Maddie: Call off Hunt, We need Cops in UK....and response to article

It will be interesting to see the full story and who supposedly has made this request.

Freedom wrote:It will be interesting to see the full story and who supposedly has made this request.

It says chief, is that BHH?

EXCLUSIVE: Police urged to shelve Maddie hunt as cops needed in UK to battle terrorism
POLICE were last night urged to shelve the hunt for Madeleine McCann as detectives battle terrorism and a wave of murders.

Officers reeling from £600million of police cuts are struggling to probe 14 unconnected killings across the capital since Christmas while fighting a war on terror.
Meanwhile, a specialist team of 31 detectives continues to work exclusively on the hunt for Madeleine, who vanished eight years ago from her parents’ holiday fl at in Portugal.
Though the mystery has no connection with London, the Metropolitan Police was assigned to investigate four years ago after Madeleine’s parents Kate, 47, and Gerry, 46, made a personal plea to David Cameron.
Despite dozens of trips by offi cers from the UK to Portugal, no one has been arrested and the original probe officer Det Chief Insp Andy Redwood has retired.
But the Operation Grange inquiry, which has so far cost around £10m, is continuing.

Now officers are baffl ed why they are working round the clock investigating a spate of murders and combating the threat posed by Islamic State while 31 Grange detectives who could ease their workloads are barred from helping them.
Spike That is because police chiefs have “ring-fenced” the Madeleine inquiry to prevent the officers involved working on other cases.
Last night police union chiefs called for the probe to be shelved, with detectives assigned to it deployed on other inquiries. Metropolitan Police Federation chairman John Tully told the Daily Star: “It is time to re-focus on what we need to do to keep London safe.

John Tully wrote:“The Met has long been seen as the last resort for investigations others have struggled with elsewhere”

We no longer have the resources to conduct specialist inquiries all over the world which have nothing to do with London.

“The Met has long been seen as the last resort for investigations others have struggled with elsewhere.

“But we have made £600m of cuts. We have closed 63 police stations across London. Another £800m of cutbacks are anticipated over the next four years.





It is surprising to see an inquiry like the McCann investigation ringfenced. I have heard a few rumblings of discontent about it from lots of sources.



“When the force is facing a spike in murder investigations it is not surprising there is resentment of signifi cant resources diverted to a case that has no apparent connection with London.”

Operation Grange was set up to review the original Portuguese police probe into Madeleine’s disappearance aged three from her family’s holiday apartment in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.

After the Portuguese inquiry was shelved as “unsolved” the McCanns, from Rothley, Leics, successfully appealed to the PM to get the Met to re-examine the case.



Last night a Met Police spokesman confirmed the 31 offi cers assigned to Operation Grange work solely on that investigation and are not involved with other inquiries.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/431325/Police-working-Madeleine-McCann-case-need-back-Britain

Jerry Lawton, need we say any more? the UK has been battlerling terrorism for years and years.Operation grange has been ongoing for years,who has told Jerry Lawton it needs to be shelved?

My god they couldn't find put madeleine wasn't abducted...but they can find girls decamping to syria!?!

Poppy wrote:Jerry Lawton, need we say any more? the UK has been battlerling terrorism for years and years.Operation grange has been ongoing for years,who has told Jerry Lawton it needs to be shelved?

This may be the first move towards a 'solution' that won't make anyone look too bad. 

Still, Truth is the daughter of time  -  I think it will come out in about ten years' time. If not, I believe it is the law in Portugal to publish all the papers 20 years after shelving an investigation. So that would make it around 2028 for the witheld files to become public.

How interesting. People in public services often say - quite understandably - they they need more money to do their job properly, but I don't think I've ever heard of them specifically recommending cuts to their remit before. That must be a first.
And no quote from the McCanns, either? Surely everyone remembers that front-page story on the Star's arch-rival, The Sun, where Kate and Gerry begged the UK Government to get involved in their hunt for Madeleine? Thanks to fairy godmother Rebekah Brooks, that wish came true, and now The Star has this John Tully urging the Government to withdraw it. Usually the McCanns are dead keen to supply quotes to national newspapers promoting the "search for Madeleine" so I'm truly amazed that nobody at the Star was apparently able to get hold of them for their view on this front-page bombshell.
It's all the more worrying as presumably Mr Tully must have an inkling that the Grange team are not on the brink of rescuing Madeleine or arresting those responsible for her plight, or he would never suggest such a thing on the front page of a national newspaper?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/8713343/Freemasons-in-the-police-leading-the-attack-on-David-Camerons-riot-response.html

An article from 2011 about John Tully.

