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FOI et Réponse du Home Office - 04.09.2013
à la demande d'information concernant la mission rogatoire au Portugal
à la demande d'information concernant la mission rogatoire au Portugal
The Question
The Home Secretary
Theresa May has sent an official request to Lisbon for permission for
Scotland Yard to begin a new investigation in Portugal into the
disappearance of Madeleine McCann. It follows the disclosure
that the Met has identified 38 potential suspects - including 12
Britons - who are "of interest" because of their presence
in Portugal when Madeleine vanished.
In relation to the above,
please provide the following information:
1. The date the letter to
the Portuguese was sent,
2. To whom (name of
department and person) the letter was sent (the article merely says
it was sent 'to Lisbon'),
3. The full text of the
letter.
The Answer
The Home Secretary did
not send the Letter of Request to Portugal.
The letter was sent by
the Crown Prosecution Service.
However, the Home Office
can confirm in answer to your questions that
1) The letter was sent on
17 July 2013.
2) The letter was
addressed to Magistrat Du Parquet, Procuradoria General da
Republica.
Pourquoi "Magistrat du parquet" en français ?
Pourquoi "Magistrat du parquet" en français ?
3) The letter itself is
exempt from disclosure under sections 27(1)(a), 31(1)(a), and
31(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act.
The reasons why we have
taken this decision are :
Section 27(1)(a) -
International Relations
Information is exempt
information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be
likely to, prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and any
other State. It would be a breach of trust to publicly disclose
details of ongoing negotiations between two countries.
Section 31(1)(a) – Law
Enforcement
Information is exempt
information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be
likely to prejudice the prevention or detection of crime. This is an
ongoing police investigation with several suspects at large.
Section 31(1)(b) – Law
Enforcement
Information is exempt
information if its disclosure under this Act would, or would be
likely to prejudice the apprehension or prosecution of offenders.
This is an ongoing police investigation with several suspects at
large.
If you are dissatisfied
with this response you may request an independent internal review of
our handling of your request by submitting a complaint within two
months to the address below:
xxx
Assistant Commissioner
Mark Rowley and Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood held a media
briefing to discuss Operation Grange, the investigation into the
disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
The briefing, held on
Thursday, 3 October at New Scotland Yard, was an update on the
investigation so far, and included the following points.
- The Metropolitan Police
Service is receiving increasing co-operation from the Policia
Judiciaria and Judicial Authorities.
- The Policia Judiciaria
and Judicial Authorities received the International Letter of Request
(ILOR) from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
- They have appointed a
team of six officers in Faro, Portugal to carry out inquiries on our
behalf. Accepting and then sanctioning the ILOR for action does not
mean the Portuguese authorities will or have reopened the
investigation.
DCI Redwood, the senior
investigating officer in the UK, has just returned from a positive
visit to Faro last week, and we are to revisit in a few short weeks.
AC Mark Rowley said
today:
We very much look forward to developing a closer working relationship with the new team. We do respect the differences in our systems and understand that the work we have requested will be conducted by Portuguese colleagues. They have invited us to a meeting in a few weeks time to receive an update on those inquiries, prior to completion, which is most helpful.
There remain a total of
41 persons of interest, 15 of which are UK nationals. The work
on three of those 15 UK Nationals nears completion with indications
that they are not of any further interest to Op Grange.
Of note, we currently
have 30 ILORs (31 including Portugal) in various countries following
up requests for information concerning telephones used in Praia da
Luz at the material time.
We have engaged with Crimewatch to assist us in a public appeal in their October programme, and have expanded our appeal for information to Germany, Holland and Ireland. The appeal will piece together new lines of enquiry, and DCI Redwood will be appearing alongside Mr and Mrs McCann to appeal for information.
DCI Andy Redwood said:
The information and purpose of this broader appeal is based on phone traffic analysis we have examined, which determines the footfall of people in the resort at that time. Our investigation in the UK remains ongoing. The total number of documents we have to go through is 39,148, of which we have processed 21,614 so far. Out of those, 4,920 have resulted in actions to complete of which 2,123 have been.
