Enough is Enough - The McCann Saga

I see that opinions are varied on whether or not this will be a whitewash, but I think truth and justice will prevail for the missing child.

This case is not contained within the UK, other countries are involved.  The McCanns ex private detectives are currently facing criminal charges in Spain and Hallagen faces similar charges in the US. Newspaper reports from the time the McCanns employed these crooks, suggest that they were paid huge amounts of money from the Madeleine Fund, and any amount of evidence could be revealed in these forthcoming trials. 

In addition to this, the McCanns are claiming £1.2m damages from Goncalo Amaral, the co-ordinator in the original Portuguese investigation  who wrote The Truth of the Lie, a book based on the police investigation and TV1, the Portuguese television company who made a documentary of the book.  Attempts to settle this claim broke down in January and therefore a full libel trial must now go ahead, and a court date is imminent.  I think we can be pretty certain that Goncalo Amaral and TV1 will fight this claim vigorously and of course, whatever is said in Court can be reported in the UK press.

In my opinion, it is very unlikely that Portugal will bow down to the UK, and accept the blame for the failed investigation and the yearly bashing of their tourist industry by the McCanns.  Scotland Yard have said many times that they are supporting the work of the Portuguese investigation and there is no hint of animosity between the two forces, other than the blatantly manufactured stories of the popular UK press.  Why on earth would the Portuguese say their own investigation was shambolic and the beautiful Algarve is a haven for paedophiles?

From the recent press stories, if we discard the fluff, we can see that Scotland Yard are opening their own investigation, which of course will mean that any British suspects can be interviewed and charged here in the UK.  Those very expensive extradition lawyers employed by the McCanns, are now redundant as a full investigation can take place on British soil.  

This case is simply too complex to cover up indefinitely.  Any of those involved could break the pact and spill the beans at any time.  We can only imagine Scotland Yard detectives interviewing Jane Tanner?  Even the staunchest pro McCanns avoid using her nonsensical sighting as evidence of an abduction - are seasoned homicide detectives really going to accept it? 

The CPS visiting Portugal is a huge development in this case. Logically, they can only be involved if a trial is to take place in the UK.  They are legal prosecutors, not investigators, and I don't think they would fly out to Portugal if the suspects had not yet been identified.  

I know we have had a lot of ups and downs over the years, and at times it has seemed as though the McCanns are being protected, but I get the feeling that protection is no longer there.  Put simply, they have gone too far.  The ambitious Gerry and Kate saw the Madeleine Fund as a leading 'charity', one that would last forever more.  Their rage and anger I think, stems from frustration at their not being able to sustain the level of donations they achieved prior to their arguido status in 2007. The blame for this fell squarely on the shoulders of Goncalo Amaral and he had to be discredited at all costs.  

However, their vendetta has 'cost' them dear, so too have all their other legal attempts to shut down opposition. They have allowed their vanity and relentless pursuit for publicity to overshadow common sense. They believed they were invincible and their 'little company' would grow into a giant corporation, employing top libel lawyers to crush any dissenters.  All very high risk, but I have a feeling they went through a lot worse in May 2007, and if they could overcome that, anything else would be a piece of cake. 

The McCanns have said 'they will never stop - and if they money runs out, they will raise more' - and therein I think lies the problem. They are never going to go away, and no PM, government, nor Great British public, will ever be free of their demands. Maybe someone has finally said, enough is enough.