Boozy lunches and unchecked leads

Boozy lunches and unchecked leads


3 October 2007
The Daily Express

GONCALO Amaral has been at the centre of a series of controversies since taking over as head of police in Portimao.

Just days ago it was revealed he was spending as little as four-and-a-half hours a day on the Madeleine McCann case.

Amaral regularly enjoys boozy lunches and last week, while the eyes of the world were on an apparent sighting of the toddler in Morocco, the detective spent two hours knocking back wine in his favourite fish restaurant.

It also emerged that up to 250 potential leads have still not been checked out.

Astonishingly, Amaral was put in charge of the Madeleine case despite being an arguido – a suspect – himself.

Amaral is to face a criminal hearing for allegedly concealing evidence that three of his colleagues tortured Leonor Cipriano to extract a confession that she murdered her eightyear-old daughter Joana, who went missing in 2004.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2007, Carvi Scandal, Gonçalo Amaral

Inspector Clueless gets boot

Inspector Clueless gets boot


3 October 2007
Daily Star
Jerry Lawton

A BOOZY Portuguese police chief heading the Madeleine McCann inquiry has been sacked from the case after accusing Brit detectives of shielding her parents.

Chief Insp Goncalo Amaral was demoted last night – his 48th birthday – after publicly slamming UK officers for only following up leads that GP Kate and heart surgeon Gerry, both 39, wanted investigating.

The officer, now the equivalent of a constable, had been leading a 30-strong team probing the four-year-old's disappearance. He has been moved to a small office in Faro.

Amaral had raged: "British police have only investigated tips and information developed and worked on for the McCanns, forgetting the couple are suspects in the death of their daughter Madeleine.'' His "explosive and indignant" attack caused such a rift, Portugal's minister of justice Alberto Costa last night had to stepped in.

He insisted: "There is great co-operation between police in Portugal and Britain." Amaral's tirade came days after he was blasted for taking long boozy lunches during the case.

While the eyes of the world were on last week's apparent sighting in Morocco, Amaral spent two hours knocking back wine in a restaurant.

The gold medallion-wearing, beer-bellied bobby even breached Portugal's strict secrecy laws.

He told ex-Formula 1 driver Pedro Lamy he was sure Madeleine was dead.

The officer was overheard saying he believed the McCanns had drugged their daughter to keep her quiet and accidentally killed her.

He added: "The police case is we are sure the parents killed Maddie. They are both doctors and know about drugs." Details of the officer's knees-ups came amid claims that Amaral had failed to investigate 252 tipoffs about Madeleine's possible whereabouts.

Yesterday the detective slammed the Brit police's decision to probe a lead on the Madeleine case that had been emailed to Prince Charles's website.

The tip-off claimed Madeleine was abducted by a disgruntled ex-maid at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, where the McCanns had been staying.

Portuguese police ruled it out months ago after a probe revealed the e-mailer used a bogus identity and the maid did not exist.

Amaral said the lead "has no credibility for the Portuguese police".

Last night the McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "We are aware Mr Amaral has been removed from his post and we cannot comment.

"Kate and Gerry will cooperate with the Portuguese authorities regardless of who is in charge."

Continue Reading... Labels: 2007, Carvi Scandal, Gonçalo Amaral

The new head of the Portuguese police investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann should 'refocus'' the inquiry

The new head of the Portuguese police investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann should 'refocus'' the inquiry
3 October 2007
Press Association National Newswire

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 today.

Chief Inspector Goncalo Amaral was taken off the case following his comments that Kate and Gerry McCann had been calling the shots by identifying lines of inquiry for Leicestershire officers.

The family's spokesman Clarence Mitchell told GMTV the claims were 'ludicrous''.

He added: 'What they want now is whoever takes over to refocus the inquiry on to finding Madeleine.''

Mr Mitchell said the decision to remove Mr Amaral was 'a decision for the Portuguese authorities.''

'Kate and Gerry have always said they were more than happy to cooperate with the Portuguese authorities whoever that might be.

'So in other words, whoever takes over from Mr Amaral as head of the investigation, they will continue that cooperation and do anything that is required - including going back to Portugal for more interviews if necessary.''

