Madeleine McCann: Police To Dig For Evidence

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 12:46pm UK, Tuesday 06 May 2014

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: February 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: February 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: February 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

:: October 17 - Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Mr and Mrs McCann meet officers in Lisbon to be briefed on the Portuguese case.

:: October 23 - Britain's most senior police officer Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe defends the way the Portuguese dealt with the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, saying it would have been "very difficult" to immediately know if they were dealing with a serious crime.

:: October 24 - Detectives in Portugal reopen the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance after an internal review uncovers new lines of inquiry and witnesses who were never questioned during the original Portuguese investigation.

2014

:: January 3 - A family source says Kate and Gerry McCann have been denied permission to give evidence at a Portuguese libel trial over a book about the case by former local police chief Goncalo Amaral.

:: January 13 - British police investigate three burglars who were in the area when Madeleine disappeared, and whose phones were apparently "red hot" after she went missing. A letter is sent to Portuguese police asking for help to track them down.

:: January 29 - Scotland Yard officers, including the detective leading the case, fly to Portugal to meet police there and discuss the latest developments.

:: March 19 - Officers from Operation Grange launch a search for a man who sexually assaulted five British girls in the Algarve between 2004 and 2006.

:: April 23 - Detectives identify five new cases where a lone intruder abused young British girls in holiday apartments in the Algarve.

:: May 1 - Kate and Gerry McCann give an interview to Sky News where they are desperate to find out what happened to Madeleine, even if it is the "worst case scenario" as they back calls for a Child Rescue Alert service similar to the Amber Alert system in the US.

:: May 6 - Scotland Yard plans to dig for evidence in three locations in Praia da Luz are approved, with officers set to use ground penetrating radar.

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Escaped 'Skull Cracker' Armed Robber Sighting

A reported sighting of an escaped armed robber known as the "Skull Cracker" has been made in London, police have said.

Officers were called to an address in Twickenham shortly before 8pm on Monday, following a sighting of Michael Wheatley, who earned his nickname for pistol-whipping victims.

Police searched the area but did not find the 55-year-old, who is the subject of a major manhunt.

Wheatley, who was given 13 life sentences in 2002 for a string of brutal raids on banks and building societies, failed to return to HMP Standford Hill open prison on the Isle of Sheppey, in Kent, after being temporarily released.

A full review has been ordered into prison security after the criminal went on the run.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling told Sky News he was unhappy with the system for releasing prisoners on temporary licence, and changes were being made, including tighter risk assessments, and tagging of prisoners.

He said: "I am carrying out a full inquiry into the circumstances of the case.

"Every situation like this is unacceptable."

Mr Grayling added: "All efforts will be put in to try and get him back. He will now be in prison for some considerable amount of time.

"And of course I am now changing the system so that people like him will be under much tighter controls in future."

Conservative backbencher Philip Davies said whoever allowed Wheatley out of prison is "a berk" and should be sacked.

Kent Police have urged the public not to approach Wheatley, but to dial 999.

Wheatley carried out 13 raids between June 2001 and April 2002 in bank branches from Southampton in Hampshire to Royston in Hertfordshire.

A police spokesman said Wheatley, originally of Limehouse in east London, has links across southeast England.

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Carphone And Dixons Set To Unveil £4bn Merger

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Carphone Warehouse and Dixons Retail are poised to set the seal on a £3.7bn merger of equals that will create one of Britain's biggest high street groups.

Sky News has learnt that the two companies will make a statement to outline concrete details of their tie-up before a Takeover Panel deadline on May 19.

The terms of the merger, which will see the creation of a new mobile phone and electrical goods retailer likely to be known as Dixons Carphone Group plc, have been broadly agreed in recent days, according to people close to the discussions.

The final name has not yet been formally agreed by the two companies' boards, they added.

The transaction will be structured as a 50-50 merger of equals, which will ignore the fact that Carphone's market capitalisation has been marginally higher than that of Dixons since preliminary discussions were confirmed in February, they said.

Sir Charles Dunstone, the Carphone co-founder, is to be chairman of the combined group, with Dixons occupying the top two executive roles in the form of Sebastian James, chief executive, and Humphrey Singer, chief financial officer.

Andrew Harrison, Carphone's chief executive, will become deputy chief executive, while Roger Taylor, deputy chairman of Carphone, and John Allan, the Dixons Retail chairman, will be named deputy chairmen of the new company.

