MCCANN RISE TO WIKILEAKS BAIT

Amid their unarguable desire to defend themselves at all costs

 (and they can be high) the McCanns do what they are

 now extremely good at (as opposed to their parenting skills)

 as they find it within their hearts to publically deny the undeniable.

Wikileaks have done no more than accurately report a cable between
 Ambassadors where the British Ambassador quite simply states British 
Police are building a case against them.  

Last week this story was running about fourth on The Guardian
 website in terms of popularity,  and was also in many other papers. 
 In short it had dealt the McCanns a body blow as they continue to
 insist they had nothing to do with the disappearance of their little girl
(aside from continuing to leave her alone after she complained about 
it that is, at least they left the door open for her).  

So, the media mad McCanns have an agonising choice in their
 desire to favourably manipulate public opinion, Clarence Mitchell
 having done his best, "it is purely a historical document"
 (as though that somehow diminishes the force of what is stated? 
  
"" Who  thought it appropriate to speak out on top of Mitchell utters on 
their behalf.  I would hazard a guess it was the less intelligent one, who 
is so well endowed in terms of angry mood swings and aggression, 
not to mention the overwhelming desire to bully and control.  Oh, and 
on his own admission likes to pursue high risk strategies, even if 
that apparently means "abductors doing something to her eye"

So putting this denial of the undeniable in the Sunday press so that it 
runs on for another week?  Nice one Gerry!  Please keep, like the true 
blunderbuss that you are, "Leaving No Stone Unturned" in educating 
the public as to what you are really like.  (I still really enjoy the video 
of you bullying the diminutive Ms Filgeuiras outside the court in Portugal, so 
informative)

Oh and by the way, have the Daily Express asked for their money 
back yet or are they waiting until you are convicted ( that would be 
the best idea), as they did with dear old "Lord" Archer.  

I am sure being locked in yet another bitter civil dispute will help to 
bring Maddie back, well to the McCanns and their entirely perverse 
form of logic anyway.  

Of course we have not forgotten the McCanns also sued the Chief 
Constable of Leicester Police for having the audacity to refuse 
to hand over his criminal investigation files upon them, and they 
lost.   Then they sued Goncalo and they lost, whoever said crime 
pays?  They will never get the chance to enjoy the Maddie blood 
money they have "earned" they will always be too busy defending 
themselves, even after Gerry is placed in a cell as a convicted prisoner.  

So shut up Kate and Gerry, you are your own worst enemies...

Even David Payne told Gerry to shut up on that fateful holiday bus 
"fu$% off, I am not here to enjoy myself" he sweetly mouthed with 
all the wives and babes sitting by.  Nice chap!  (I am here to get rid
of my daughter and have some good copies of 6 x 4 pictures of her, ready 
to hand to those dopy Portuguese cops as soon as she gets "abducted 
by lurking predators"  - the one of her in her Everton top should net me a
small fortune...and the one of her aged two will make sure no bugger has
a clue what she really looked like.) 

As for the Win a Luxury Cruise stuck in the middle, priceless!    
I have always enjoyed the Daily Express sense of humour 

MCCANNS REJECT WIKILEAKS CLAIMS

VANISHED: Madeleine McCann.

Sunday December 19,2010

By James Murray

KATE and Gerry McCann have reacted angrily to revelations by WikiLeaks that alleged British police had been helping to build a case against them over the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine.

In a statement on their Find Madeleine website, they said: “The WikiLeaks ‘news’ this week has led to the repetition of many unfounded smears. This has been seized on as an opportunity by those who wish to compound our suffering and hamper our efforts, including the very person who was entrusted with finding our daughter.”

The couple are locked in a bitter civil dispute with former ­Portuguese police chief Goncalo Amaral over claims he made in his book, Maddie: The Truth Of The Lie.

Earlier this year the McCanns met Home Secretary Theresa May and were hoping to persuade her to order a review of all the known evidence but the attempt was unsuccessful.

WIN A LUXURY CRUISE TRIP FOR TWO WORTH £2,500!

