David Payne *

David Payne

On the 16th of May 2007, two doctor friends of the McCanns, and the Paynes, make a statement to Leicestershire Police (LP) in which they express their concern over sexually suggestive gestures made by David Payne on a previous holiday in Majorca. These alleged gestures are considered, by one of the witnesses, to be consistent with acts of paedophilia.

The statements are not sent from LP to the Policia Judiciária (PJ) until 24 October 2007 (arriving on 26 October 2007), 24 days after Gonçalo Amaral had been removed from the investigation.

In an interview with Correio da Manhã, published on 24 July 2008, Gonçalo Amaral states that the depositions arrived in May, but this refers to the date they arrived at LP.

Intriguingly, the letter from LP mentions the completion of a written questionnaire - by David and Fiona Payne - but it is unclear whether that questionnaire was supplied by the PJ or whether it was instigated by LP themselves. There appears to be no copy of the questionnaire anywhere in the PJ files.

Correio da Manhã reports, on 19 July 2008, that 'the depositions ... only entered the process in January 2008 ... At that point in time, Kate and Gerry were already arguidos, the rogatory letters had already been issued and the English, including Dave, showed their reluctance in returning to Portugal.' However, this statement, about the depositions only entering the process in January 2008, does not appear to be supported by the PJ files themselves.

It is unknown whether these statements by the Gaspars were subject to any further follow-up by either LP or the PJ.

Also on this page are the statements of Yvone Martin who expressed concerns about David Payne and the behaviour of the McCanns. It is understood these statements were followed up by Gonçalo Amaral, who notes in his book, 'The Truth of the Lie', that Leicestershire Police reported: "There is nothing incriminating in his past and, as we were able to verify, he has no criminal record."

English ignored complaint of paedophilia against one of the McCanns friends, 19 July 2008

English ignored complaint of paedophilia against one of the McCanns friends Correio da Manhã

Statements - Doctor friends of the McCanns talked with the British police

19.07.2008
Thanks to 'astro' for translation

- Extract from article -

Dave Payne, one of the friends of the McCanns who were holidaying in the Algarve on the 3rd of May last year when Madeleine disappeared, was suspected of paedophile behaviour.

Twelve days after Maddie disappeared, a couple revealed the strange behaviour of one of the group's members. Testimonies only reached the Judiciária in January this year

David Payne, one of the McCanns' friends that were on holiday in the Algarve on the 3rd of May last year, when Madeleine disappeared, was suspected of paedophile behaviour.

The accusations were brought by a couple of friends that spent their holiday with part of the group in the summer of 2005 – themselves also English doctors. Twelve days after the British girl disappeared, Katherina and Arul could no longer keep the secret that had bothered them for two years and went to the police to make a statement. They revealed two conversations between Dave and Gerry, during which both revealed suspicious behaviour and indiciated sex with minors.

According to what CM was able to establish, the depositions were given on the 16th of May. But they only entered the process on January 2008 and are included in the 13th volume of the process files. At that point in time, Kate and Gerry were already arguidos, the rogatory letters had already been issued and the English, including Dave, showed their reluctance in returning to Portugal.

Touching the nipple

Katherina made a statement that was eight pages long. She reported holidays in Mallorca with several English [people], including the McCanns and the Paynes. Two incidents left her with serious doubts about the friends' behaviour and led her to create suspicions that were never confirmed.

The first one happened on a night when Gerry and Dave were talking about Maddie. Katherina does not know what they were saying but she remembers that Dave sucked on his fingers, pushing them into the mouth and pulling them out again, while his other hand traced a circle around the nipple, with a circular movement over the clothes. "That was done in a provocative manner", recalls Katherina, who says that it stuck to her memory.

Days later, the scene repeated itself. The doctor saw Dave making the same gestures again, while he talked about his own daughter. Scared, Katherina said nothing about the incident. But she took special caution, asking her husband never to let the doctor come close to the bathroom when her daughter was having a bath.