Asked if it was true the McCann's were identifying lines of inquiry for Leicestershire Police, he replied: 'Of course not, it's an absolutely ridiculous suggestion.''

'It is a Portuguese-led inquiry and will remain so. And of course from time to time there is communication with Gerry and Kate as there would be in any police investigation.

'It is ludicrous to suggest that they have done anything like that.'|

He called for an end to the printing of 'unsubstantiated allegations'' in newspapers in Portugal and Britain.

'What they want now is whoever takes over to refocus the inquiry on to finding Madeleine.''

'There have been so many distractions, so many unsubstantiated allegations swirling around all of this out there and repeated here in Britain.

'Surely it is now time to for all of that nonsense to end and for the search for Madeleine to be re-energised.''

Mr Amaral, who heads the regional Policia Judiciaria in Portimao, was quoted yesterday suggesting that British police had overlooked the fact that the couple remain suspects.

And he accused the McCanns of releasing new information each day in a bid to distract and confuse the 152-day-old inquiry.

The authorities in Portugal refused to discuss the decision to take him off the case.

But Portuguese Justice Minister Alberto Costa said: 'We have to concentrate on the work, not on making comments.''

Mr Amaral has been a controversial figure during the search for Madeleine, who went missing in May during a family holiday in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz.

He is one of five men charged over an alleged attack on the mother of another missing girl.

The men are accused of 'scenes of aggression'' against Leonor Cipriano, who was convicted of the murder of her nine-year-old daughter, Joana, in September 2004.

The detective was also forced to defend a two-hour lunch break with police spokesman Olegario Sousa at a fish restaurant in Portimao during the search for Madeleine.

The men were spotted drinking what looked like white wine and whisky as the McCanns flew to Berlin to publicise the case.
Mr Amaral's comments yesterday were the latest salvo from the Portuguese authorities in an increasingly bitter war of words over the case.

Mr Amaral broke his silence after it was reported that an anonymous email sent to the Prince of Wales's website was being investigated by British police.

The message suggested a disgruntled employee working at the Ocean Club complex in Praia da Luz may have kidnapped the young girl.

Mr Amaral told Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias all current and former employees at the resort have been investigated.

He said: 'The British police have only worked on what the McCann couple want them to work on and what suits them.''

Speaking about the email lead, he added: 'This situation has no credibility whatsoever for the Portuguese police.

'(British police) have investigated tips and information worked on by the McCanns, forgetting that the couple are suspected of causing the death of their daughter Madeleine.

'This story about kidnapping for revenge is another fact worked on by the McCanns.''

Earlier, Carlos Anjos, head of Portugal's police federation, accused Mr McCann of being negligent.

His comments came after Mr McCann said he believed someone was hiding in Madeleine's room when he went back to check on the children on May 3.

Mr Anjos said: 'If he was suspicious that there was a man in the apartment, and then he calmly went to dinner, then words cannot describe how negligent he is as a father.''

He also criticised what he claimed was a steady stream of information from the McCann camp.

He said: 'Since their daughter disappeared, Gerry and Kate have followed a strategy of almost daily announcements of new facts.''

Continue Reading... Labels: 2007, Carvi Scandal, Gonçalo Amaral

Fears for Maddy search after police chief is axed

Fears for Maddy search after police chief is axed
Evening Standard
3 October 2007
Kiran Randhawa in Praia da Luz

The parents of Madeleine McCann fear the search for their daughter could come to a halt following the sacking of the Portuguese detective in charge of the investigation.

Goncalo Amaral was removed from his post after he condemned British police, saying they 'have only worked on what the McCann couple want them to work on'.

But the move has sparked new fears that the already slow-running inquiry could falter as a new detective is sought to replace him. A friend of Gerry and Kate McCann told the Evening Standard today: 'I've never been confident that Madeleine will be found through the Portuguese investigation and now I fear this is even more unlikely.

'The Portuguese police are completely incompetent and things have got very nasty. But the whole time Gerry and Kate have insisted the criminal investigation was their best chance of finding her. Now that this has happened, I don't know where that leaves them. I definitely feel it will slow the whole process down.'