Their statement adds: “Those who could help Madeleine but choose to do nothing are also complicit in this injustice.

“Madeleine is the person who suffers most from all of this injustice. It is that fact alone which causes us the most distress. It is absolutely heart-breaking.”

Last week newspapers published information from Wiki­Leaks about a meeting between US ambassador to Portugal Al Hoffman and the British ambassador Alexander Wykeham Ellis in September 2007, four months after Madeleine disappeared from an Algarve holiday apartment. In a diplomatic cable the US ambassador reported: “Without delving into the details of the case, Ellis admitted the British police had developed the current evidence against the McCann parents, and he stressed that authorities from both countries were working cooperatively.”

Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/218281/McCanns-reject-WikiLeaks-claimsMcCanns-reject-WikiLeaks-claims#ixzz3qB0PMX68

MARTIN SMITH COURTED BRITISH PRESS DURING 2008

Drogheda family  hit out over Madeleine case clue coverage, 08 August 2007

Drogheda family hit out over Madeleine case clue coverage Drogheda Independent   Wednesday August 08 2007   A DROGHEDA family who may hold vital clues as to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have hit out at media distortion of evidence that they have given to Portuguese police.   Maple Drive man Martin Smith, his wife and his children had just left the Kelly bar, which is located approximately 400 metres from the McCanns' apartment at the Ocean Club between 9.50-10pm on the night Madeleine disappeared.   They returned to Ireland the next day, and because the reported abduction times didn't originally match, they never had cause to examine their journey that night.   As it emerged that Madeleine was abducted around the same time, one of the family members had a flashback of the moment some time later and encouraged the others to jog their memory.   They remembered passing a man walking towards the beach with a child in his arms.   Other than his approximate height and the fact that he was wearing beige clothes they cannot be more specific than that. 'We are annoyed at how vague our description is,' said the family member.   The family contacted the Portuguese police and flew back over to give evidence.   However, contrary to media reports, Mr Smith had not seen chief suspect Robert Murat in a bar the evening that Madeleine was abducted. 'He definitely didn't see him on the night in question,' said a family member.   The family are also mystified at reports that he knows Mr Murat. 'They met once in a bar about two years ago. My dad would only know Mr Murat by sight,' said the family member. 'However, from what he knows, he can say that the man who was carrying the child was not Robert Murat.'

Irish family's Maddie quiz, 03 January 2008

Irish family's Maddie quiz The Sun   From: VERONICA LORRAINE in Praia da Luz Published: 03 Jan 2008   PRIVATE detectives hunting for Madeleine McCann are to quiz an Irish family who may have been the last to see her alive.   Martin Smith, his wife and children told cops they saw a man carrying a little blonde girl in Praia da Luz on the night Maddie vanished.   Investigators from the Metodo 3 agency hired by Maddie's parents Gerry and Kate are preparing to travel to Ireland to interview them.   The family, from Drogheda, Co Louth, believe they saw the man taking the sleeping tot down to the beach at the Portuguese resort.   The Smiths were leaving Kelly's Bar — 400 metres from the McCanns' apartment — between 9.50 and 10pm on May 3 last year.   They flew home to Ireland the next day, but when the times of Maddie's abduction were revealed, the family remembered seeing a man, 5ft 7in to 5ft 9in tall and dressed in beige, carrying the child.   Significantly the description matches that given by Jane Tanner, 37, a friend of the McCanns.   Mr Smith, who has already spoken to Portuguese cops over the sighting, said yesterday: "I'd talk to anyone to move this investigation on. I think about Maddie every day."   He added: "I found the Portuguese cops not to be the most efficient bunch."   His wife Mary, 59, said: "We saw a man carrying a blonde child. It was just such a normal thing to see in a holiday resort — we didn't think anything of it at the time."   The Sun reported on Monday how Metodo 3 — which is costing the Find Madeleine Fund £300,000 — plan to blitz Morocco after several leads pointed to the country.