“When the force is facing a spike in murder investigations it is not surprising there is resentment of significant resources diverted to a case that has no apparent connection with London.”

Correct me if I'm wrong but the funding for the resources used in Operation Grange comes from the Home Office so the Met no longer has to pay those officers and should be financially better off to the tune of 31 salaries. Amazingly, that would be enough to draft in the same number of officers at the same salary level as those who have been seconded to OG.

And why just Operation Grange? What about Yewtree, Fernbridge & Cliff Richard etc. ?

Interesting article about the "spike" in murder investigations:

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-30577385

London 2014 homicide rate 'to fall below 100'
Officers from the Metropolitan Police
The Met Police said the reduction was down to intelligence-led policing and early medical intervention
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories

Crime falls 6% in year says Met
Crime figures down 10%, survey shows
Truth to crime stats claims - Met
The number of homicides in London could fall below 100 in a year for the first time in more than 40 years, according to the Met Police.

There have been 93 homicides since January 2014, compared with more than 200 from January to December in 2001.

With a 2014 average of two a week it is "unlikely" there will be more than 100 by the end of the year, police said.

Officers said the reduction was down to intelligence-led policing and early medical intervention.

Targeting gangs
Det Ch Supt Mick Duthie, head of the Homicide Command, said: "It's taking guns off streets, it is intelligence-led policing to target gangs, stop and search.

"It is our professional response within the homicide command to make sure if offences do take place, we prosecute people.

"All these things together have helped us as an organisation reduce the incident of homicide."

Homicide rates include murder, manslaughter, corporate manslaughter and infanticide offences.

In 2001 the number of homicides was more than 200, while in 1970 it was 105, according to the Met's statistics.

There are no official figures for the 1960s, but the Met Police believe it was lower than 100.

Dr Gareth Grier
London Air Ambulance work to ensure the system is set up to deal with injured patients
Dr Gareth Grier, a consultant from the London Air Ambulance, said: "The whole system in London is set up to deal specifically for injured patients.

"In a patient who is likely to die as a result of an injury, the clock starts ticking right from the time of that injury and some of those patients can pass away within minutes of their injury - and getting the right people there at the right time is crucial."

"Up to 18% of patients who would have previously died at the scene of an accident are surviving due to early interventions at the roadside," he added.

line
London homicide statistics

2013 - 101
2012 - 102
2011 - 116
2010 - 114
2009 - 128
2008 - 147
2007 - 155
Metropolitan Police statistics

I suggest all members write to their MP to try to make this an election issue. It is rediculous that so many officers have been tied up for all this time with NO results; and then there's the costs......meanwhile people in the Uk are being robbed, raped etc etc.

Tell your MP you will not vote for him/her unless he/she takes a stand on the issue ie issues a press release about it and raises it within the party they belong to. With the general election so close now is the time to act. And raise this on the doorstep with canvassers.

Some members may have written to their MPs in the past - follow up and point out how right you were - nothing achieved as you predicted and lots of money wasted.

Antonia wrote:I suggest all members write to their MP to try to make this an election issue. It is rediculous that so many officers have been tied up for all this time with NO results; and then there's the costs......meanwhile people in the Uk are being robbed, raped etc etc.

Tell your MP you will not vote for him/her unless he/she takes a stand on the issue ie issues a press release about it and raises it within the party they belong to. With the general election so close now is the time to act.  And raise this on the doorstep with canvassers.

Some members may have written to their MPs in the past - follow up and point out how right you were - nothing achieved as you predicted and lots of money wasted.

Afraid I have to disagree with you Antonia.  I do not think they would have kept this going for so long if they didn't see a prospect of bring someone to justice, and I think that is what they are doing.  They could have shut this down after a couple of years but they didn't, instead the review became a full investigation.  I still have faith in them.

Admin wrote:

Antonia wrote:I suggest all members write to their MP to try to make this an election issue. It is rediculous that so many officers have been tied up for all this time with NO results; and then there's the costs......meanwhile people in the Uk are being robbed, raped etc etc.

Tell your MP you will not vote for him/her unless he/she takes a stand on the issue ie issues a press release about it and raises it within the party they belong to. With the general election so close now is the time to act.  And raise this on the doorstep with canvassers.