The source added that although he is unhappy with the direction the case has taken under Mr Amaral's lead, he does not believe another detective will necessarily improve the situation.

'I'm pessimistic about the police re-focusing the criminal investigation as a result of his departure. It definitely will slow the case down.'

Mr Amaral, 47, told the newspaper Jornal de Noticias today: 'A policeman does not limit himself to one case. There's a lot of work still to be done.'

He is said to have been sacked in a fax from Alipio Ribeiro, national director of the Policia Judiciaria - Portugal's criminal investigation department. Portuguese newspapers today said the inquiry was at an 'impasse'.

Mr Amaral claimed his quotes had been taken out of context, and that he was not attacking British police, but rather the private investigators working for the McCanns. But his bosses believed he had broken the pact of silence over the case and feared he was responsible for leaking stories to the media.

Carlos Anjos, president of the Judicial Police Inspectors Union, 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.'

It is claimed Mr Amaral is planning to sue British newspapers for defamation.

McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said the decision to remove Mr Amaral was 'a decision for the Portuguese authorities'.

'Kate and Gerry have always said they were more than happy to co-operate with the Portuguese authorities whoever that might be,' he said. 'So in other words, whoever takes over from Mr Amaral as head of the investigation, they will continue that co-operation and do anything that is required - including going back to Portugal for more interviews 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.'

Mr Amaral was also sacked from his post as the head of the detective force in the town of Portimao, a 30-minute drive from Praia da Luz, where Madeleine went missing on 3 May, shortly before her fourth birthday. Mr Amaral will now be transferred to a police force in Faro.

He is himself an arguido, or suspect, over allegations he concealed evidence, after a woman jailed for the murder of her daughter claimed his officers tortured her into making a confession.

Leonor Cipriano, 36, is serving 16 years for the murder of eight-year-old Joana, even though her body has not been found and she has retracted her statement.

Mark Williams-Thomas, a former detective who worked on the Sarah Payne inquiry, said: 'Amaral has been a liability for the Portuguese police but I fear his departure could be a major setback in the search for Madeleine.

'The Portuguese police have very limited experience in child abduction cases, so there may be nobody with more experience than Amaral to fill the position. It could be a severe setback.'

His position became untenable after he gave a brief interview to a Portuguese newspaper in which he appeared to be highly critical of British detectives.

It came days after he was criticised in a British newspaper for allegedly working four-and-a-half hour days, enjoying 'boozy lunches' and failing to investigate the majority of the 252 tip-offs his officers have received.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2007, Carvi Scandal, Gonçalo Amaral

McCanned

McCanned
3 October 2007
Mirror
RYAN PARRY in Praia da Luz

Boozy cop is demoted after furious outburst against Kate & Gerry

BOOZY chief inspector Goncalo Amaral was last night off the Madeleine McCann case af ter an astonishing attack on Kate and Gerry.

The bungling 48-year-old accused them of manipulating the investigation. And he claimed British detectives were pandering to the family.

His outburst angered bosses who decided it was the final straw in a series of embarrassing blunders during the investigation to find missing four-year-old Madeleine.

Last night furious police chiefs revealed Amaral was no longer running the case.

A Policia Judiciaria spokesman said: "Goncalo Amaral has been removed from the DIC (Portugal's detectives) in Portimao and all the cases it is dealing with.

"We cannot make any comment on the reasons for his dismissal. But he did not resign, he was removed."

The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "We are aware of what's happened and simply cannot comment.

"However Kate and Gerry have consistently said they are willing to co-operate with Portuguese authori ties and will continue to do so, regardless of who is in charge of the hunt for Madeleine."

A source close to the family added: "Things like this are frankly just a distraction, what they want is for people to concentrate on the search for Madeleine.

"The most important thing is that the inquiry is led by someone who can do a professional and good job and help them find their daughter."

Amaral accused doctors Kate and Gerry, from Rothley, Leics, of distracting the investigation. And 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.

"They have only investigated tips and information developed and worked on for the McCanns, forgetting the couple are suspects in the death of their daughter."

But a source close to the couple, both 39, said: "It's wrong. Leicestershire police are not doing anything at Gerry and Kate's behest. They are there for liaison." Amaral was number three in the investigation but in charge of running it on a day-to-day basis from Portimao.