Maddy: We saw abduction, 03 January 2008

Maddy: We saw abduction Daily Mirror   Paul Byrne in Praia da Luz 3/01/2008   A family who may have seen Madeleine McCann being abducted could provide vital evidence in the search for the missing four-year-old.   The group saw a man walking towards the beach in Praia da Luz while carrying a child at the time Madeleine vanished, exactly eight months ago.   Portuguese police have taken statements from the family, who live in Drogheda, Ireland.   Now detectives hired by Madeleine's parents want to speak to Martin Smith and his family. The Smiths were leaving Kelly's Bar just before 10pm when they saw a man carrying a child 500 yards from the McCanns' apartment.   Kate McCann, 39, raised the alarm about her missing daughter at around 10pm.   The Smiths are thought to have described the man as white and 5ft 7in to 5ft 9in tall. His top clothing was obscured by the child. That description matches a suspect seen walking away from the apartment at about 9.15pm by Jane Tanner, a member of the "Tapas Seven" group of friends who were on holiday with the McCanns.   She saw a man carrying a child wearing pink pyjamas similar to those worn by Madeleine.   The McCanns' spokesman said yesterday: "Our detectives are being very methodical and I am quite sure that this family will be on their list."   The eight-month deadline means suspect Robert Murat, 34, hopes to be formally cleared today.

Maddie: Irishman provides dramatic new clues, 03 January 2008

Maddie: Irishman provides dramatic new clues Daily Mail (appeared in paper edition only)   EXCLUSIVE: Tourist met rude man carrying child in blanket on night Madeleine vanished   By SANDRA MURPHY, VANESSA ALLEN January 3, 2008   AN IRISH holidaymaker has spoken publicly for the first time of his disturbing encounter with a man carrying a child wrapped in a blanket on the night Madeleine McCann disappeared.   Now investigators hired by Madeleine's parents hope Martin Smith and his family can provide a crucial breakthrough.   Speaking from his home in Drogheda, Co. Louth, Mr Smith recalled the sighting, which is strikingly similar to one by a friend of the McCanns, Jane Tanner. In hindsight, the retired Mr Smith said, the mans rude behaviour should have aroused his suspicions.   He explained: "The one thing we noted afterwards was that he gave us no greeting.   "My wife Mary remembered afterwards that she asked him, 'Oh, is she asleep?' But he never acknowledged her one way or another.   "He just put his head down and averted his eyes. This is very unusual in a tourist town at such a quiet time of the year."   Their description of the barefoot child and the man, who wore beige trousers, echoes that of Miss Tanner, who said she saw a man carrying a sleeping child away from the McCanns apartment about 9.15pm.   Though the Smith family believe they met an almost identical man closer to 10pm, the coincidence prompted them to contact police after they returned to Ireland. Mr Smith said: "Luz is such a small place and so quiet, we felt a duty to tell police and let them decide if it was important."   Last night, McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said detectives from the Spanish agency Metodo 3 now hoped to speak to the family. "Metodo 3 is being very methodical, working through a number of people they think might be able to help them, and this family will be on their list."   On the night of the disappearance, Mr Smith was dining with his wife in the Dolphin restaurant in Praia Da Luz, where they are frequent visitors.   The couple were with their daughter Aoife, their son Peter and his wife Sile,as well as four grandchildren Tadhg, Cole, Aisling and Eimear.   All nine met the man holding a child but their recollection differs slightly from Miss Tanner's.   "In the image she gave, the man was holding the child forward in his arms. The man we saw had put the child over his shoulders. But Luz was very, very quiet at that time of the year and the likelihood of two young children being carried around like this is very small. "Also, our timings are a bit different. She saw the man at 9.15pm. We say 9.45or 9.50pm and the sighting was only a five-minute walk from where the child was staying. "I dont know if this information will help the McCanns. We kept interested in whats going on but we tried to avoid the limelight."   The father of six yesterday said the Irish family would do anything they could to help the McCanns find their missing daughter.   "We have not been contacted by the private detective hired by the McCanns, and have had no contact with the investigating police since May 26 last year.   "But anything we can do to help try to solve it, we will." Recalling the event she witnessed, Mr Smith said it was some time before the family realised they could be star witnesses   "We were out the night it happened. My son and his family were leaving on the Friday and we were going for a family meal. We went home about 9.50pm and we heard nothing at all about Madeleine McCann until the next day.   "I was taking my son Peter to the airport and on my way back, I heard that a kidnapping had happened in the village of Luz.   "We were looking at all the commotion on Sky News and we really felt quite helpless.   "We had two grandchildren with us at the time, aged four and five, and it had a terrible effect on them.   "They all wanted to sleep in the same room as us until we went home on the Wednesday.   "We were home two weeks when my son rang up and asked was he dreaming or did we meet a man carrying a child the night Madeleine was taken. We all remembered that we had the same recollection. I felt we should report it to the police.   "I rang the Portuguese police and they took a statement from me on the phone.Then they asked me to make a statement to gardai, which I did in Drogheda two weeks after the disappearance.   "Two days later, Leicestershire police got on to us and said they wanted to speak to all nine of us. But we felt there was no point dragging grand children and the whole lot out to Portugal so just my eldest son, Peter, and youngest daughter, Aoife, and I flew to Luz to make a statement.   "The police were fairly busy and the station was pretty typical. They didnt seem to be the most efficient police you ever came across but they are probably no different to police anywhere else. We were interviewed separately and told them what we saw, and showed them on the map where we met the man and child.   "We spent the whole day there from 10.30am to 7pm with an interpreter. That day, May 26 last year, was the last time we had any contact with the investigation.I remember clearly because it was my wedding anniversary.   "I told them we went for dinner at the Dolphin Restaurant and then went on to have just one drink in Kelly's bar, just 50 yards away.   "We would normally have stayed out longer but my son and his family were going home the next day.   "As we made our way back to our apartment in Estrella da Luz, we met a guy with a child that appeared to be asleep.   "It looked like a blonde child, and I thought she might be four years old, as she was the same size as my grandchild who was with us.   "It was around 9.55pm and it was getting dark and he was looking downward so I couldnt tell you exactly what he looked like.   "None of us was 100 per cent sure what he was wearing but we all told police he was wearing beige trousers and a darker top. We all put him in his early 40s. I didnt think he was Portuguese." Insisting he knew chief suspect Robert Murat visually for years, Mr Smith told police the person he saw carrying a child could not be him.   "I told police it was definitely not him because the man wasn't as big as Murat. I think I would have definitely recognised him."