Arul went to the police to tell the same story. Katherina's companion confirmed the gestures that were made by Dave during the conversation with Gerry but asserted that he wasn't aware that they were talking about Maddie. He did find the behaviour in extremely bad taste, but didn't see it being repeated.

The incident ended up forgotten in his memory and it was only the disappearance of Madeleine, who had also been with them on the Mallorca vacation, that revived it.

During the deposition, Katherina went even further and said she had associated the gestures to someone who likes to watch child pornography. "I remember thinking whether he looked at the girls in a different manner", she concluded.

Friends from school days

Arul and Kate were friends from their school days. They have known each other for approximately 20 years and that was the motive that led the couple to accompany the McCanns on their holidays to Mallorca. Arul and Katherina did not know Fiona and Dave and they only met again once, during a dinner that gathered several couples. When Maddie disappeared from the Ocean Club, Katherina remembered the incident in Mallorca. And she immediately tried to verify whether Dave had again been accompanying the McCann couple, as the suspicions about his behaviour still stood. In the deposition that was made to the English police, Katherina says she decided to give a statement when she saw the TV images. Dave was among the same holiday group.

Cadaver was frozen or kept in the cold, 24 July 2008

Cadaver was frozen or kept in the cold Correio da Manhã (no longer available online)

24 July 2008
Thanks to Joana Morais for translation

- Extract from interview with Gonçalo Amaral -

"Payne is the last one to see her"

Correio da Manhã – When do testimonies concerning David Payne's behaviour indicating sexual practices with minors arrive?

Gonçalo Amaral – In May. Something went wrong with that group during a holiday: David Payne made revealing gestures concerning behaviour towards children. Even towards Maddie. We asked for information but it arrived after the 26th of October. They sent the information without giving it any importance.

What exactly did arrive?

A couple of doctors spent holidays in Mallorca, in 2005, with David Payne, the McCanns and another couple. The lady says she saw Payne with his finger in his mouth, making a movement in and out, while rubbing his nipple with the other hand. And he was talking about Maddie, next to her father. Those statements should have been given a different treatment by the police. It was relevant to access the information, about doctors, who are just as credible as anyone else.

What else remains unclear concerning David Payne?

He will be the last one to see Maddie alive after 5.30 p.m., when she leaves the crèche. He meets Gerry playing tennis and asks him about Kate and the children. Gerry answers that they are in the apartment and he goes there. He returns 30 minutes later. Kate says it was 30 seconds. There is something not quite right here.

Maddie - friend of the McCanns under suspicion, 16 April 2009

Maddie - friend of the McCanns under suspicion O Crime (paper edition only)

'O Crime', 16 April 2009

16 April 2009
Translation by Nigel Moore / Joana Morais
Thanks to Mercedes for original article and scanned image

A British doctor raised doubts about David Payne, describing behaviour that they deemed inappropriate and obscene. The suspicion, which concerned the matter of health care, led to monitoring when he bathed the children and preventing him from being close to her own daughter. Meanwhile, Payne comes to Portugal this week, in a lightning visit.

The doubts are reflected in a statement given to police in Leicestershire, which was subsequently sent to the Policía Judiciaria, carried out on the 16th of May 2007, less than two weeks after the disappearance of Madeleine, which point towards the behaviour of David Payne, 43 years, cardiovascular researcher, along with his wife and mother-in-law, who accompanied the McCanns on their holiday to the Algarve.

"During the holidays we also met friends of Gerry and Kate. There was a married couple named Dave and Fiona, whose surname was Payne (...) were married and had one daughter, 1-year-old. I remember that on these holidays, Fiona was pregnant," said the doctor.

"There was another couple who also spent the holiday with us. (...) I did not know these two families until we went on holiday together. As I recall, I think that David organised the holiday and we all stayed together in a big house while we stayed in Mallorca. We spent a week on holiday, however, the McCann family, and the Payne family stayed for two weeks," recalls Katherina G.

