The Madeleine Foundation letter to Gordon Brown in support of a

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d) It has been publicly disclosed that you discussed the Madeleine McCann case with the President of the European Parliament, Jose Manuel de Barroso, and with the Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, during discussions at the E.U. Lisbon summit in October 2007; however, the content of those discussions remains secret. Given that these discussions concerned a still missing 3-year-old British child whose parents were at that time suspected of criminal involvement in her ‘disappearance’, and about whom there has been no inquest or other enquiry or court hearing, we suggest that this too should form part of any enquiry as to whether you and other members of the British government and British police forces sought in any way to attempt to affect the outcome of the Portuguese police enquiry into Madeleine’s ‘disappearance’. The contents of your discussions about a three-year-old missing British girl should not remain secret, but should be disclosed to any public enquiry. One aspect of your significant involvement in the Madeleine McCann case during May 2007 was discussed with us by Dennis Skinner M.P., who ’phoned me in March 2009 in response to a letter sent to him enclosing a copy of my book on the Madeleine McCann case. He pointed out, with some force, that it was not part of your role as Chancellor of the Exchequer to be discussing the release of a description of a possible abductor with the Portuguese authorities. He explained that this role was firmly that of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He told us that if it could be demonstrated that you did indeed play an active role in securing the permission of the Portuguese police for Dr Gerald McCann to issue that description, there would be grounds for an enquiry as to why you stepped out of your role as Chancellor of the Exchequer and trespassed on matters clearly belonging to the Foreign Office. Further, the extent of government involvement in supporting the McCanns and their claim of abduction seems to have been wholly unprecedented. Aspects of that high degree of involvement which we suggest should be examined by an independent public enquiry include: i) The rapid provision of consular assistance Within just two hours of Madeleine ‘disappearing’, the following report appeared in the online edition of the Daily Telegraph, timed at 00.01 (one minute past midnight) on Friday 4 th May 2007: “A three-year-old British girl has gone missing while on a family holiday in Portugal, the Foreign Office said today. Portuguese police are investigating the disappearance from a holiday complex in Praia da Luz in the western Algarve. A Foreign Office spokesman said that he understood the girl's parents had gone to have dinner once their children were asleep last night, but returned to check on them only to find the girl had gone missing. ‘They reported it straight away’, he said, adding that consular assistance was being offered”. Not only was the British Ambassador in Portugal already involved. Even before midnight on 3/4 May, the matter was already in the hands of the Foreign Office - and Foreign Office spokesmen were on hand to brief the Daily Telegraph. The British government therefore appeared committed to 20
elieving and supporting the McCanns’ abduction claim right from the outset, without having even had time to properly check the facts and the surrounding circumstances. This harmonises with a statement subsequently made by Mr Mitchell when he said that he only agreed to be posted to Portugal and seconded away from his post as Head of the Media Monitoring Unit after being assured by the British Ambassador to Portugal that this was indeed an unusual case of stranger abduction. The Ambassador’s actions appear not to have been neutral. He appears to have promoted the McCanns’ abduction claim before it had been properly investigated by the police. ii) The statement by the British Ambassador to Portugal, Mr John Buck, on 8 May 2007, just five days after Madeleine 'disappeared' A further clue to the top-level involvement of the British government in this case came just five days later in this statement to the media by Mr John Buck, British Ambassador to Portugal, in Praia da Luz, on Tuesday 8 May: “Ladies and gentlemen, Good evening. As you know I spent quite a lot of time with the McCann family on Friday [NB 4 th May, the day the McCanns were also being interviewed by the Portuguese police] and over the weekend, and also supporting our Consular staff here in the Algarve. I wanted to come down today to see Kate and Gerry again and to continue to support our Consular staff who've been dealing with this case continually now for a number of days. I also wanted to assure myself personally that the necessary links between British and Portuguese experts here on the ground are working well - and they are. “As you know we have had three family liaison officers from the Leicestershire Police here with the family acting as a point of communication with the Portuguese Police. As I think you also know additional experts arrived today to work with their Portuguese colleagues on this investigation. I don't want to say anything in detail about the investigation but it might be helpful if I said a word or two about the background. “This is and must remain a Portuguese Police investigation. As you know the Portuguese police operate under Portuguese law and Portuguese law puts constraints on what they can say publicly and the information they can release. Against that background I have been in touch closely over the last few days with Cabinet Ministers here in Portugal, with the Prime Minister's Office and with the Portuguese Police authorities. They all assure me that everything possible is being done to ensure the safe return of Madeleine. “We continue to work closely with the Portuguese authorities. They are very pleased with the collaboration with the British authorities. They are in close touch with Interpol and Europol and I know that Kate and Gerry, with whom I've just been speaking for the past hour, are very grateful for their efforts. Thank you very much”. That account by Mr Buck explains the huge level of ambassadorial, government and police support for the McCanns’ claim that Madeleine was abducted. Not only that, but counsellors from the Centre for Crisis Psychology in Skipton were flown out to Praia da Luz to provide additional support to the McCanns. This counselling organisation appears to have very close links to the 21
Page 1 and 2: The Madeleine Foundation Combating
Page 3 and 4: use its influence to seek a public
Page 5 and 6: they had wasted £½ million on the
Page 7 and 8: One key matter which requires inves
Page 9 and 10: “It was fun during the first two
Page 11 and 12: Leicestershire. From 2001 until 200
Page 13 and 14: “When he was asked with whom he w
Page 15 and 16: A Portuguese police official, Sousa
Page 17 and 18: This meeting was held just 12 days
Page 19: your own conclusions.' He said in a
Page 23 and 24: exceptional level of help being giv
Page 25 and 26: In addition, shortly before he was
Page 27 and 28: file on to the Crown Prosecution Se

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