Missing Madeleine McCann: Irish Witness 'Clears' Murat, 04 January 2008

Irish tourist clears Murat Sky News   John Kelly First published: 04 January 2008 (Same article later republished with new headline: 'Missing Madeleine McCann: Irish Witness 'Clears' Murat', 12:00pm UK, Monday April 07, 2008 )   An Irish tourist who saw someone carrying a child in a blanket on the night Madeleine McCann disappeared insists that the mystery man was not Robert Murat.   Martin Smith, from Drogheda in Co Louth, was on holiday in Praia Da Luz with his family when they bumped into the man just before 10pm on May 3 last year.   The Smith family's suspicions were aroused because the man made no response when they asked if the barefoot child was asleep.   "He just put his head down and averted his eyes, which is very unusual in a tourist town at such a quiet time of the year," said Mr Smith.   Initially the Smith family thought nothing more of the encounter - and even the next day when the story broke they still didn't make the connection.   "We were home two weeks when my son rang me up and asked was he dreaming or did we meet a man carrying a child the night Madeleine was taken," said Mr Smith.   "We all remembered the same recollection, and I felt we should report it to the police.   "We've all been beating ourselves up that we should have made the link sooner, if only we'd remembered the next day. But the Portuguese police said you see these things on holiday all the time."   The Smiths did contact the Portuguese police once they had returned to Ireland, but say they have had no contact with the officers investigating the case since May last year.   "I rang the Portuguese police and they took a statement from me on the phone," said Mr Smith.   They asked me to make a statement to the Gardai, which I did, and two days later Leicestershire police got on to us.   "My eldest son, Peter, my youngest daughter, Aoife, and I then flew to Luz to make a statement. They didn't seem to be the most efficient police you ever came across - and that was the last time we had any contact with the investigation.   "I don't know if this information will help the McCanns, but anything we can do to help try to solve it, we will.   "We were looking at all the commotion on Sky News and we really felt quite helpless. We had two grandchildren with us at the time and it had a terrible effect on them - they all wanted to sleep in the same room as us."   But Mr Smith is certain that the man he and his family saw that night was not Robert Murat, who is still officially an "arguido" in the Madeleine McCann investigation.   "I told police it was definitely not him because the man wasn't as big as Murat - I think I would have recognised him because I'd met him several times previously.   He was wearing beige trousers and a darker top. We all put him in his early 40s and I didn't think he was Portuguese."   Mr Smith's sighting is similar to the one reported by Jane Tanner, a friend of the McCann family.   A spokesman for the McCanns said detectives from the Spanish agency hired to investigate the case are now hoping to speak to the Smiths.   Retired Mr Smith, 58, does not wish to appear on camera in order to protect his family from media intrusion.

