McCanns & Friends "Jumpy & Nervous"

POLICE in the Madeleine McCann case told yesterday how suspicion fell instantly on the parents and their friends. Two members of the early response team confirmed the investigation was fatally flawed from the start because of “chaotic” conditions at the McCanns’ apartment.

They were speaking publicly for the first time and the Daily Express agreed to their request for anonymity.

Both uniformed officers, beat police in the Guarda Nacional Republicana, said they immediately noticed the strange reaction by the McCanns and their friends to the unfolding tragedy.

“Something wasn’t right,” said one of the men, Officer A. “They were upset, panicking, wide-eyed – all the usual responses. But there was something else. They were scared, and not the usual scared. They were jumpy and nervous. I don’t know, it wasn’t normal. None of it was normal and hasn’t been right the way through.”

It is the first time that police officers in the GNR who answered the emergency 112 call have spoken to a British journalist about events on the night of May 3.

Under Portugal’s strict secrecy of justice laws, and the code of conduct governing its police, the officers – who have 35 years’ experience between them – face serious consequences for speaking out. They were on routine patrol duty from their base at Lagos when they received the emergency call for back-up to the McCanns’ apartment at the Ocean Club in Praia da Luz.

The partners arrived within an hour of Madeleine being discovered missing by her mother Kate at 10pm that night, after the couple and seven friends had dined at the holiday complex’s tapas restaurant.

Officer B said: “To arrive as back-up and find a circus walking in and out of a possible crime scene – well, it’s ridiculous. The family and friends had all been drinking. They weren’t falling over, but it was hard to deal with them. I watched my superiors talking to them. It’s always hard to get sense out of panicking people. That’s one of the first things – talk calm, slow them down, force them to calm down. They always think speed is the best thing. They’re frantic, but they can miss out vital information. When you’re scared and pumped full of adrenaline you react like a child, you assume everyone knows what you know.”

Officer B went on: “They were hard to get any sense out of. A good scare sobers anyone up. They weren’t that drunk. They knew what was going on and what they were saying.”

Both officers complained about the delay between Madeleine being found missing and the call to the police, which they said was 40 minutes later.

Commenting on the McCanns’ reaction, Officer B said: “They’re both doctors. They are not at home, they are scared and confused. They don’t know how the Portuguese police or justice work. Human nature is to obey and be as helpful as possible, even if they don’t understand how what they are being asked could help. They should have been tripping over each other to supply whatever they could.” (Daily Express)