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UK experts join hunt for Madeleine


Madeleine McCann was abducted in Portugal last Thursday evening
As the search for missing Madeleine McCann entered its sixth day, efforts to home in on her abductor stepped up a gear.

Two "Cracker-style" criminal behaviour experts from the UK flew into the Algarve region on Tuesday to join Portuguese investigators working on the case.

Police in the country have already followed up 350 different leads, interviewed 100 people and taken hundreds more calls from the public but their response to Madeleine's disappearance has been criticised.
The little girl's great uncle, Brian Kennedy, told the Mirror: "It took the police a long time to get things moving. The early stages could have been much quicker."

On Tuesday night, as police moved to restore confidence in their efforts, the British Ambassador to Portugal stepped in to defuse criticism of the police. After visiting Madeleine's distraught parents Gerry and Kate, John Buck emerged to say that the couple appreciated the Portuguese efforts and said specialists from the two countries were working well together. He also revealed he had been in touch with Portuguese cabinet ministers and the office of the Prime Minister.

Mr Buck, who has visited the couple repeatedly throughout their ordeal, said after his latest visit: "I wanted to assure myself personally that the necessary links between British and Portuguese experts here on the ground were working well, and they are." He added: "They (the McCanns) are very pleased with the collaboration of the British authorities, they are in close touch with Interpol and Europol and I know Kate and Gerry, with whom I have just been speaking over the last hour, are very grateful for their efforts."

His Portuguese counterpart in London also said police were doing all they could but had to abide by the country's secrecy laws.

Criticism of the handling of the case has been intensified by a virtual news blackout imposed by Portuguese law which bans police from revealing details of a case under investigation.

Taken from AOL news