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Jon Craig |
We've
seen some abrupt U-turns by this Prime Minister. But David Cameron's
about turn on Madeleine McCann has been particularly swift.
When I
reported Kate and Gerry McCann's letter to the PM in the Sun just after
10pm last night, the word from inside No. 10 was that the search for
Madeleine was "a matter for the Portuguese authorities".
But by
3.45pm this afternoon, the tone from No. 10 had changed. The PM's
spokesman told me: ""We are considering what they have said and will see
if there's anything more we can do. We want to help."
Now
Scotland Yard's top detectives are to be brought in.
A swift
victory for the McCanns!
To be
fair, the Prime Minister has written a very sensitive and sympathetic
letter to Kate and Gerry.
"Thank
you for your heartfelt and moving letter," he writes. "Your ordeal is
every parent's worst nightmare and my heart goes out to you both.
"I
simply cannot impagine the pain you must have experienced over these
four agonising years and the strength and determination you have both
shown thoroughout is remarkable.
"I am
acutely aware of the frustration you must feel as more time goes by and
yet no news is forthcoming.
"We
discussed this when we met, but I realise that a further 18 months have
gone by since then. That you have been so courageous over all this time
and have not given up speaks volumes."
The PM
tells the McCanns he hopes this fresh approach will provide the
investigation with the new momentum it needs.
So what
happened during the 24 hours between the McCanns' letter appearing in
the Sun and the latest Prime Ministerial U-turn?
Well,
it's not a U-turn, members of the Prime Minister's inner circle insist.
"The PM
and the Home Secretary didn't meet today," a senior No. 10 insider tells
me. "But it's something he feels strongly about, as does Theresa."
Other
Tory insiders who know the PM well tell me he feels strongly for the
McCanns because his own children are roughly the same age as Kate and
Gerry's.
And of
course, as friends of the Prime Minister point out, he knows what it's
like to lose a child. |