Some of the existing non-executives on the boards of Carphone and Dixons are set to miss out on roles at the combined group and will be informed in the coming days.

The opportunity for cost savings from a merger will be restricted by the limited overlap between the two retailers' product bases but an insider conceded today that there would be "some" head office job cuts resulting from the merger.

A source close to the deal added that the newly-merged company might identify a new head office location rather than moving to either Carphone or Dixons' existing base.

The new group will have a powerful place on UK high streets, with Dixons currently operating more than 500 stores and Carphone almost 800.

The rationale for the new business will be its ability to serve consumers in the "connected world" with mobile devices and electrical goods increasingly converging.

News that the merger talks are so close to resulting in a formal deal may end any lingering hopes of Dixons' rival, Phones4U of scuppering the deal.

Sky News disclosed in March that BC Partners, Phones4U's owner, was attempting to gatecrash the merger in order to protect its existing mobile phone retailing joint venture with Dixons.

Carphone and Dixons declined to comment.

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Pilot Crashes Into House He Used To Own

A pilot who crashed his light plane into a house in Colorado used to own the property, it has emerged.

Brian Veatch told KMGH-TV in Denver he once lived in the home, and property records indicated that he sold it in 2003.

Mr Veatch told the station that he did not realise the significance of his crash site until someone else pointed it out.

He now lives about a mile away.

Police say Mr Veatch, who managed to walk out of the wreckage virtually unhurt, may have been attempting to land in a nearby field after an apparent engine malfunction.

The veteran firefighter even tried to put out the fire with a garden hose before he was forced away by burning fuel, authorities said.

The house in Northglenn was unoccupied at the time of crash.

Five teenagers were playing soccer at a nearby track when they saw the plane.

"We were over at the field when it started going down. We said, 'That plane is way too close,'" said 15-year-old Ryder Munera.

Mr Veatch was towing a banner for an insurance company and was supposed to fly over a Colorado Rockies baseball game when the crash occurred, according to Tom Mace, who said he hired the pilot.

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Prince William Flies Economy After Wedding

He may be the future king, but Prince William appeared to have no heirs and graces when he was spotted flying economy class on his way home from a friend's wedding in the US.

The Duke of Cambridge, who was in the US with Prince Harry, took the American Airlines flight from Memphis to Dallas on Sunday.

He caught the internal flight before his long-haul journey home after a weekend celebrating friend Guy Pelly's marriage to American hotel heiress Lizzy Wilson.

The 31-year-old was snapped sitting in a window seat by US reporter Eli Ross who posted the image on Twitter, saying: "#EXCLUSIVE PIC: I am still amazed #Prince William flies COACH.

"That's pretty humble/awesome. Who knew?"

William and Kate flew on a budget airline after a French skiing jaunt

William, who was photographed at Memphis airport wearing jeans, a blue shirt, white trainers and a baseball cap, is understood to have sipped water during the flight.

Although he usually flies first class, it is not the first time he has flown in more cramped surroundings.

In August 2012, William and the Duchess of Cambridge flew with budget airline easyJet after a week-long skiing trip in the French Alps.

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Antivirus Is 'Dead' Says Norton Software Boss

Antivirus software is "dead" according to an executive at the firm that pioneered it.

Symantec, which developed software to protect computers from hackers 25 years ago, says it no longer thinks of antivirus as a "moneymaker in any way".

Brian Dye, senior vice president for information security, said software only catches around 45% of malware attacks because hackers are increasingly sophisticated.

He said the company is now moving its business towards "detecting and responding" to attacks, rather than simply trying to protect against them.

Mr Dye, who has been at the firm for a decade, admitted to the Wall Street Journal the company has slipped behind rivals, but said it was trying to catch up.

"It's one thing to sit there and get frustrated," he said.

"It's another thing to act on it, go get your act together and go play the game you should have been playing in the first place."

The company, which sells the Norton antivirus suite of software, has a turnover of around $1.6bn (£590m) and has an 8% share of the global antivirus market.

Revenue has fallen in each of the past two quarters, although profits have risen because of cost-cutting measures.

Antivirus still accounts for 40% of the company's revenue.

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Nigerian Girl 'Ran And Ran' To Escape Kidnap

A Nigerian girl who staged a remarkable escape when gunmen took her and more than 200 others hostage has described how she was told: "Don't worry, we're soldiers. Nothing is going to happen to you."