He works as little as four and a half hours a day and takes boozy threehour lunches despite a mountain of Madeleine leads to investigate.

The inspector also vented his anger that Leicestershire police were following a wild tip emailed to Prince Charles's website.

It suggested a disgruntled maid at the Ocean Club complex in Praia da Luz where Madeleine vanished from on May 3 may have kidnapped her.

Amaral, who will be moved to Faro, ranted: "The lead has no credibility. This story about kidnapping for revenge is another lead worked on by the McCanns.

"Everything said by employees, current or former, has already been investigated by the Policia Judiciaria."

But the McCann family source said: "The lead was passed by Clarence House to the Met Police and they took it seriously because it was from a real woman and she had left the Ocean Club in bad circumstances."

Amaral has probed just two child murders in his 26-year career.

He is under investigation for allegedly helping cover up a police beating to extract a confession from Leonor Cipriano, 36, the mother of a missing girl.

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 retracted her statement.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2007, Carvi Scandal, Gonçalo Amaral

Madeleine cop axed

Madeleine cop axed
3 October 2007
Scottish Daily Record
Ryan Parry

Boss pays price for rant at parents

The workshy Portuguese cop running the hunt for Madeleine McCann was kicked off the case yesterday - hours after he launched a ranting attack on the tot's parents and British police.

Chief Inspector Goncalo Amaral accused UK detectives of pandering to Kate and Gerry McCann and said they were only interested in leads fed to them by the couple.

A few hours later, the Portuguese police said Amaral had been removed from the case.

They gave no reasons for the decision but it came hard on the heels of a public reprimand for Amaral by Portugal's justice minister.

Reacting to Amaral's outburst, Alberto Costa said: "We have to concentrate on the work, not on making comments."

Amaral was embarrassed at the weekend by reports that he enjoyed two and three-hour boozy lunches while he was supposedly working to find Madeleine.

A newspaper told how the beerbellied cop spent as little as four-and-a-half hours per day at his desk.

But instead of looking at his own performance, Amaral, who was in charge of the day-to-day running of the inquiry, turned his fury on the McCanns and police in the couple's home county of Leicestershire.

Amaral, 47, told a Portuguese newspaper: "British police have only worked on what the McCann couple want them to work on, and which is most convenient for them.

"They have only investigated tips and information developed and worked on for theMcCanns, forgetting that the couple are suspects in the death of their daughter."

Amaral poured scorn on a claim that Madeleine may have been kidnapped by a disgruntled former maid at the Algarve holiday complex where she vanished on May 3.

He was furious that British police decided to investigate the tip-off, made in an email to Prince Charles's official website.

Amaral said: "The story about kidnapping for revenge is another fact worked on by the McCanns."

The newspaper said Amaral's tone during the brief interview was "explosive and indignant". They also quoted an un-named senior police source as saying: "After the war with the British media, we now have another with the English police."

Amaral and his colleagues remain convinced that the McCanns killed Madeleine accidentally by drugging her to keep her quiet. But British police say the Portuguese do not have the evidence to charge the couple.

The boss of the Portuguese police federation, Carlos Anjos, waded into the row yesterday by claiming the McCanns had deliberately distracted the investigation.

Anjos said: "TheMcCanns started a campaign to discredit Portuguese police when the police first proposed the idea that the girl was dead, in place of the abduction theory which suited them so well.

"It seems that with their new spokesman, their sole objective is to create a new fact each day. It's laughable."

Friends of the McCanns were left bemused by the Portuguese cops' offensive. A source close to Kate and Glasgow-born Gerry said: "It's completely wrong.

"Leicestershire Police are not doing anything at Gerry and Kate's behest.They are simply there for liaison. There is no strategy, it's wrong."

McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "Kate and Gerry have consistently said they wish to cooperate with the Portuguese authorities, and that remains the case.

"Beyond that, I cannot comment on Mr Amaral's reported remarks."

Leicestershire Police said only that they would continue to support their colleagues in Portugal.

Amaral is himself under investigation after his officers allegedly beat a confession out of a woman accused of murdering her child.

