VIDEO - Esther McVey gives a statement on why fund will not be used for legal expenses, but that a second fund should be set up

Thanks to HiDeHo

I hadn't appreciated it was Esther who suggested the Macs leave OT and that an initial date of 10 Sept was mooted. From madeleine by KM

Monday 27 August I had a call from Esther McVey, a Liverpool friend from my late teens, by then a television presenter and Conservative parliamentary candidate. Esther was on the board of Madeleine’s Fund. She said she was scared by our current situation and uncomfortable with what she felt was a ‘political shift’. For our own safety, and ‘to protect Madeleine’s good name’ (I wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that), she thought we ought to come home. It seemed I was being pressurized from all quarters and I didn’t like it.
As it happened, however, the very same day we learned that we would need to vacate our villa by 11 September – news that put a different complexion on matters and forced Gerry and me to tackle this difficult and emotionally charged issue. We could have rented somewhere else in Praia da Luz, of course, but it would have been a lot of hassle for not much gain if we were intending to leave before long anyway. We had waited in vain for the police to call us back for interview. Finally, and very reluctantly, I agreed to set a date for our departure. Monday 10 September it would have to be. It was one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to take.