Quotes: McCanns re: Goncalo Amaral

Quotes from Clarence Mitchell or the McCanns, their family and their friends re: Goncalo Amaral

(Please follow link to the right to read full text.)

30 September 2007

"Kate and Gerry want to cooperate with the Portuguese police and would hope that they and their resources are being deployed as effectively as possible at all times." ~Mitchell

2 October 2007

""We are aware Mr Amaral has been removed from his post and we cannot comment. Gerry and Kate have consistently said that they are very happy to cooperate fully with the Portuguese authorities and they will continue their cooperation irrespective of who is in charge of the actual hunt for Madeleine" ~Mitchell

3 October 2007

The new head of the Portuguese police investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann should refocus the inquiry on finding the youngster, the family's spokesman said yesterday. Chief Inspector Goncalo Amaral was taken off the case after his comment that Kate and Gerry McCann had been calling the shots by identifying lines of inquiry for Leicestershire officers. The family's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the claims were ludicrous. "What they want now is whoever takes over to refocus the inquiry on to finding Madeleine." The decision to remove Mr Amaral was "a decision for the Portuguese authorities", he said. "Kate and Gerry have always said they were more than happy to co-operate with the Portuguese authorities, whoever that might be. Whoever takes over from Mr Amaral, they will continue that co-operation and do anything that is required - including going back to Portugal if necessary." Asked if it was true the McCanns were identifying lines of inquiry for Leicestershire Police, he replied: "Of course not - it's an absolutely ridiculous suggestion." He also called for an end to "unsubstantiated allegations" in newspapers in Portugal and Britain.

10 October, 2007

"Kate and Gerry hope Mr Rebelo will now work to eliminate them from the inquiry as suspects and will then be in a position to refocus his team into the search for Madeleine."Clearly we hope that a new head of the inquiry will work to ensure the unsubstantiated and unfounded allegations surrounding the case will now end."~Mitchell

11 October, 2007

"They are delighted as it shows the police are still looking for the kidnapper. The focus seems to have gone from building a case against them to looking for Madeleine, which is good news."~Mitchell

12 October, 2007

"These are fresh eyes, for which they are grateful. The development is welcomed by the family. If the new team are experts in homicide then hopefully Mr Rebelo can eliminate Kate and Gerry as suspects."~Mitchell

"Mr Mitchell said the couple had nothing to hide, so were not worried about the results. However, they have hired their own team of forensics experts to examine independently any evidence which the police put forward. But he added: "Whatever comes back will be leaked and exaggerated and the McCanns are fearful about that."

A source close to Kate and Gerry revealed the 39-year-old couple's fury at the police failings - but welcomed Rebelo's clear-out. The source said: "They are livid - they cannot believe how badly this has been mishandled."Not putting vital information on computer file is so amateurish. But at least the new man seems to know what he is doing."

21 October, 2007

"We'd be very concerned to hear all the information in the police's hands has not been properly or effectively co-ordinated or collated."If Mr Rebelo is strengthening their system that's all to the good."~Mitchell

30 October, 2007

"We welcome any indication that the Portuguese police are taking the abduction theory seriously because that is what happened."~Mitchell

1 November, 2007
Re: José Cunha de Magalhaes e Meneses statement that need new *evidence* to be able to bring charges.

"If these reports are true this would indicate the police absolutely, and quite rightly, have no case."~Mitchell

15 November, 2007
Re: Portuguese public prosecutor rejection of McCann's application to see dossier of evidence against them

Clarence Mitchell said their hopes had been dashed. "Kate and Gerry were hoping that the change in law may have meant that they at last saw what the police think they have against them. "But the new law has an exception clause which means that if the prosecutor thinks the case is a complex one he can refuse to let the suspects see the evidence. "He has decided that in Kate and Gerry's case the case is complex so they can't see the evidence. They have no idea what the police have as evidence against them. "All they have seen is so-called evidence that has been leaked to the Portuguese press and they don't know what, if any, of that is true. Their lawyers are going to continue the fight."

