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Appeal...
Kate and Gerry McCann with Lorraine Kelly, holding The Sun |
Telling them he sincerely hoped his action would give their hunt "the
new momentum that it needs", the PM also promised to stay "in close
touch" with the couple throughout.
He added: "I
know that everyone hopes and prays for a successful outcome, and our
thoughts remain with you and your family."
Madeleine, of Rothley, Leics, was abducted while on holiday in Praia da
Luz, Portugal, on May 3, 2007.
Kate, whose book on her daughter - titled simply Madeleine - has been
serialised all week in The Sun, admitted this week that the couple's own
efforts to trace the missing girl "don't seem to be working".
She and heart
consultant Gerry appeared on Sun columnist Lorraine Kelly's ITV1 show
yesterday morning, where Gerry said: "We want people to read the book
because it puts what's happened to us and what we are doing in context.
But more than anything, we want the public to get behind the search for
Madeleine like they did in 2007."
We can reveal
Home Office officials have been secretly working on re-opening the hunt
for Maddie for nine months.
Kate and Gerry
spent an hour with Mrs May in August last year to request her help with
their fruitless search.
After that, the Home Secretary quietly ordered her officials to liaise
with international law enforcement agencies and do what they could in
the hope of sparking a new development in the case.
Mrs May told The
Sun last night: "We all want to see this beautiful little girl returned
to her parents. That's why we have been doing everything we can behind
the scenes."
The only British
police involvement in Madeleine's case prior to last night's
announcement was carried out on behalf of the Portuguese cops.
Leicestershire Police, the McCanns' local force, were the "liaison
force" responsible for collating all investigation work by officers
across the UK.
The British
police, at the request of their Portuguese counterparts, carried out
interviews with UK witnesses and also collated sightings reported to
police in this country.
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Maddie McCann |
All the
information was then sent on to Portuguese police. There was never a
British investigation into Madeleine's disappearance as her abduction
happened in Portugal.
The case review
last night won cross-party backing in Westminster.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvonne Cooper said: "We fully back the McCanns'
request for information in Madeleine's case to be reviewed.
"Any overlooked
piece of this jigsaw could be important. A British child is missing, and
the British authorities should do everything in their power to help in
the search."
Madeleine's parents have been campaigning for a review for several
years. They feel it is "crucial" to finding their daughter, fearing
vital leads, sightings and other clues are buried away in Portuguese
police files.
They are
desperately hoping that a fresh look at the files, similar to a criminal
"cold case" review, may discover something that was overlooked in the
original investigation.
Gerry said: "The files are not held on a single database. By putting
them all together we could discover that vital piece of the jigsaw."
All the files
relating to Madeleine's case are held by the Portuguese Judiciary in
Portimao - including witness statements and details of sightings.
More than 30,000
pages were released after the Portuguese investigation was shelved in
2008, but some were held back, with police insisting they could not be
made public.
Last night Kate
and Gerry told The Sun: "We welcome the Government's response. This is
clearly a step in the right direction.
"The expertise
of the Metropolitan Police is renowned and we are reassured by our
government's commitment to the search for Madeleine.
"We would like
to thank Mr Cameron and the Home Secretary for committing such a
significant resource as the Metropolitan Police to begin the review
process. We would also specifically like to thank The Sun, News
International, and the general public for supporting the campaign to
find Madeleine in the way they have." |