We continue to appeal for information. If you were at the resort of Praia da Luz between 28 April and 3 May 2007, either on holiday or in residence in the resort during this period, particularly in the vicinity of the Ocean Club, and you have not been spoken to by police either here or in Portugal then please call us on 0800 0961011 if you are within the UK. The number for non-UK residents is +44 207 1580 126. Alternatively if you do not want to speak to us directly you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Appeal for information - 19.03.2014
Officers
from Operation Grange investigating the disappearance of Madeleine
McCann have today issued a further appeal for information.
During the course of their enquiries, officers have identified a potential linked series of twelve crimes which occurred between 2004 and 2010, mostly in low season, whereby a male intruder has gained access to mainly holiday villas occupied by UK families on holiday in the Western Algarve.
In four cases between 2004 and 2006 the man sexually assaulted 5 white girls, aged between 7 and 10 years, whilst in their beds. On one of these occasions, he assaulted two girls in the same villa.
Whilst not identical, there are many similar aspects to each of the incidents in that in most cases there were no signs of forced entry to the property, nothing was taken, and the intruder appeared in the early hours of the morning between 02.00hrs and 05.00hrs.
The suspect may have been in the villa or looking round the villa for some time before committing the offences or being disturbed either by a parent, or the child waking up.
He remained calm, even when disturbed.
On two occasions the noise of a bin collection lorry could be heard nearby.
Of the twelve offences, da Parra , Praia da Gale district and two in Praia da Luz.
Witnesses describe the man as having dark (as in tanned) skin with short dark unkempt hair. He spoke in English with a foreign accent, his voice was described as slow, or possibly slurred.
He was sometimes bare chested, some describe him as having a pot belly, and three victims said that he had a noticeable odour.
On two occasions in Vale de Parra and Praia da Gale he was wearing a distinctive burgundy long sleeve top, on one of those occasions it was described as having a white circle on the back.
During the course of their enquiries, officers have identified a potential linked series of twelve crimes which occurred between 2004 and 2010, mostly in low season, whereby a male intruder has gained access to mainly holiday villas occupied by UK families on holiday in the Western Algarve.
In four cases between 2004 and 2006 the man sexually assaulted 5 white girls, aged between 7 and 10 years, whilst in their beds. On one of these occasions, he assaulted two girls in the same villa.
Whilst not identical, there are many similar aspects to each of the incidents in that in most cases there were no signs of forced entry to the property, nothing was taken, and the intruder appeared in the early hours of the morning between 02.00hrs and 05.00hrs.
The suspect may have been in the villa or looking round the villa for some time before committing the offences or being disturbed either by a parent, or the child waking up.
He remained calm, even when disturbed.
On two occasions the noise of a bin collection lorry could be heard nearby.
Of the twelve offences, da Parra , Praia da Gale district and two in Praia da Luz.
Witnesses describe the man as having dark (as in tanned) skin with short dark unkempt hair. He spoke in English with a foreign accent, his voice was described as slow, or possibly slurred.
He was sometimes bare chested, some describe him as having a pot belly, and three victims said that he had a noticeable odour.
On two occasions in Vale de Parra and Praia da Gale he was wearing a distinctive burgundy long sleeve top, on one of those occasions it was described as having a white circle on the back.
We need to establish the identity of this man.
These offences are very serious and no one has been charged in connection with them. We also need to eliminate this man from our enquiries and ascertain whether these offences are linked to Madeleine’s disappearance.
If you have been a victim of a similar crime please come forward even if you reported the incident to police in Portugal, or anywhere else, please do not assume we have been made aware of it .
While some of these offences have been in the public domain before, following our appeal in October three more were reported to us as a direct result of that appeal. One of those reports we believe is the first in the potential series.
Please call us on 0800 0961011 if you are within the UK. The number for non-UK residents is +44 207 1580 126. Alternatively if you do not want to speak to us directly you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Our appeal last year was very successful and we had over 5,000 calls which generated new information for us and which we continue to investigate.
We still need to establish the identity of a man seen by three witnesses, carrying a child fitting Madeleine's description towards the beach or town areas at about 2200 on the night Madeleine disappeared. The witnesses have described the man in the e-fits as being white, aged in his 30s, with short brown hair, of medium build, medium height and clean shaven.
The Metropolitan Police Service continues to offer a reward of up to £20,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the person(s) responsible for the abduction of Madeleine McCann from Praia da Luz, Portugal on 3 May 2007.