Her statement then becomes more expressive when it relates to the behaviour of David Payne: "Possibly around the fourth or fifth day abroad, I remember an incident that stayed recorded in my head. I was seated between Dave and Gerry who I believe were both speaking about Madeleine. I don't remember the conversation in its entirety, but it seemed they were discussing a possible scenario. I remember David telling Gerry something like "she", referring to Madeleine, "would do this".

Judging by the statements, even the doctor was convinced that she was the topic of conversation. When he mentioned "this", Dave was sucking on one of his fingers, pushing it inside and outside his mouth, while with the other hand he made a circle around his nipple, with a circulatory movement over his clothes. This was done in a provocative manner and carried an explicit insinuation in relation to what he was doing and making. I remember that I was shocked at this, and looked at Gerry, and also at Dave, to gauge their reactions. I looked around as if saying "did someone else hear that, or was it just me". There was a nervous silence registered in all the conversations and afterwards, everyone began talking again," said the British doctor.

Later she said: "Besides this, I remember that Dave did the same thing once again. When I refer to this, I want to clarify that it was during a conversation in which he was talking about an imaginary situation, though I could not say exactly what about. (...). He put one of his fingers in his mouth and slide it in and out, and with the other hand, drew a circle around his nipple in a sexually and provocative way. I believe that he was referring to the way that his daughter would behave or do it. (...) When I heard Dave doing and making this a second time, I took it more seriously. I remember thinking whether he looked at the girls in a manner different from me or from the others. I imagined that maybe he had visited Internet sites related to small children. In short, I thought he was interested in internet child pornography."

Attentive to the baths

Katherina made a highly critical assessment of the behaviour that she claims to have observed. And so became attentive to any contact between Payne and children. "During our holidays I was more attentive at bath time after hearing Dave saying that. During our vacation in Mallorca, it was the fathers who took care of the children's baths. I had the tendency to walk close to the bathroom, if Dave was bathing his children. I remember telling Savio (her husband) to be careful and to be there, in case it was Dave helping to bathe the children and, in particular, to my daughter Ellen. I was very clear about this, as having heard him disturbed me, and did not trust him to give a bath to Ellen alone," said the doctor friend of the McCanns in her statement to police.

"The first time I had knowledge of the terrible news about Madeleine's disappearance through the radio, my thoughts went immediately to Dave. (...) I watched TV meticulously, and seeing the coverage of the news, I understood that Dave was there, because I saw him, in the background, on the television images during the first days after the Madeleine's disappearance," said the witness.

At the same time, her husband Savio described the behaviour of Dave (the finger making circles around the nipple), considering the gesture inappropriate and "extremely bad taste, regardless of the context of the conversation." Savio ends his statement by saying: "It is my wish that the police are aware of my concern about the gesture made by Dave Payne."

True, these statements and the eventual evaluation of the facts revealed, did not eventually have consequences in the case. Other information was added to the enigma that was transformed into the disappearance of Madeleine.

David Payne is expected this Friday in Faro, in a lightning visit to the village of Luz. He comes with a team from Channel 4, who are making a documentary about Maddie. The same team that were already in that place a week ago, that time accompanied by Gerry McCann. Payne will leave the day after flying from England.

Madeleine McCann case - David Payne may hold the key to the mystery, 18 April 2009

Madeleine McCann case - David Payne may hold the key to the mystery TVMais (paper edition only)

"The English aurhorities should explain what the complaint is, that they have against David Payne, and who presented it"

Gonçalo Amaral, author of the documentary TVI broadcast this week, told tvmais that Payne may hold the key to the mystery and the disappearance of Maddie

By Hernâni Carvalho
18 April 2009
Translation by Nigel Moore

"If the Attorney General of the Republic watched the programme with care, he should have no alternative other than to reopen the case!" The emphatic claim comes from the coordinator of the Judiciary in the investigation of the Maddie case, until October 2007, in an exclusive interview with tvmais.

