposed ANYMORE !!

More that PJ is already exposed? When will PJ learn that we will not let them to escape to their responsabilities. This will only end when sweet Madeleine McCann returns safe and sound to her home.

The PJ missed an opportunity with the McCann case. It could have been used as a training exercise, where they were trained in the most up to date methods for finding missing children, been given access to Scotland Yard technology, and had Madeleine been found, the PJ would have been given equal credit in the success.

Instead, there is no Madeleine, the McCanns have been persecuted, the PJ's reputation around the world is ruined (and that is not fair to those that are good decent police officers). And I can see more bad news for the PJ in the coming months.

The offer by Britain was too good to pass up. So why did the PJ pass it up? Whoever was in charge made a very very poor decision.