CHRISTMAS HELL FOR KATE AND GERRY MCCANN

As The Guardian pick up on the story, if ever a couple asked for it, it would have to be the gruesome twosome.

Tuesday 14 December 2010

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UK cops 'developed' McCann evidence

Published on Tue Dec 14 00:39:54 GMT 2010

British police helped "develop" evidence against
Madeleine McCann's parents as they were
investigated by Portuguese authorities
looking into their daughter's disappearance,
according to diplomatic cables published
by WikiLeaks.

Britain's ambassador to Portugal, Alexander
 Wykeham Ellis, reportedly made the claim to
 his American counterpart on September 21,
 2007 - two weeks after Portuguese police
 named Gerry and Kate McCann as "arguidos",
 or formal suspects, in the case.

In a cable to Washington, US Ambassador
Al Hoffman wrote: "Madeleine McCann's
disappearance in the south of Portugal in
May 2007 has generated international media
attention with controversy surrounding the
Portuguese-led police investigation and
the actions of Madeleine's parents.

"Without delving into the details of the case,

 Ellis admitted that the British police had
 developed the current evidence against the
 McCann parents, and he stressed that
 authorities from both countries were working
 co-operatively.

"He commented that the media frenzy was to
 be expected and was acceptable as long as
 government officials keep their comments
 behind closed doors."

The cable does not specify
what evidence
British police
are alleged to
have gathered,
or whether UK investigators
were involved
in the decision
to formally name the McCanns
as suspects.

They remained
under official
suspicion until July
2008 when
Portuguese police shelved the
investigation into Madeleine's disappearance and lifted the
McCann's status as arguidos.

The three-year-old went missing from an apartment
in the Algarve on May 3, 2007 while her parents
dined with friends in a nearby restaurant.

Speaking at the time the suspect status was lifted,
Mrs McCann said: "It is hard to describe how utterly
despairing it was to be named arguidos and
subsequently portrayed in the media as suspects
in our own daughter's abduction."

A spokesman for the
McCanns said: "This is
an entirely historic note
that is more than three
years old. Subsequently,
Kate and Gerry had their arguido status lifted, with
the Portuguese authorities making it perfectly clear
that there was absolutely
no evidence to implicate them in Madeleine's
disappearance whatsoever. To this day, they continue
to work tirelessly on the search for their daughter,
co-operating when appropriate with both the Portuguese
and British authorities."

CONFIRMED BRITISH POLICE OBTAINED DAMNING EVIDENCE AGAINST KATE AND GERRY MCCANN

Thanks to Joana Morais for her post below.  But I think it has always been clear it was the British who brought over the dogs and found the forensic samples to analyse.  Regrettably, when those samples were analysed they did not provide conclusive evidence of the death of Madeleine sufficient to charge the McCanns with her death.  But one thing is clear, British Police were gunning for this couple from day one and as soon as they do have sufficient evidence to charge them THEY WILL! 