When Gonçalo Amaral was removed from the investigation he wrote the book "Maddie: The Truth of the Lie", a work that inspired the documentary that TVI devoted 50 minutes to on Monday, after the "National Telediary".

"Reopening the process would mean that the prosecutor would be acknowledging a mistake," Gonçalo Amaral told tvmais. "As you can see, we demonstrated in the documentary that, physically, abduction could not have happened. It also became clear that she died that same day, May 3, 2007," the inspector said shortly after the broadcast on TVI. "But above all, the role that David Payne played in the case needs to be understood. Certainly with the girl and with Kate McCann."

We ask the coordinator of the PJ to explain these words. "The British authorities have, since May 16, 2007, a complaint filed by Katherina G., a doctor and former friend of Payne and Gerry McCann. In that complaint, she explains the suspicions that she has had about David Payne since she spent a holiday with Payne and McCann in Mallorca. Gerry McCann is accused of inaction and complacency in the attitude of David Payne."

Suspected paedophile

The claim of Gonçalo Amaral refers to the British couple, (doctors Katherina and Arul) who denounced David Payne. During that past holiday with the McCann's and Payne's in Mallorca, summer 2005, that British doctor retained an impression and never forgot what she saw one night when Gerry and David were talking about Maddie. David sucked on his finger, pushing it into and out of his mouth, while with the other hand made circles around his nipple. Days later, the doctor said, she returned to see Dave do the same gestures when speaking about his own daughter. Katherina decided to take special care with her own daughter and asked her husband to ensure that her daughter was never left alone with Payne when she was taking a bath. Kaherina said she had associated the gestures with someone who likes to see pornography. "I remember thinking if he would look at girls in a different way," she concluded. Twelve days after Maddie disappeared (16 May), Katherina and Arul went to the police to reveal the two conversations with Dave and Gerry, which first showed suspicious behaviour and suggested sex with minors. Katherina provided an eight-page statement. She described the holiday in Mallorca with McCann and Payne. Katherina's partner confirmed the gestures made by Dave during the conversation with Gerry, but said he did not realise that they were talking about Maddie. He also believed that the behaviour was of extremely bad taste. The statements were provided on May 16, 2007, but had no input into the process until January 2008 (Volume XIII). By then, the rogatory letters had already been sent.

David Payne, the same

Tvmais has already reported that David Payne is the same one that the PJ did not see testify in England. He is the only one whose statements for the famous rogatory letters, that the PJ sent to England, were remade because of a malfunction in the recorder...

David Payne was one of the friends dining with the McCanns on the night of the disappearance of the girl at the Ocean Club. He is the man that tvmais had already confirmed had been in apartment 5A of the resort (home of the McCanns) about 19:00 that afternoon of May 3, 2007, shortly before, therefore, the time that the girl was reported as missing. Up to the closure of this edition, we failed to confirm whether someone from the Attorney General's Office saw the documentary. Although the rest had already been informed by tvmais throughout the almost two years that have elapsed since the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, a British child of 4-years-old, in the Algarve. We even showed the reported information of the declarations about Payne to the British police. It was the phrase Gonçalo Amaral on TVI's documentary: "It can be said with all certainty that Madeleine McCann was not abducted."

McCanns already control the fortune

The fund created just nine days after the disappearance of Maddie (a fund whose only goal was to raise funds to find the girl, accumulating millions of euros) has a new director: Gerald McCann, the very father of Madeleine McCann. Discreetly, they had already entered Peter Hubner, John McCann, Edward Smethurst, Doug Skehan, Jon Corner and other friends of the McCanns. This special status of the fund means that detailed accounts on how the money is spent do not need to be submitted. The McCanns house and other expenses are not reflected as being paid by the fund, although of the accounts presented, what is clear, is that barely 13% of the money was spent on investigations to "find the girl." The rest also went, but where is not known...

