G.K. CHESTERTON, “On the Classics,” Selected Essays

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The parallel worlds of the McCann’s private investigation to prove that anybody, other than themselves, was culpable in the disappearance of their daughter, and the official British and Portuguese investigations, which includes suspicion of the McCann’s involvement into her disappearance, continued apace this week, regrettably with only the ‘unofficial’ parental investigation prominently reported in the British press.

Raymond Hewlett was named as ‘a person of interest’ in the McCann case, a fact juxtaposed beside the information that a DNA sample had been voluntarily given by him, leading many to believe that there might be a connection between these two items. In fact the smooth skinned 65 year old Briton, described in the Sunday Mirror as ‘strikingly similar’ to the ‘pock marked 35 year old of Mediterranean appearance’ that the McCann family have heavily touted as being the ‘chief suspect’ as witnessed by one of their party, had given the DNA sample in respect of an offence committed some 30 years ago. Both the British, German and Portuguese Police appear to be remarkably unwilling to connect this convicted child abuser to the McCann case beyond the fact that he was resident in Portugal – some 100 miles away – as were several hundred other British child abusers, at the time of her disappearance. That hasn’t prevented Mr Hewletts name and face from being prominently displayed across the British press with many misleading allusions to his connection to the case – not least that he has refused to ‘give an alibi’ to the private individuals repeatedly described as ‘investigators’ or even more misleadingly as ‘detectives’ in the British press. The British press have failed to report the information issued by the Attorney-General’s office in Portugal.

Then we had the curious affair of the ‘petition to the Prime Minster’ requesting that British Police investigate this Portuguese crime. Running out of its time slot to acquire the all important 500 signatures to gain the Prime Minister’s attention, the petition suddenly acquired a raft of new signatures. E-mails flew around the world as it was realised that the petition had acquired new names, my own included, of people who would never have voluntarily signed such a petition. Dark deeds were hinted at. Those names have now been removed by No 10 web administrators and investigations continue – the petition languishes below the Prime Minister’s radar.

Yesterday we had the sad admission from Joanna Morais, who now has the distinction of being the sole reliable source of fact as opposed to fevered rumour and speculation – on either side – that the so-called journalist ‘Duarte Levy – was nothing of the sort, little more than a common fraud. Duarte Levy has figured largely in the reportage of the McCann affair, appearing on television and heavily quoted by the British and foreign press. I don’t propose to give this man any further oxygen of publicity by discussing the matter further – you can read the full story here.

Last night, the Portuguese television station TV1, disclosed that one of the first GNR (the equivalent of the British ‘bobby’ on the street, as opposed to the PJ, which are the equivalent of the CID) on the ‘crime scene’ was under investigation after the discovery that some 120,000 euros in cash, in batches of 10,000 euros at a time, had been paid into an account in his name a short time after Madeleine ‘disappeared’. This GNR officer is important to the investigation for it was his apparent errors in allowing the family and friends to repeatedly enter and leave what should have been a secure crime scene, that made the initial forensic results null and void. He was also the witness to a ‘walk’ undertaken by Gerry McCann in the early hours after his daughter was reported missing.

It should be born in mind that other GNR officers, as have other British police officers, have been convicted of corruption, see here, in matters entirely unconnected with the McCann saga.

It does, however, add one more ‘fact’ to feed the everlasting flames of Maddie-ness.

How persipacious of Gerry McCann to have considered the ‘wider agenda’ (see photograph) a mere two weeks after his daughter had vanished, at a time when the rest of us had assumed that this story would have a happy resolution in a relatively short space of time.