Now hold your head up Lady Kate and look forward to the book signings and all the dosh you are going to need to continue to defend yourself and of course, your repulsive hubby who likes to  chat about sexual abuse of Madeleine over dinner with his equally sick little mate, David Payne.  Sue me?   I think not!  I am merely alluding to what I believe is contained in confidential police files and a witness statement we have been allowed to see from Dr Katerina Gaspar describing those sick references to a little girl who was, at that time, just two years old.

Quite why people wonder what both British authorities and the TAPAS group have to keep silent about I just do not know.   No prosecution could go ahead if the police or members of the  government have already started blabbing about such matters, and if you were members of that sick group, would you want to brag about what happened to little Maddie?  

There just has to be justice somewhere along the line for this little girl, I remain confident that British authorities will bring those responsible to justice just as soon as they can.  But that evidence has to stand up in court and confirm what they all did, exactly.  We can wait.  

'Madeleine Case': British Police indicated the parents

13 DECEMBER 2010 | POSTED BY JOANA MORAIS LEAVE A COMMENT

The British Ambassador certifies to the US the accusations presented by the Portuguese police

by Miguel Mora

Only one among the 250,000 cables leaked by Wikileaks makes reference to the sad and tragic case of Madeleine McCann, the British girl who disappeared in Praia da Luz (Algarve) on the night of May 3, 2007 and whose fate is still no known. 

The confidential cable was sent by Lisbon on 29 September of that year, only 20 days after the girl's parents leaft Portugal in haste after being questioned at Portimão's police station on suspicion of accidental death and concealment of Maddie's cadaver. 

In the cable, the then new British ambassador in Lisbon, Alexander W. Ellis admits to his U.S. counterpart, Alfred Hoffman, that it was the British police who found the evidence against Madeleine's parents. According to what Hoffmann wrote, Ellis "did not go into details of the case" but "admitted that it had been the police of his own country who had developed the evidence."

The ambassador, Ellis, also told his counterpart that the security forces of both countries "were working in a coordinated way" on the case, and regarding the huge media frenzy, he said that it "was expected and acceptable, as long as the representatives of the Government maintained their comments behind closed doors."

Ellis recommends total secrecy, suggesting that their job is to keep the case secret with the Portuguese government. And above all, he admits privately what the spokesperson for the family and the British Government never admitted publicly, that the move of making Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate, official suspects [ arguidos] was due to evidence obtained by the British police who was sent to the Algarve.

Many Portuguese and international media, amongst them EL PAÍS, told at the time what Ellis confirmed in secrecy: that it was the British police, with the help of the [CSI]  expert dogs brought from England, who found the evidence of Maddie's likely death (cadaver odour, blood and residues of bodily fluids), both on the wall of the apartment to the trunk of the car that the McCanns had rented.

Those findings, together with some inconsistencies shown by the friends and Maddie's parents, prompted the Portuguese police to declare Kate and Gerry McCann as arguidos (suspects in the Portuguese judicial system) and to take their statements on September 6 for almost 11 hours.

Three days later, the McCann staged a spectacular escape, at dawn, from Praia da Luz to Faro airport and from there to England. On July 21, 2008, the Portuguese Attorney General decided to shelve the case and exonerated the parents for lack of conclusive evidence.

Source: El País

ID: 124011
Date: 2007-09-28 15:36:00
Origin: 07LISBON2527
Source: Embassy Lisbon
Classification: CONFIDENTIAL
Dunno: 
Destination: VZCZCXRO1258
RR RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHLI #2527/01 2711536
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 281536Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY LISBON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6308
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LISBON 002527

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/WE KEVIN OPSTRUP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2017
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, OFDP, PO
SUBJECT: PORTUGAL: UK AMBASSADOR ON ENERGY SECURITY,
RUSSIA, EU-AFRICA SUMMIT, AND MCCANN CASE

Classified By: POL/ECON TIFFANY MCGRIFF FOR REASONS 1.4 (B),(D)