The woman, 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.

Amaral is accused of covering up the alleged beating. He has repeatedly denied all wrongdoing.

Cipriano is serving 16 years for the murder of her daughter Joana, eight. But she has retracted her confession and insists she is innocent.

'After the war with the British media, we now have one with the English police'

Continue Reading... Labels: 2007, Carvi Scandal, Gonçalo Amaral

Detective leading Madeleine hunt dropped from case after outburst

Detective leading Madeleine hunt dropped from case after outburst
3 October 2007
The Independent
Ian Herbert

The Portuguese detective leading the Madeleine McCann case has been demoted and removed from the case, sources in Portugal suggested last night.

Chief Inspector Goncalo Amaral, a controversial figure who is already being investigated over an alleged physical attack on the mother of a different missing girl, is understood to have been relieved of his duties as head of the regional Policia Judiciaria (PJ) and will leave the 30-strong Madeleine inquiry team with immediate effect.

The move, of which Kate and Gerry McCann are said to be aware, is understood to be the result of an extraordinary attack on the child"s parents in the Portuguese press earlier yesterday in which he accused the couple of manipulating British police. Sources in the Algarve town of Portimao, from where Mr Amaral has been leading the investigation, suggested his outburst contributed to a sense the inquiry is chaotic and dysfunctional.

Mr Amaral is believed to have been desperately frustrated by his force"s inability to interview Kate and Gerry McCann further either in Portugal or Britain, but the cause of his outburst was bizarre. He was evidently incensed by a story that an anonymous email sent to the Prince of Wales"s website was being investigated by British police. The message suggested that a disgruntled employee working at the Ocean Club complex in Praia da Luz might have kidnapped Madeleine.

Mr Amaral, who when approached around the coffee houses of Portimao in recent weeks has refused to comment on the case, told the Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias that all current and former employees at the resort had been investigated. Of the email lead, he said: "This situation has no credibility whatsoever for Portuguese police." He went on to say the McCanns had identified lines of inquiry for Leicestershire officers and the East Midlands force had restricted its investigations to those suggested by the couple, overlooking the fact the couple remain suspects

He said: "The British police have only worked on what the McCanns want them to work on and what suits them, forgetting the couple are suspected of causing the death of their daughter. This story about kidnapping for revenge is another fact worked on by the McCanns."

It seemed no coincidence that the head of Portugal"s police federation, Carlos Anjos, also made a public attack on Mr McCann yesterday, dismissing his suggestions that Madeleine"s abductor may have been hiding in her room as "a ridiculous episode".

Mr Anjos said: "If he was suspicious that there was a man in the apartment, and then he calmly went to dinner, then words cannot describe how negligent he is as a father."

He also criticised what he claimed was a steady stream of information from the McCann camp. The officers" comments seem to reflect the fact that the Portuguese inquiry into the McCanns and their daughter has been heading nowhere for weeks.

Mr Amaral has been a controversial figure during the search for Madeleine. He is currently an arguido (witness) in the case of an alleged attack on the mother of another missing nine-year-old Joana Cipriano, Leonor.

Several men are accused of "scenes of aggression" against Ms Cipriano, whose daughter vanished in September 2004 and who eventually confessed to murder and was jailed. Mr Amaral is suspected of concealing the alleged beating.

The detective was also forced to defend taking a two-hour lunch break with police spokesman Olegario Sousa in Portimao while the McCanns were flying to Berlin to publicise the case. 

   

Continue Reading... Labels: 2007, Carvi Scandal, Gonçalo Amaral

Madeleine case officer demoted

Madeleine case officer demoted
3 October 2007
Irish Times
Paul Hamilos in Madrid and Brendan de Beer in Portimao

The Portuguese detective heading the investigation into the disappearance of the British child Madeleine McCann was removed from the case yesterday and demoted from his post as chief of police in Portimao after an outspoken attack on his British counterparts.

Insp Goncalo Amaral has been transferred to the nearby Algarve city of Faro after criticising the British police in a leading Portuguese newspaper.

Mr Amaral (47) has been a controversial figure from the outset of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine on May 3rd from an apartment in the resort of Praia da Luz, where she was on holiday with her parents.

