McCanns ask for police files to help in search for Madeleine

Local & National

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Portuguese police probing the disappearance of Madeleine McCann were urged last night to hand their files over to private investigators if they wind down their investigation, following the resignation of the force's police chief who was leading the inquiry.

Gerry and Kate McCann's spokesperson Clarence Mitchell said the family believes the decision of Alipio Ribeiro to leave his post as national director of the Policia Judiciaria and his subsequent comments that the case may never be solved, could signal the end of the year-long probe into the toddler's disappearance.

Speaking to the Irish Independent in Dublin yesterday where he was a keynote speaker at the Public Relations Institute of Ireland's (PRII) annual conference, the former BBC journalist and British government spokesman said: "There have been various remarks made by Mr Ribeiro and others suggesting they may be coming to the end of the process.

"If they are going to shelve the case -- and if Mr Ribeiro's recent interview is effectively hinting at that -- then in one sense we welcome it because it means that Kate and Gerry will be eliminated from the inquiry.

"But equally, what does that mean? Does that mean all the information the police have just sits on a shelf? That's untenable. They have to release the information in their files to our private investigators so they can continue to look for Madeleine."

Despite the passing last week of the first anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance, the McCanns still believe their daughter is alive and they continue to be buoyed by the huge outpouring of support coming from Ireland, he added.

"Every message we get has been incredibly supportive because of the Donegal connection." Madeleine visited her grandparents in Bundoran on family holiday visiting before her disappearance on May 3, 2007.

"Many of their letters are from Ireland. They get rosary beads sent to them, people praying for them. They've got a real sense the wider Irish Catholic community is really behind them and that counts for so much. It really does give them a boost," he said. "Consistently the Irish support level is there."

Negative

He spoke of how the initial tide of negative publicity surrounding the McCanns was eventually turned in their favour following a successful libel action against the Express Group newspapers in the UK that he said was embroiled in "a huge spin cycle of nonsense" with some of the Portuguese tabloid media.

On the whole, the coverage of Madeleine's disappearance in the Irish media was much more responsible and balanced than in the UK or elsewhere, he said yesterday.

He also credited the internet with being the single most effective tool in the entire campaign.

"It was access to the internet that gave us a boost," he said in his speech on public relations crisis management.

The Find Madeleine website set up by the McCanns has been instrumental in the campaign.