have your coffee

Time for a new thread

Can we have a gorgeous photo of Goncalo too please ?

He said he was unperturbed by the threat of any legal action from the McCann family. “There is no reason for that. The details exposed in the book are facts, happenings and objective data which figure in the process and not lies, as they have been described in the press.”

Portuguese officer who led the search for Madeleine says his account defends the honour of his team

By Thais Portilho-Shrimpton
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Former policeman Goncalo Amaral hopes his book will be read in the UK by the ’section of the public eager to know the truth’

Former policeman Goncalo Amaral hopes his book will be read in the UK by the ’section of the public eager to know the truth’

A controversial best-selling account of the hunt for Madeleine McCann by the Portuguese detective who led the investigation is expected to be published in the UK soon, according to its author.

Speaking exclusively to The Independent on Sunday, Goncalo Amaral denied cashing in on the tragic disappearance of the three-year-old but said he was determined to restore his reputation, which “had been torn to shreds” by unfair and inaccurate media reports.

The book, Maddie: The Truth about the Lie, has already sold an estimated 180,000 copies in Europe, and Mr Amaral’s representatives are trying find a British publisher. The McCanns said last night that they would scrutinise any British publication with a view to possible legal action.

Madeleine went missing on 3 May 2007, days before her fourth birthday, from a holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz as her parents dined at a nearby restaurant. In the Portuguese edition of his book, Mr Amaral says he believes she died in a “tragic accident” in the Mark Warner holiday flat where she was left to sleep the night she disappeared.

Mr Amaral was removed from the investigation in October 2007 after criticising British police officers. Nine months later the Portuguese authorities closed the investigation and lifted the arguido [suspect] label from Madeleine’s parents.

The book’s publisher, Mario Sena Lopes, said there was now an English version of Mr Amaral’s book and he was negotiating a UK deal. He said several publishers were interested and he was confident the British public would soon be able to read the book.

Mr Amaral said: “I received numerous messages of support and solidarity since being taken off the case, including from the UK – messages that also motivated me to tell people what I knew about the Maddie case. I am positive that there’s also a section of the public eager to know the truth.

“People can form their opinion without the manipulation that we have seen before.”

He said his only regret was failing to carry out a reconstruction of the events soon after Madeleine vanished but claims he was put under “serious pressure” not to. He insisted this was the only failure in a “perfect” text-book investigation.

Asked whether he thought Madeleine was dead, he said: “It is not just my opinion. A whole team of Portuguese and British investigators came to that conclusion last year, and this is part of the files. I have never said the couple killed their daughter and this is not my belief. Deaths may happen for natural reasons, accident or intervention by a third party.”

He said he was unperturbed by the threat of any legal action from the McCann family. “There is no reason for that. The details exposed in the book are facts, happenings and objective data which figure in the process and not lies, as they have been described in the press.”

He denied he was profiting from the tragic case. “The biggest thing I achieved with this book was to defend my honour and that of those who worked with me. The way I see it, you cannot put a price on dignity. The other objective of the book is to contribute to the search for the truth.”

Mr Amaral added that he is now considering legal action against a number of British media outlets. The “excessive” publicity the case attracted was a “double-edged sword: on one hand it makes the disappearance known, but on the other hand it puts the life of the missing person in jeopardy,” he insisted. “I demanded from my superiors, they stand up for the investigators faced with attacks by the media, but that never happened. This was one of the reasons that led me later on to hand in my resignation so I could regain my freedom of speech and write the book.”

Clarence Mitchell, a spokesman for the McCanns, said last night: “Lawyers for Kate and Gerry have been aware of what Mr Amaral has been alleging for some time. What he has said and written before now is grossly defamatory of them.

“If he chooses to publish them in Britain those words will be studied intensely carefully and they will not hesitate to act if they are defamatory.”

No wonder you’re obssessed with arses

-Nanny Anorak says: Wrap up warmly and be careful out there young man. -agw

“The Mail on Sunday has learned that officers from Sussex are carrying out an investigation into alleged breaches of the Data Protection Act over leaked email correspondence between Mr Harper and Jersey’s attorney-general, and the police are also said to be concerned at the inquiry’s profligate expenditure - such as a decision to send two officers First Class to Australia, and a £100,000 bill for the use of Eddie the sniffer dog.”

And it has remembered its own fucking name for a change!

Rock on!

Well done The Independent! How come they get the exclusive???

When I heard this was going to print, I thought it would get kyboshed by Thursday!

This will set tongues wagging! What a perfect choice of newspaper!

And especially on top of all the various revelations this past week.

Crumbs!

Nite Saul and Chatelaine and Spongebob - and lovely speaking to you properly Spongebob!

See y’all later! X

He makes me laugh.

I shall read all the weekend pares tomorrow - but something tells me that it won’t be in the UK Press!

They look like Brigitte Bardot’s head on top and Jane Fonda’s Barbarella at the bottom. Sunday Film-Stars I call them! I wrote a play about them last season!

But I felt mean - so I shelved it!

This information will be on the other sites I reckon - but my friend won’t let me do anything until she comes back tomorrow to back up the rest of my files on CDs.

That’s why I’m on this computer now - the other one’s still scanning.

Coco mentioned and I now vaguely recall indeed something about someone who wanted to have the case opened again, but really cannot remember who and where.

Not being in the U.K., I have no idea what you will find in your morning papers. I do hope, however, you will read them in good health and spirits

I mean, please, a bit of realism..

as I have already explained, I don’t do the rumour sites.

Can I presume it will be in my copy of The Observer or Sunday Herald when the nice young one drops it tomorrow morning?

November 16th, 2008 at 12:40 am
A witness, not mentioned in the files, yet to be spoken to AGAIN. Meaning the first “interview” was informal and didn’t seem of interest
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Chatelaine - I was just trial and erroring as usual - and can’t remember exactly where it was now - because I went through so many links - and there it was! I recall a guy trying to use this to get the Clan case opened again - but this was article was saying - that the police want to speak to the Witness!

Sounds very much like what happened to the Smith sighting.

I wonder if any of these Witnesses have actually stated that they saw Aliens in PDL?

I wonder if this is in any of The Files???

I am ringing David Icke tomorrow! See if he knows anything.