2 Oct 2007
The Telegraph
Aislinn Simpson in Praia da Luz
The Portuguese detective leading the Madeleine McCann investigation has been sacked from the inquiry after launching an astonishing public attack on his British counterparts.
Chief Inspector Goncalo Amaral, 47, was dismissed from the position by the national director of the Judicial Police.
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.
A family friend said it was "just plain wrong" that Kate and Gerry, both 39-year-old doctors from Rothley in Leicestershire, were seeking to exert any influence on the investigation, adding that British police were only involved to act as a liaison between the family and Portuguese detectives.
And one of the McCanns' two Portuguese lawyers, Carlos Pinto Abreu, told Lisbon radio station TSF that Mr Amaral's comments were "in very poor taste" and "unhelpful to the investigation".
"The British police have only been working on that which the McCann couple want them to and which is most convenient for them," he said.
"The have only investigated tips and information developed and worked on for the McCanns, forgetting that the couple are formal suspects in the death of their daughter Madeleine."
Officially, Portuguese detectives say they appreciate British help and expertise - particularly forensic - but unofficially claim they feel patronised and bullied.
Leicestershire Police were reluctant to wade into the developing row, only saying they would "continue to support the Portuguese investigation".
The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell was equally cautious, saying: "Kate and Gerry consistently said that they wish to cooperate with the Portuguese authorities in the hunt for Madeleine and that remains the case."
Mr Amaral has reportedly investigated only two child murders in his 26-year police career and he is facing a criminal hearing for allegedly concealing evidence, after a woman jailed for the murder of her daughter claimed police officers tortured her into making a confession.
Leonor Cipriano, 36, claims she was forced to kneel on glass ashtrays with a bag over her head as police repeatedly hit her during almost 48 hours of questioning.
She is serving 16 years for the murder of her eight-year-old daughter Joana, even though the body has never been found and she has since retracted her statement.
Mr Amaral, a father-of-three, strenuously denies covering up the alleged abuse said to have been carried out by three of his colleagues.
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