Some members may have written to their MPs in the past - follow up and point out how right you were - nothing achieved as you predicted and lots of money wasted.

Afraid I have to disagree with you Antonia.  I do not think they would have kept this going for so long if they didn't see a prospect of bring someone to justice, and I think that is what they are doing.  They could have shut this down after a couple of years but they didn't, instead the review became a full investigation.  I still have faith in them.

If this long running expensive review was serious they would have interviewed the parents and their friends - we have no reason to think they did so either at the start or later. So while I try to be positive in all things I find it hard in this case.The only sliver of hope is the new lead detective who perhaps is asking the questions not asked earlier. The police need a way out that can justify all that money with no results to show for it which will be difficult to say the least. I think trying to make it an election issue (crime is always an issue anyway) is worth a try. Maybe UKIP might be interested in it?

Antonia wrote:

Admin wrote:

Antonia wrote:I suggest all members write to their MP to try to make this an election issue. It is rediculous that so many officers have been tied up for all this time with NO results; and then there's the costs......meanwhile people in the Uk are being robbed, raped etc etc.

Tell your MP you will not vote for him/her unless he/she takes a stand on the issue ie issues a press release about it and raises it within the party they belong to. With the general election so close now is the time to act.  And raise this on the doorstep with canvassers.

Some members may have written to their MPs in the past - follow up and point out how right you were - nothing achieved as you predicted and lots of money wasted.

Afraid I have to disagree with you Antonia.  I do not think they would have kept this going for so long if they didn't see a prospect of bring someone to justice, and I think that is what they are doing.  They could have shut this down after a couple of years but they didn't, instead the review became a full investigation.  I still have faith in them.

If this long running expensive review was serious they would have interviewed the parents and their friends - we have no reason to think they did so either at the start or later. So while I try to be positive in all things I find it hard in this case.The only sliver of hope is the new lead detective who perhaps is asking the questions not asked earlier. The police need a way out that can justify all that money with no results to show for it which will be difficult to say the least.  I think trying to make it an election issue (crime is always an issue anyway) is worth a try. Maybe UKIP might be interested in it?

It is serious imo, else why have so many detectives on it, why not just half a dozen - why not scale it down then close the investigation.  As to interviews we have no idea who has been interviewed, and so we shouldn't.  We have been told about some that have been interviewed, just to throw out a few scraps to the press, but the real job is going on behind the scenes and we are rightly not privy to it.

Antonia wrote:

If this long running expensive review was serious they would have interviewed the parents and their friends - we have no reason to think they did so either at the start or later.

As they have always said that they will not give a running commentary on this case, none of us has any idea whether or not they have already interviewed the parents and their friends, or whether they intend to do so once they have - for example - the results of further forensic tests.

It would be odd in the extreme (and unlikely to the point of impossibility) if those people weren't interviewed at some stage, whether as suspects or witnesses and whatever scenario is currently thought to be the most likely.

If this long running expensive review was serious they would have interviewed the parents and their friends.

Maybe they have. Neither the McCanns nor the police would be likely to tell us if they had, now would they? And OG are not obliged to keep the papers informed of their every move.

BTW I absolutely loathe and detest that horrible phrase "Maddie Hunt" like she's a bloody Easter Egg. If that were a child of mine I would be kicking off big time at any paper referring to my precious baby like that.

From the horse's mouth so to speak........

From the man who quoted in the article - here is his bio on twitter and his couple of tweets re the article itself.

John Tully
@Zedvictor4

Chairman of the Met Police Federation. Views expressed will be mix of personal and business. #CutsHaveConsequences


Tweets





John Tully ‏@Zedvictor4  · 2h2 hours ago  
@veniviedivici I've no problems with the content of the article, although I didn't say what the headline suggests -Inference taken I suppose



John Tully ‏@Zedvictor4  · 2h2 hours ago  
@veniviedivici no criticism of the officers, just the pressure on officers carrying high number of investigations, it's like spinning plates

Just as things are heating up on one side. The other side is cooling down.

Hmmmm.