Mr Amaral had become a target for criticism in the British press; he has reportedly investigated only two child murders in his 26-year police career. He also faces a criminal hearing for allegedly concealing evidence after a woman jailed for the murder of her daughter claimed his officers beat her into confessing.

Yesterday, in an interview with the respected Diario de Noticias, Mr Amaral accused British detectives of investigating only those leads that Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, wanted following up. "[ The British police] have only investigated tips and information developed and worked on for the McCanns, forgetting that the couple are suspects in the death of their daughter Madeleine."

Mr Amaral criticised the British police decision to investigate an anonymous tip-off e-mailed to Prince Charles's website claiming Madeleine was abducted by a former employee of the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, where the McCanns were staying when she disappeared.

Mr Amaral said the lead "has no credibility for the Portuguese police". National police director Alipio Ribeiro confirmed that Mr Amaral had been removed from the case and demoted, saying it was a "decision I took myself".

Mr Amaral still faces scrutiny over the case of Joana Cipriano (8), who disappeared from Figueira, not far from Praia da Luz, three years ago. Joana's mother, Leonor, was jailed for 16 years, even though her daughter's body has never been found and she retracted her confession. Mr Amaral was not present at her alleged beating but is accused of covering up for his colleagues, which he strenuously denies.

The British media criticised Mr Amaral for allegedly working 4½-hour days, enjoying "boozy lunches" and not investigating tip-offs.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2007, Carvi Scandal, Gonçalo Amaral

Detective leading hunt for Madeleine sacked after blast at UK police

Detective leading hunt for Madeleine sacked after blast at UK police: Inspector says McCanns swayed British officers Family lawyer attacks 'absurd' comments


3 October 2007
The Guardian
Paul Hamilos Madrid Brendan de Beer Portimao

The Portuguese detective heading the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann was yesterday removed from the case and demoted from his post as chief of the police in the Algarve town of Portimao, following an outspoken attack on his British counterparts.

Inspector Goncalo Amaral has been transferred to the nearby Algarve city of Faro after criticising the British police in a leading Portuguese newspaper.

Mr Amaral, 47, has been a controversial figure from the outset of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine on May 3 from an apartment in Praia da Luz, where she was on holiday with her parents. Mr Amaral had become a target for criticism in the British press; he has reportedly investigated only two child murders in his 26-year police career. He also faces a criminal hearing for allegedly concealing evidence, after a woman jailed for the murder of her daughter claimed his officers beat her into making a confession.

Yesterday, in an interview with the respected Diario de Noticias, Mr Amaral accused British detectives of only investigating those leads that Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, wanted following up. "[The British police] have only investigated tips and information developed and worked on for the McCanns, forgetting that the couple are suspects in the death of their daughter Madeleine."

Mr Amaral criticised the British police decision to investigate an anonymous tip-off emailed to Prince Charles's website claiming Madeleine was abducted by a former employee of the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, where the McCanns were staying when she disappeared. Mr Amaral said the lead "has no credibility for the Portuguese police".National police director Alipio Ribeiro last night confirmed that Mr Amaral had been removed from the case and demoted, saying it was a "decision I took myself".

Carlos Pinto de Abreu, the McCanns' Portuguese lawyer, told news website Portugal Diario yesterday: "The McCanns cannot confess to something they did not do and cannot and should not lie only to please the police." He said the comments by Mr Amaral were "false and absurd" and that Kate and Gerry had answered all the questions put to them by the police. Mr Abreu advised the police "to talk less and work more to find the girl".

The Portuguese minister of justice, Alberto Costa, described the cooperation between the Portuguese and British police as "beneficial", saying "we need to focus on the job in hand and not on commentary".

Mr Amaral still faces scrutiny over the case of eight-year-old Joana Cipriano, who disappeared from Figueira, not far from Praia da Luz, three years ago. Joana's mother, Leonor, was jailed for 16 years, even though the body of her daughter has never been found and she has since retracted her confession. Mr Amaral was not present at the time of her alleged beating but is accused of covering up for his colleagues, which he strenuously denies.