The 16-year-old was snatched from her boarding school in Chibok by members of the Islamic group Boko Haram. She was herded into a pick-up truck and driven away but fled when one of the vehicles in the convoy broke down.

She and her friends jumped down from the truck and darted into a nearby forest to hide when the stranded car behind them suddenly started up, illuminating the road ahead.

"We ran and ran, so fast," said the girl. "That's how I saved myself. I had no time to be scared. I was just running."

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is wanted by Nigerian police

Some of the children clung to low-hanging branches as the kidnappers' convoy sped off into the night.

When the girls eventually made their way back to the road, they were met by a man on a bicycle who accompanied them back to the village.

The teenager described the end of her ordeal as an emotional experience.

"I'm the only girl in my family, so I hold a special place and everyone was so happy," she said. "But that didn't last long."

Remembering the siege on April 14, the girl said she knew the men were not who they claimed to be when they started shouting: "Allahu Akhbar (God is great)."

The girls were taken from the village of Chibok in northeast Nigeria

She said there were too many attackers to count, adding that she and her friends had no choice but to sit and watch as their classrooms were set alight before they were herded onto three trucks.

The kidnapping has been condemned by both the UK and the US, who have offered to help find the girls.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau appeared in a video alongside two militants brandishing AK-47s saying: "I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah.

"Allah has instructed me to sell them. They are his property and I will carry out his instructions."

The kidnappers are thought to be hiding out in a remote area on the Nigeria-Cameroon border.

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Pistorius Accused Of Intimidating Reeva Friend

Oscar Pistorius has been accused of trying to intimidate a friend of his dead girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp during a break in his murder trial.

A lawyer for Kim Myers told Sky News the athlete whispered "How do you sleep at night?" to her on his way out of the courtroom in Pretoria.

Ian Levitt confirmed a complaint had been made to the National Prosecuting Authority, and that they were considering whether to proceed with a case of intimidation.

"My client, Kim Myers, was approached by Oscar Pistorius in court today and in a very sinister tone was asked 'How can you sleep at night?'" said Mr Levitt.

"My client views this unwelcome approach as extremely disturbing and I have been in communication with the National Prosecuting Authorities as well as the Investigating Officer. All other parties have also been informed.

"My client, however, will remain focused on the trial and will continue to attend court in support of Reeva."

Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford was among the journalists who put the accusation to Pistorius during an adjournment in the trial.

She said: "He vigorously denied it. He said he did not said anything to any of the Myers and that he had not spoken to them in weeks.

"He went on to say he had to pass them each day in court but that each time he felt they were avoiding his eye contact."

Kim Myers is the sister of Gina Myers - Ms Steenkamp's best friend.

Pistorius' alleged intimidation was not heard by nearby reporters.

A police photographer saw him lean towards Ms Myers and later asked the family what had occurred - leading to a complaint being made.

Ms Myers declined to comment when approached by Sky News.

Pistorius, 27, denies murdering Ms Steenkamp in a premeditated attack, claiming he mistook her for an intruder.

The case will resume on Thursday after a public holiday in South Africa.

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'Boko Haram' Kidnaps More Girls In Nigeria

Suspected Boko Haram gunmen have kidnapped eight girls from a Nigerian village overnight, police and residents have said.

The girls, aged 12 to 15, were abducted near one of the Islamist militant group's strongholds in the northeast of the country.

Lazarus Musa, a resident of Warabe, where the attack happened, said: "They were many, and all of them carried guns. They came in two vehicles painted in army colour.

"They started shooting in our village."

A police source, who could not be named, said the girls were taken away on trucks, along with stolen livestock and food.

It came after it emerged the UK was offering "practical help" to help Nigeria secure the release of more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague revealed the country's potential involvement in the case after the organisation threatened to sell the abducted girls.

"We are offering practical help," he told reporters as he arrived for a Council of Europe meeting in Vienna to discuss ways to defuse the crisis in Ukraine.

"What has happened here ... the actions of Boko Haram to use girls as the spoils of war, the spoils of terrorism, is disgusting. It is immoral.

"I called the Nigerian foreign minister when this first arose ... to offer help from Britain, to express our concerns."

He said he did not want to discuss exactly what help Britain was offering, just as US authorities have avoided going into detail.