David Payne describes Madeleine, 24 April 2009

David Payne describes Madeleine

Extract from David Payne's rogatory statement to Leicestershire Police on 10 April 2008

24 April 2009

"Mmm..., errr... Madeleine's, errr... a very striking, errr... beautiful child, I'd almost - if I want a better phrase - call her doll-like, you know. She was very, you know, I think, you know, very unique looking child, errr... she'd got very pretty, you know, blonde hair, errr... in a bob, she was quite a petite, errr... child and, you know, she was very bubbly, very, errr... you know, she was a very good child to, to interact with. She was very bright, you could have a lot of fun with Madeleine, errr... and, you know, she, she was, you know, Kate and Gerry's, you know, pride and joy. They'd had a lot of trouble conceiving, you know, with IVF and everything and, you know, Madeleine was their miracle. She was obviously very unique with the fact that she'd got the, you know, the iris defect, errr... but, you know, she was certainly a happy go lucky child, you know, she was, she would interact with the other children very well, as I said on the other, earlier recording, you know, she played very happily with Lily and, you know, indeed the other children. She was, you know, very... she is a very beautiful child and good fun."

(...)

"You know, I, you know, a fact I've come across already you know, she was a... she's a very bright child, you know, she wouldn't be the kind of mischievous child who, you know, and just try and get out of the flat and, you know, get up to mischief and that, you know, there's fun in all children but she certainly wasn't that kind of child. She was very bright."

Suspicions about Payne were never investigated, 27 April 2009

Suspicions about Payne were never investigated Correio da Manhã

Maddie Case: Reconstruction that was requested by the PJ could have clarified doubts

by Tânia Laranjo

27 April 2009 - 00h30

Thanks to Astro for translation

The suspicions against medic David Payne, one of the McCanns' English friends, who was in Praia da Luz on the 3rd of May 2007, when Madeleine disappeared, were never investigated. Meanwhile, the doctor moved house and doesn't live in the same London area anymore. He was expected to return to Praia da Luz over the last few days, to record the documentary that is being prepared in England, but he ended up cancelling the trip. It is unknown if an actor will play his part in the reconstruction that is promoted by Kate and Gerry.

"On the day that Madeleine disappeared, his behaviour was very strange. He tried to sit in during the interrogations of Kate and Gerry, and he seemed very upset", a member of staff at the Ocean Club who assisted the searches during the first few hours, told CM.

David Payne was cited in the process twice, as having strange behaviour towards children. The first case took place in the initial hours that followed the child's disappearance, when a social services worker from England, who happened to be on holidays in Lagos, stated that she recognised Payne from a situation that she had investigated and which was related to child neglect or sexual abuse.

Later, an English couple told the police that a year before they had been on holidays with the McCanns and with the Payne couple, and that back then, the doctor had had a conversation with Gerry, which they witnessed, that indicated child abuse.

Payne used to bathe the children and since that day, that English couple, both doctors as well, prevented him from getting close to their daughter.

Payne wasn't questioned by the police because he returned to England in the meantime.

The McCann couple then refused to take part in the reconstruction of the night when Maddie disappeared, thus making it impossible for the suspicions against Payne to be proved or dismissed. At that time, Gerry and Kate were already arguidos over the concealment of the cadaver and neglect towards their children.

The future is bright - the future is European!, August/September 2009

The future is bright - the future is European! European Board of Eurology (PDF)

EBU Exam: a UK trainee's experience

Mr. David Payne
Leicester General Hospital
Urology dept
Leicester (UK)

It's a pleasant Sunday morning in Athens and the temperature is approaching 30˚C. I'm sipping a Mythos beer in the shade of an umbrella whilst taking in the view of the Acropolis, satisfied with the new award - Fellow of the European board of urology (FEBU). Not bad considering less than 48 hours ago I was leaving the rainy shores of England.

So what madness drove me to sit yet more exams? I had always been impressed with the EAU's approach to trainees and as a junior member I had enrolled on the European Residents Education Programme (EUREP) in Prague. This is essentially a revision course with the option for final year trainees to sit the EBU MCQ paper at the end of the week. Those who pass the exam can proceed to sit the EBU oral exam held at a later date. On the course I met several UK trainees who were using the week to prepare for the UK FRCS urology exam. This seemed a sensible strategy to sit both the European and English exams in quick succession whilst being at your most knowledgeable.