At the weekend Mr Amaral was criticised in the British press for allegedly working 4 1/2 -hour days, enjoying "boozy lunches" and failing to investigate most of the 252 tip-offs his officers have received.

British authorities have been working with the Portuguese from the start of the investigation. Forensic tests were conducted on behalf of the Portuguese police at a government laboratory in Birmingham. Portuguese police leaked to the local press that the evidence indicated DNA from Madeleine was in the boot of a rental car the McCanns used after her disappearance, and led to them becoming formal suspects. However, Mr Ribeiro said the forensic tests were inconclusive.

Portuguese police were yesterday in Huelva, south-west Spain, 30 miles from the border. Despite rumours that they were there to investigate a journey the McCanns made to Huelva in August, the Spanish police said that they had invited their Portuguese counterparts to celebrate the patron saint of police, Angel Custodio.

Inspector Goncalo Amaral: 'The British police have only investigated leads Gerry and Kate McCann want following up'

Continue Reading... Labels: 2007, Carvi Scandal, Gonçalo Amaral

Off the case; Madeleine police chief demoted after amazing rant against McCanns and British detectives

Off the case; Madeleine police chief demoted after amazing rant against McCanns and British detectives
3 October 2007
Daily Mail

The detective leading the hunt for Madeleine McCann was sacked last night.

Chief Inspector Goncalo Amaral was removed from the inquiry after he claimed that British detectives had been duped by Kate and Gerry McCann and only investigated leads which were ' convenient' for the couple.

His outburst led to a reprimand from Portugal's justice minister, lberto Costa, who said: 'We need to concentrate on the job and not on the commentary.'

Within hours Alipio Ribeiro, the head of the Policia Judiciaria, ordered Mr Amaral off the case, demoted him to inspector and stripped him of his role as a regional head of the force.

Mr Amaral made his 'angry and explosive' remarks to the Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias. He claimed: '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 British police appeared to have forgotten that Mr and Mrs McCann remain suspects. He also repeated Portuguese claims that the couple were manipulating the inquiry.

'They (the English) have been investigating tip-offs and information created and worked upon by the McCanns,' he added.

The newspaper also reported an unnamed police source as saying: 'After we bought into a war with the British media we are now buying into another with the English police.'

Mr Amaral, 47, has attracted criticism from the early days of the inquiry and news of his departure was met with relief by those close to the investigation.

He enjoyed frequent three-hour boozy lunches and two days ago a British newspaper claimed he worked only four hours a day and had ignored most of the 252 possible sightings and tip-offs in the case. He is also facing a criminal hearing over another missing girl, Joana Cipriano, accused of concealing evidence that the girl's mother, Leonor, was beaten into confessing to her murder.

Mr Amaral came under pressure to step down from the McCann investigation after it emerged he could face trial over the accusations, but he refused to resign.

His sweaty, corpulent figure is a familiar sight in the restaurants and cafes around police headquarters in Portimao.

While the McCanns have been warned they be jailed for speaking about the case, Mr Amaral, who was 48 yesterday, has frequently been heard holding court and accusing them of killing Madeleine.

He has said: 'We are sure the parents killed Madeleine. They are both doctors and know about drugs. We are confident in our case.'

Mr Amaral, a father of three, has worked in the police for 26 years but has only investigated two other child killings.

British police will hope that his successor will bring fresh impetus to the investigation, which appeared to be stalling as Portuguese detectives refused to consider any evidence which did not fit theories implicating the McCanns.

Clarence Mitchell, the family's spokesman, said last night: 'We're aware of these reports and we simply can't comment.

'Gerry and Kate have consistently said that they are happy to cooperate fully with the Portuguese authorities and will continue to do so no matter who is in charge of the Madeleine investigation.' Mr Amaral had dismissed the latest development in the case, an email sent to Prince Charles which claimed Madeleine was abducted by a disgruntled former employee at the Praia da Luz holiday complex where the McCanns stayed, as 'another fact worked upon by the McCanns'.

Meanwhile Mr McCann, of Rothley, Leicestershire, said he and his wife, both 39, had endured 'another painful day without our beautiful daughter' on Sunday, the 150th day since she disappeared.

Continue Reading... Labels: 2007, Carvi Scandal, Gonçalo Amaral