4 October 2007
Mirror
Ryan Parry in Praia da Luz
THE HUNT FOR MADELEINE
McCanns pray for fresh start after chief ousted
KATE and Gerry McCann hope that bringing in a new police chief will give the hunt for Madeleine a new impetus.
And a source close to them said they were ready to fly back to Portugal to meet Goncalo Amaral's replacement if necessary.
They believe that the boozy chief inspector, kicked off the case after criticising them and British police, has hindered the hunt for their four-year-old daughter.
The source added: "We do hope that the change will re-energise and refocus the hunt for Madeleine.
"The new appointment will give the incoming police chief an opportunity to establish where the enquiry is and to move it on."
Amaral's replacement is expected to be appointed next week. He will be handpicked by Alipio Ribeiro, national director of the Judicial Police, and other senior officers.
It emerged last night that Amaral, 48, was sacked by Mr Ribeiro in a fax to his office. The curt message said: "Transferred to Faro for convenience of the service."
Justice minister Alberto Costa last night backed Amaral's removal.
He said: "It is an act of competence of the PJ national director of which I approve." A successor is not expected to be appointed this week because tomorrow is a public holiday in Portugal.
The McCanns' source said: "We would encourage the Portuguese authorities to fill the position as swiftly as possible, because Madeleine has still to be found"
A police spokeswoman explained: "The question of who is going to be head of the department is still unresolved. The national directors will nominate a candidate, and if that person agrees they will be made head of the department. We hope the decision-making process will be brief. There is no interview process, it is a case of the national directors choosing a candidate."
Amaral, who was third in command but ran the Madeleine inquiry on a day-to-day basis, yesterday reported for his new job at Faro police station.
The McCanns' supporters believe he hampered the case because he thinks Madeleine, missing since May 3, is dead. And he accused Gerry and Kate, both 39, of Rothley, Leics, of distracting the investigation and manipulating British police.
He said of Leicestershire detectives: "British police have only worked on what the McCanns want them to work on, and which is most convenient for them."
The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell: "It's an absolutely ridiculous suggestion.
"It is a Portuguese-led inquiry and will remain so."
The McCanns believe that Amaral is behind many of the attacks on them in the Portuguese press.
But police union boss Carlos Anjos claimed Amaral had been made a scapegoat.
He said: "He was the victim of personal attacks by the British media which not only questioned his honour as a policeman, but also attacked him as a human being."
One police source told a local newspaper: "He was the first victim, and he served as a scapegoat for the English."
Amaral was in charge of 30 detectives. But he worked as little as four and a half hours a day, taking boozy three hour lunches.
He arrived prompt for his new job at 9am yesterday.
But he left at 12.30pm for a two hour lunch with deputy national police director Guilhermino Encarnacao, 59, who is working on the Madeleine case, and two colleagues.
Amaral yesterday shrugged off his dismissal.
He told a Portuguese newspaper: "A policeman does not limit himself to one case. There is plenty of work still to be done."
And Amaral, being investigated for allegedly helping cover up the police beating of a mother of a missing girl, said his comments were taken out of context.
Previous Article