I eventually sat the EBU written exam in London in November 2008 along with 17 other hopeful candidates. In total, 227 trainees across Europe took the exam at several venues. The paper consisted of 150 MCQ's, which had to be completed within 2 1/2 hours. The paper was very fair with the questions being mainly clinically orientated and applicable to UK practice.

Two weeks later I was notified that I had passed the exam and was provided with a breakdown of marks for each urology sub-speciality. This latter feature was helpful in directing subsequent revision for the FRCS urology written paper that was conveniently held six weeks later, which I also passed. So far so good...

Next up were the oral examinations with the FRCS in May and the EBU equivalent in June. The FRCS viva involved answering questions on 16 different scenarios testing all of the urology sub-specialities. Although re-energised by the relief of passing the FRCS vivas, I did question the logic of rushing off two weeks later to sit another viva abroad.

However, on landing in Athens on a Friday night with the warm breeze that greets you on arrival, the ordeal becomes more like an adventure. The vivas were held on the Saturday in a hotel not far from the city centre. Unlike the endless vivas for the FRCS, the EBU oral consists of three structured scenarios lasting just under an hour. My first viva covered paediatrics, the next penile cancer, with the final clinical based problem beginning with a BPH scenario which took a cheeky change in direction, turning into the management of bladder cancer.

The examiners were very friendly and encouraging throughout but expected knowledge to be backed up with reference to the 2009 EAU guidelines. Once the vivas are finished, the award ceremony was held later on that evening. The names of those who have passed are called out and the FEBU diploma is awarded to the applause of the other trainees. Very few people fail outright, with borderline candidates getting another opportunity to sit a pass fail viva that evening.

My overall impression of the EBU exam is a very positive one. It's reasonably priced, well organised with sensible, and clinically based questions giving trainees from all over Europe the chance to test their clinical abilities. To date, 188 urologists in the UK have passed the diploma – the total stands at 2617. Although FEBU is not currently recognised as a formal qualification, the number of UK trainees sitting the exam is likely to continue to rise.

So book your exam, make a long weekend break and embrace the opportunities of a European market. Who knows, that job in Tuscany is just round the corner!

August/September 2009

McCanns defend their action against detective, 21 January 2010

McCanns defend their action against detective Euro Weekly News - Costa Blanca Edition 1281 (page 10) & Mallorca Edition 1281 (page 16)

Edition 1281
21 January 2010

Gerry McCann defended his legal action against a detective who led the investigation into his daughter's disappearence, saying his book had damaged the search for Madeleine. He spoke to reporters as he left a court in Lisbon on the second day of a hearing at which former police chief Gonçalo Amaral is attempting to overturn a ban on his book, which questions the McCanns' account of what happened to Madeleine.

Gerry flew home after the second day of the trial and Kate was joined by Fiona Payne, a member of the so-called Tapas seven group of friends.

However there have been worrying reports regarding her husband, David, who was also amongst the group. Dr. Katherine Zacharias Gaspar told Leicestershire Police on May, 16, 2007, that she and her husband were friends of the McCanns and went on holiday with them and the Paynes in September 2005. During this holiday an incident stuck in her mind.

"I was sitting between Gerry and David and I think both were talking about Madeleine (...). I remember David saying something to Gerry about "she", meaning Madeleine 'would do this'. While he mentioned the word 'this', David was doing the action of sucking one of his fingers, pushing it in and out of his mouth, while with his other hand he was doing a circle around his nipple (...). I remember being shocked by that."

Gerry also told reporters outside the court that there is 'absolutely no evidence' that Maddie is dead, after the testimonies of three members of the Portuguese Police expressed their suspicions of her death during the hearing.

And subsequently censored...

27 January 2010