Angry backlash to British police presence as signs are daubed with graffiti

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/madeleine-mccann-angry-backlash-british-3821913#ixzz36inZvjN5

Madeleine McCann: Angry backlash to British police presence as signs are daubed with graffiti
Jul 06, 2014 21:00 By Paul Byrne
Dozens of road signs have been defaced since Scotland Yard detectives who were scouring Praia da Luz for clues returned home on Friday

The British police hunt to find missing Madeleine McCann has sparked an angry backlash in the resort where she vanished.

Dozens of road signs have been defaced since Scotland Yard detectives who have been scouring Praia da Luz for clues returned home on Friday.

Stop signals have had the words “McCann Circus” stencilled on them as locals vent their fury at the searches being conducted just as the busy, ­lucrative holiday season began.

And residents are angry that four men from the area were last week quizzed by the British officers.

The graffiti appeared as Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry prepared to fly to Portugal for the next stage of their libel case against disgraced police chief Goncalo Amaral.

One local said of the suspects ­questioned by Scotland Yard: “We know these people, they are innocent.

“It is crazy. When will it end? We want to be left alone.”

Jul 06, 2014 21:00 By Paul Byrne
Dozens of road signs have been defaced since Scotland Yard detectives who were scouring Praia da Luz for clues returned home on Friday

Julian Hamilton / Daily Mirror
Resentment: Maddie and one of the defaced Stop signs

The British police hunt to find missing Madeleine McCann has sparked an angry backlash in the resort where she vanished.

Dozens of road signs have been defaced since Scotland Yard detectives who have been scouring Praia da Luz for clues returned home on Friday.

Stop signals have had the words “McCann Circus” stencilled on them as locals vent their fury at the searches being conducted just as the busy, ­lucrative holiday season began.

And residents are angry that four men from the area were last week quizzed by the British officers.

The graffiti appeared as Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry prepared to fly to Portugal for the next stage of their libel case against disgraced police chief Goncalo Amaral.

One local said of the suspects ­questioned by Scotland Yard: “We know these people, they are innocent.

“It is crazy. When will it end? We want to be left alone.”

Julian Hamilton / Daily MirrorStop signs in Praia de Luz, near Lagos in Portugal
Angry: Stop signs in Praia de Luz, near Lagos in Portugal
The timing of the Met’s searches has caused dismay in Praia da Luz, which relies on tourism to survive.

Mayor Victor Mata said: “The next three months are when the entire village earns its keep.”

The UK team, led by Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, is expected to return to Portugal soon.

It is believed they want to send sniffer dogs into a shop where a suspect was seen with a child on the night Madeleine disappeared in May 2007, aged three.

A former Scotland Yard commander yesterday urged Mr Redwood’s officers to search an ­abandoned well which lies on scrubland 1,000 yards from the holiday apartment where the ­youngster was staying.

Roy Ramm, who served 27 years with the Met and was the Commander of Specialist Operations, said: “Whoever abducted Madeleine knew the local streets, alleyways and scrubland and used that knowledge to avoid ­detection.”

Officers have searched nearby ­scrubland, but not the well.

The widow of prime suspect Euclides Monteiro, 40, said yesterday she had not been quizzed by the British police while they were in the Algarve recently.

But Luisa Rodrigues continued to insist the junkie and burglar, who worked at the Ocean Club where the McCanns were staying, was not involved in Madeleine’s ­disappearance

The 40-year-old said: “My husband had nothing to do with it. The Portuguese police have already said that.”

Monteiro was sacked from the Ocean Club for stealing tips, a year before Madeleine vanished. He died in a 2008 tractor accident.

Kate, 46, and 45-year-old Gerry, of Rothley, Leics, are due in Lisbon on Tuesday to continue their libel fight against Amaral, who claimed in a book Madeleine died in an accident which was covered up by her parents.

The couple hope to make a personal statement tomorrow.

Amaral, 56, has already delayed the hearing by sacking his lawyer last month. He has now hired another.

But a source close to Kate and Gerry said: “They wouldn’t be surprised if Mr Amaral pulls another stunt to try and stall the case yet again.

"Kate and Gerry have been told Mr Amaral has appointed a new lawyer but he doesn’t use email or phone. How he can operate like this in the modern era is beyond belief.”

Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell added: “Kate and Gerry are planning to attend court on Tuesday as required by the judge.

“They believe they have a very strong case against Mr Amaral and they expect to win their claim.”

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Disgusting behaviour. Portugal really needs to speak out about this vandalism. There is a investigation going on about a missing child, who went missing in PORTUGAL it isn't just the British police it is the Portuguese police too who are investigating.

Can you imagine if it happened here? People using graffiti to complain about police searching for a missing child?

They should catch who ever is doing this and name and shame.

I think it is a small minority of anti's doing this, the same ones who are speaking out 'for Portugal' who believe Amaral's story.

Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:33 pm
International Business Times

Madeleine McCann Search Hit by Furious Graffiti as Praia da Luz Tourist Season Begins

By Dominic Gover
July 7, 2014 12:37 BST

Image
Praia da Luz locals have daubed graffiti against police searching for Madeleine McCannReuters

Graffiti attacking British police has appeared on walls and stop signs in Praia da Luz as a renewed investigation into missing Madeleine McCann continues into the resort town's holiday season.

Road signs in the sun-kissed holiday spot have been daubed with the slogan so that they read "stop McCann Circus".

It is the latest anti-McCann graffiti to appear, following other slogans against British police, including "British policemen stupid" and "parents killed Maddie".

Locals in the Algarve holiday destination are understood to be fearful about the impact which police activity may have upon trade during the lucrative holiday season.

Praia da Luz mayor Victor Mata insisted the coming months were crucial for the town's economy. He said: "The next three months are when the entire village earns its keep."

Police officers from Scotland Yard are combing scrubland around the town and last week interviewed four suspects.

Disquiet among Portuguese people over the new efforts to find Madeleine has not been restricted to Praia da Luz inhabitants.

Last week saw a former Home Secretary of Portugal label the investigation "absurd" in a lengthy rant against the Metropolitan Police.

Meanwhile, doubt has been cast on the interviews of suspects identified by Met police officers. A Praia da Luz resident was quoted saying: "We know these people, they are innocent. It is crazy. When will it end? We want to be left alone."

Jayelles wrote:One loony obsessive McCann hater running around Luz with a stencil and a can of spray paint is hardly "furious Luz residents" eta any more than the goon who sprays profane abuse in the bus shelter is speaking for the entire village.

Sykes wrote:From Myths with thanks.

Jayelles wrote:One loony obsessive McCann hater running around Luz with a stencil and a can of spray paint is hardly "furious Luz residents" eta any more than the goon who sprays profane abuse in the bus shelter is speaking for the entire village.

jjbd wrote: with a ladder as well - these signs looks quite high.