It is thought Nigeria has so far not accepted either country's offer.

Boko Haram militants stormed an all-girl secondary school in the village of Chibok, in Borno state, on April 14 and packed the teenagers, who had been taking exams, on to trucks. They then disappeared into a remote area along the border with Cameroon.

The raid has shocked Nigerians despite a bloody five-year-old Islamist insurgency in the north of the country, and there have been claims that other countries should have done more and been quicker to offer help.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has appeared in a video, chuckling as he stands in front of an armoured personnel carrier with two masked militants wielding AK-47s on either side of him.

"I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah," he says.

"Allah has instructed me to sell them. They are his property and I will carry out his instructions."

Boko Haram, seen as the main security threat to Nigeria, Africa's leading energy producer, is growing bolder and extending its reach.

The kidnapping occurred on the day a bomb blast, also blamed on Boko Haram, killed 75 people on the edge of Abuja, the first attack on the capital in two years.

The group's name means "Western education is sinful" and Shekau makes reference in the video to the fact the girls were undergoing Western education.

The girls' abduction has been hugely embarrassing for the government and threatens to overshadow the World Economic Forum for Africa it hosts from May 7 to 9.

On Sunday, authorities arrested a leader of a protest staged last week in Abuja that had called on them to do more to find the girls, further fuelling outrage against the security forces.

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BBC Trust Chairman Lord Patten Steps Down

Lord Patten's Statement In Full

Updated: 5:18pm UK, Tuesday 06 May 2014

Lord Patten paid tribute to the BBC and the NHS as he stood down following major heart surgery. Here is his statement in full:

"As is well known, I underwent angioplasty while in Hong Kong and a cardiac ablation procedure some seven years ago; and since then I have been regularly assessed by my cardiologist. Last year, for example, I had both a cardiac scan and a treadmill test.

"But on 27 April, I experienced serious chest pains and was admitted to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital that night.

"I was transferred on 28 April to Royal Brompton Hospital where I was successfully treated with a combination of bypass surgery and angioplasty, which had been developed by doctors at the hospital. These procedures have been successful and have ensured no permanent damage to my heart.

"The last few days have reminded me, if reminder were needed, of how fortunate we are in this country to benefit from the National Health Service and the dedication of those who serve in it from around the world.

"I want to offer my most sincere thanks to all concerned in my treatment at the Accident and Emergency Unit at Chelsea and Westminster and to those world-class staff who conducted the bypass and angioplasty at Royal Brompton Hospital, and to pay tribute to their exceptional skill and the wonderful care they provide.

"On the advice of my doctors, however, and having consulted my family and friends, I have concluded that I cannot continue to work at the same full pace as I have done to date, and that I should reduce the range of roles I undertake.

"On this basis I have decided with great regret to step down from much the most demanding of my roles - that of Chairman of the BBC Trust. This is a position that requires and has received from me 100% commitment, and has been my priority at all times.

"It would not be fair to my family to continue as before; and equally it would not be fair to the BBC and those it serves not to be able to give that commitment which the role demands. I have to begin by taking a six week break from any work at all.

"So I am writing today to the Secretary of State to submit my resignation with immediate effect. It falls to the Government to identify a successor. In the meantime, Diane Coyle, as Vice Chairman of the Trust, will serve as Acting Chair as specified in the Charter, and will continue with her colleagues vigorously to pursue the Trust's agenda to serve the interests of licence fee payers.

"In doing so, the Trust will enjoy the support and benefit from the skill and experience of Tony Hall, who has made such an outstanding start in his first year as Director-General and who has appointed such an excellent team to help him.

"It has been a privilege to have served as Chairman of the BBC Trust. Like the NHS, the BBC is a huge national asset which is part of the everyday fabric of our lives. It is not perfect - what institution is? It always needs to challenge itself to improve. But it is a precious and wonderful thing, a hugely positive influence which benefits greatly from the creativity and dedication of its staff.

"I have had no reason to doubt that the leaders of all main political parties support the role it plays at the centre of our public realm. Most important of all, the British public enormously value the strength of its output, its independence and the contribution it makes every day to the quality of our lives.

"When in due course the future of the BBC is subject to further discussion at Charter Review time, I hope to say more on the issue. For the time being, however, I shall be making no further statement whatsoever about the BBC or my period as Chairman of the BBC Trust."

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