Rebuttal of "Fact" 28


 

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28. Gordon Brown was told that Portuguese detective Mr Amaral, who took the McCanns in for questioning, would be removed from his post before he himself was informed.

 

Verdict - This is in no way a "fact" - the source himself describes it as a "rumour".

Source - Gonçalo Amaral's book which is currently the subject of a court case in Portugal.

 

 


 

Summary of Verifiable Facts

  1. There is no primary source or statement from the British Government which confirms this.
  2. In his book, Amaral himself describes it as a "rumour".
  3. He was dismissed from his job as the head of the Portimao PJ and therefore as co-ordinator of the McCann investigation. 
  4. At the time, Amaral was under investigation for concealing evidence in another case.  He was later found guilty of perjury in that case. (see below) 

 

Discussion

 

The relevant portion from Chapter 21 of Amaral's book is quoted below.  No attributed source is provided:- 

Quote:

"The only point of note here is that Stuart Prior's personal perspective on the case is absent from the files, unlike other key UK participants such as Grime, Harrison, the liaison officers to the McCanns Leicestershire Police) and others ...

 

According to a British correspondent, the Prime Minister personally called Stuart Prior to ask for confirmation of my dismissal. Why would the head of the British government be interested in a lowly Portuguese official? We refuse to believe the rumours going around, according to which the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon was dependent on my dismissal. Rumours, of course, nothing more.  I cannot help but think that for the first time in its history, the judiciary police has dismissed a simple official from his post because of external pressure."

 

 

Amaral's Dismissal 

From The Telegraph:- 

Quote:

The Portuguese detective leading the Madeleine McCann investigation has been sacked from the inquiry after launching an astonishing public attack on his British counterparts.

 

...

 

He had accused British detectives of only chasing leads Gerry and Kate McCann want followed up.  The move came after Portugal's Justice Minister Alberto Costa stepped into the row by insisting there is "fruitful cooperation" between the two countries' police forces over the inquiry.  Mr Costa said Portuguese police intend "to increase the collaboration" with their British counterparts and that the important thing is "to concentrate on the job and not on the comments" made by Mr Amaral.


Mr Amaral, who was jointly in charge of the inquiry, was also dismissed from his post as the head of the Judicial Police in the Algarve town of Portimao.
The 47-year-old detective not only laid into police but also attacked the McCanns, accusing them of "creating and working on" lines of inquiry which they then pass onto Leicestershire Police to investigate.


Mr Amaral, who headed the Policia Judiciaria in the nearby town of Portimao and is himself under investigation for allegedly concealing evidence about an alleged assault on the mother of another missing child, was speaking to the daily newspaper Diario de Noticias.


The paper said the detective, who has come under fire in the British press for his "boozy" three-hour lunches and allegedly failing to investigate some of the tip-offs his 30-strong team of officers have received, was in an "explosive and indignant" mood during the brief interview.
Sources said his departure follows five months of gripes about the British police involved in the case. 

 

 

Amaral - Conviction (2009) 

From Sky News on 22 May 2009:- 

Quote:

Gonçalo Amaral was convicted of perjury after an alleged attack on the mother of another missing girl.



Three officers were cleared of torture but Mr Amaral was found guilty of falsifying documents and given an 18-month suspended sentence. 

 

 

Conclusions

It is a fact that the British and Portuguese Governments talked to each other during the Madeleine McCann case.  This is standard procedure when any foreign national is the victim of a serious crime. 

 

However, even if Gordon Brown was made privy to Goncalo Amaral's impending dismissal, why is that a reason to personally attack the McCann family?