Here is Portugal resident article linked by DDL move if you think it appropriate

http://portugalresident.com/british-police-ready-to-drop-maddie-probe-as-london-faces-increasing-terrorist-threat

British police ready to drop Maddie probe as London faces increasing terrorist threat

An exclusive news story in the UK today claims British police are “baffled” as to why they are being kept on the seemingly endless Maddie probe, and want ‘out’ so that they can concentrate on the increasing threat from terrorism ‘at home’. “It is time to re-focus on what we need to do to keep London safe,” the Met’s federation chairman John Tully told the Daily Star. Newspapers have spared no space in criticising the “Operation Grange” inquiry set up in 2011, which has so far cost British taxpayers in excess of €12 million.

Not only have no solid leads transpired, officers working on the case have been barred from doing anything else.

Here, criticism has also centred on the fact that the Met “always turns up when the sun starts to shine”.

Thus today’s news will bring sighs of relief from holiday businesses that saw their start to last year’s season marred by battalions of police “digging for clues” at various sites around the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz, from which Madeleine McCann went missing almost eight years ago.

Elaborating on police discomfort over the ‘exclusivity’ forced upon them by the Madeleine inquiry, John Tully told the Daily Star: “The Met has long been seen as the last resort for investigations others have struggled with elsewhere.” But it has been hit by “£600 million of cuts”, he added. “We have closed 63 police stations across London. Another £800 million of cutbacks are anticipated over the next four years” - and meantime the Met is having to cope with “14 unconnected killings across the capital since Christmas while fighting the war on terror”.

It is therefore “surprising to see an inquiry like the McCann investigation ringfenced”, he said. Ringfenced here refers to the 31 officers assigned to it being prohibited from working on any other cases.

“I have heard a few rumblings of discontent about it from lots of sources,” he told the paper.

“When the force is facing a spike in murder investigations it is not surprising there is resentment of significant resources diverted to a case that has no apparent connection with London.”

How much truth is behind this latest “exclusive” about the long-running mystery remains to be seen.

Portuguese media reported last week that the new head of Operation Grange, DCI Nicola Wall, visited Portuguese counterparts in Lisbon last week to “strengthen links” between the two forces.

No mention was made of any plans to shelve the British side of the investigation.

natasha.donn@algarveresident.com

Express  with this story.....


Is the hunt for Madeleine McCann over? Police urged to return and 're-focus' on UK safety


http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/564729/Police-urged-shelve-Madeleine-McCann-hunt

Something seems to be shifting CF but I have no theory.

I have a deep belief and have had from the start, that the awful pair were involved in something but who knows what?

I think that they are a couple of cold-hearted liars.

Off-topic but last night I watched one of the saddest docs. I've ever seen where people talked and cried about the effects of suicide in their families. That was raw grief and courage in facing up.

I don't want to see hurt so raw but you recognise it and help in any way you're able.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/431523/Madeleine-McCann-s-parents-urged-police-chief-not-give-up-hunt

Kate and Gerry McCann said they are incredibly grateful to every officer working to find Madeleine.

They insisted there is “still a job of work to be done” by the 31-strong Operation Grange team assigned solely to the case.

They spoke out after the London Metropolitan branch of the officers’ union the Police Federation called for the inquiry, which has already cost £10million, to be shelved.

Threat Chairman John Tully said the Met, which has made £600m cuts and faces another £800m by 2020, could no longer afford to take on “last resort” specialist cases others could not crack.

He said the 31 Operation Grange detectives could ease the workloads of colleagues investigating 14 unconnected murders in the capital since Christmas and battling the threat posed by Islamic State terrorists.

A friend of Kate, 47, and Gerry, 46, said: “It is up to the Met, the Prime Minister and the Home Office to decide the longevity of the investigation – not the Police Federation which has its own agenda.”

Madeleine, of Rothley, Leics, was three when she disappeared from a holiday flat in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007.

Cherry, I have transferred your post here from a separate topic.

From a Daily Mirror article that has since been wooshed so courtesy of the mccann files http://www.mccannfiles.com/id16.html:

'Breaking down in tears, distraught Kate said of the Portuguese police: "They want me to lie - I'm being framed.

"Police don't want a murder in Portugal and all the publicity about them not having paedophile laws here, so they're blaming us."'

These latest newspaper articles, while conveniently timed to distract from the inquest, make me wonder whether arrests are imminent and this is laying the foundation for:

'Breaking down in tears, distraught Kate said of the Met: "They want me to lie - I'm being framed.

"Police don't want an unsolved murder in Portugal and all the publicity about them having spent so much, so they're blaming us."'

Just speculating.

I'm thinking on the same lines Poe, arrests may be imminent. Softening the blow for the general public etc.