8 December, 2007

The McCanns' official spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the couple were relieved that the police were now trying again to find Maddie alive. "The thrust of the inquiry for the last six or seven months has been wrong," "If the police now believe that abduction is the strongest possibility, that is very encouraging. "Madeline did not die in the apartment. The police should be focusing on who took her – and finding her. "They must also accept Kate and Gerry should be eliminated from the inquiry."

26 April, 2008
Re: Amaral's decision to quit the PJ after 27 years on the force and his intention to write about the McCann case.

"We are not surprised at this." "It's outrageous that Mr Amaral can express such an overtly prejudiced view when he is still formally a member of the Policia Judiciaria. "This man was intimately involved in the decision to make Kate and Gerry arguidos and it is upsetting that he is now one of several police officers who seem to want to cash in on Madeleine's disappearance. Our lawyers will be reading his book in fine detail."~Mitchell

27 April, 2008
Re: McCann's plan to write a "tell-all" book

"It will be the family's story, the only official book. Kate and Gerry are both keen to put the truth of everything that has happened to them on record."It will be a detailed account of their experience, from the pain of the night Madeleine was kidnapped, to being named as official suspects in the investigation." "A number of books are being published in Portugal and the UK. Kate and Gerry want the public to know the real truth."~Mitchell

29 April 2008
Re: Portuguese police reconstruction

Clarence Mitchell said the couple and their friends had not ruled out the possibility of cooperating with a reconstruction, if they felt it was being done to try to find Madeleine. But he added: 'Until they get satisfactory answers, they will not go. The lawyers are not saying it is a trap but they are asking what the motivation is behind it.'

2 July, 2008
Re: McCann's demand that their their private investigators be allowed to examine police files

"There is great work going on behind the scenes, very diligent work in many countries. Kate and Gerry will never rest until they know what has happened to her. If she's still alive they will never rest until they see her come home. "The police information is a key component in that. If the police are not going to go any further on the criminal investigation then, for the love of God, that information could help find her or at least bring to justice whoever has taken her. The information in their files surely cannot sit on the shelf gathering dust. It has to be released."~Mitchell

5 July, 2008
Re: Portuguese police belief that Maddie died in the apartment and that the McCanns were influencing the British police

"Mr Amaral has consistently made these allegations."Kate and Gerry and their friends have nothing to do with Madeleine's disappearance."~Mitchell

"It's a great shame that Mr Amaral is saying these things. He should have found Madeleine as the police officer in charge. "They are angry. But it has got to the stage of weary resignation."~Mitchell

6 July, 2008
Re: Police statements about inconsistencies in the timeline given by the Tapas9

"We wait to hear from the prosecutor. It will be most vigorously defended if it ever comes to that."~Mitchell

20 July, 2008
Re: McCann's plan to appear on the Oprah show

"Kate and Gerry will talk about the police inquiry once their arguido status has been lifted. "They want to get their side of the story across. They want the weight of guilt by association lifted from their shoulders. And they will make it clear that they will continue to search for Madeleine, come what may."~Mitchell

"Kate and Gerry are furious. They've kept their thoughts private - because the Portuguese legal system left them no choice. It's been incredibly frustrating. "They know the police have given up looking for Maddie, so they've nothing to lose. A string of mistakes were made. And police leaked things that were totally untrue. When it was reported that Maddie's DNA was found in their car, Kate and Gerry could only conclude someone was trying to frame them. "Being suspects has put an appalling strain on them. Kate hasn't been able to go out without thinking people may be pointing a finger of blame. "As soon as they're free to talk about the appalling way they have been treated, they will."~McCann "friend"

21 July, 2008
Re: Goncalo Amaral's statement: "People can say what they like. All I would say is that I'm trying to contribute to the discovery of the truth. "I worked 27 years as a police officer - and my conscience can't accept that this is the first case that slipped through my fingers."

"It's a great shame that Mr Amaral apparently feels the need to make money out of Madeleine's disappearance. "We hope that any profits he makes from this book will go to the fund to find their daughter but we are not optimistic. "Until the judicial secrecy is lifted, he is covered by those laws in the same way as everybody else associated with the case is, and as a result Kate and Gerry's libel lawyers will read that book with great interest."~Mitchell