SUMMARY
-------
1. (C) On September 21, newly-arrived British Ambassador Alexander Wykeham Ellis informed Ambassador Hoffman that European concerns over Russia's aggressive energy policies and the need for market competition were the driving forces behind the third EU energy liberalization package. He suggested that Russia's position with its neighbors was guided by a self-proclaimed right to do "what it wants, when it wants" in its own neighborhood. Regarding Robert Mugabe's participation in the proposed EU-Africa Summit, Ellis said the UK would not discourage other member states from participating if PM Brown stayed away. He doubted, however, if the Dutch, Irish, or Swedish would attend in Brown's absence. Ellis also noted that it was the British police that developed the current evidence against Madeleine McCann's parents in the high-profile case that has captured international attention. He informed the Ambassador that former British Ambassador John Buck had accepted a private-sector position at a UK gas company and that his departure had nothing to do with bilateral issues. END SUMMARY

RUSSIA'S ENERGY GAME IS COMING TO AN END
----------------------------------------
2. (C) According to Ellis, European concerns over Russia's aggressive energy policies and the need for increased market competition were the driving forces behind the third EU energy liberalization package. He called Russia the greatest threat to European energy security and described its energy policies as a "game that's coming to an end." He argued that Gazprom's sustainability depends on the European distribution network and that Putin, who is "always trying to make a point to Europe," knew and understood this reality. Quoting a statement he had heard elsewhere, Ellis described Russia as "too strong, too weak"; suggesting that it was a bipolar society divided by feelings of strength and empowerment and internal fears of national failure.

RUSSIA, THE BIG BAD NEIGHBOR
----------------------------
3. (C) When questioned about Kosovo and Russia's relationship with its neighbors, Ellis suggested that Russia's position (on Kosovo) was driven by a self-proclaimed right to do "what it wants, when it wants" in its own neighborhood. Ellis did not believe that Russia had high regard for Serbia or any of its other neighbors, but rather it feared outside influences in the region. Reflecting on his position as Director of the EU Enlargement Team in London (2001-2003), Ellis noted that completing the 2004 EU enlargement phase had been difficult, and hypothesized that if the Russia of now were the Russia of then, the process would have been nearly impossible.

MUGABE...AND THE OTHER BAD GUYS
-------------------------------
4. (C) According to Ellis, the UK's position on Zimbabwe has not changed; if Robert Mugabe showed up, then Gordon Brown would not. However, he could not confirm if the British government would send any representatives. While he claimed that the UK had steered away from discouraging other member stated from attending, he noted the possibility that the Dutch, Irish, and Swedish leaders may follow Brown's lead. Regarding Chavez and Ahmadinejad, Ellis commented that Portugal's approach was centered on "engagement" -- even with the so-called bad guys. Ambassador Hoffman countered that "irrational people cannot be expected to behave rationally." While acknowledging that the US position was justifiable, Ellis responded that there were sensitivities at play for Portugal, especially regarding Venezuela. (Note: There are
approximately a half-million Portuguese living in Venezuela. End Note)

THE MADELEINE MCCANN CASE
-------------------------
5. (C) Madeleine McCann's disappearance in the south of Portugal in May 2007 has generated international media attention with controversy surrounding the Portuguese-led police investigation and the actions of Madeleine's parents. Without delving into the details of the case, Ellis admitted that the British police had developed the current evidence against the McCann parents, and he stressed that authorities from both countries were working cooperatively. He commented that the media frenzy was to be expected and was acceptable as long as government officials keep their comments behind closed doors.

BIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
-----------------------------------------
6. (SBU) Ellis, a former school teacher, joined Britain's

LISBON 00002527 002 OF 002

Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1990 and moved progressively up the chain to Ambassador. Lisbon was his first foreign tour as a diplomat, followed by postings in
Brussels, Madrid and London. He has also served as Director of the EU Enlargement Team in London (2001-2003) and as adviser on energy policies and trade issues (2005-2007) under EC President Jose Barroso. He is married to Portuguese citizen Maria Teresa Adegas and has a nine-year old son. Ellis informed Ambassador Hoffman that former British Ambassador John Buck had accepted a private-sector position with a British gas company and that his abrupt departure in August 2007 had nothing to do with bilateral issues.

Hoffman