Madeleine McCann: Who Pays The Met?
MADELEINE McCann is no longer on the cover of the Sun. Kate McCann’s book is out and Our Maddie is off the front page.
But the London Evening Standard persists. The Met is to investigate the disappearance of the innocent child. Good. The Met can be horrible sods but they possess the nous and means to go back to the beginning and review the facts.
David Cameron has instructed the Metropolitan Police to review the case of Madeleine McCann. This is in response to an open letter in The Sun and is entirely predictable in terms of the “pulling power” of News International on Government policy.
However, his intervention drives a coach and horses through the draft protocol issued by the Home Office designed to preserve the operational independence of the Police which says:
“The operational independence of the police service, and the decisions made by its operational leadership remain reserved to the Office of Chief Constable and that Office alone.”
Whilst no-one doubts the desirability of doing what can sensibly be done to find out what has happened to Madeleine McCann, I can imagine that the senior leadership of the Metropolitan Police are not exactly happy about this. It again embroils their officers in a high profile investigation, where the chances of success are unclear, and which will divert limited investigative resources away from other matters.
What time limit does this investigation have?
Police insiders warned against hopes of a quick breakthrough as they said the scale of the task of reviewing the evidence was huge. A team led by an experienced detective will be set up in the next few days to launch the probe.
The government decision to bring in Scotland Yard sparked controversy. Metropolitan Police Authority member Lord Harris said it raised “very big questions” about political influence on the police and use of resources.
Such are the facts…
Posted: 14th, May 2011 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (9) | TrackBack | Permalink
