

Madeleine detectives’ axing denied

Kate and Gerry McCann, parents of missing toddler Madeleine McCann have denied they have decided to axe private investigators Oakley International following allegations the company has drained the McCann’s fund of nearly half a million pounds.

Reports on Sunday claimed they were supported in doing so by Madeleine Fund underwriter Brian Kennedy, a self-made millionaire, who was also said to be dissatisfied with the investigators’ work.

It was said he considered their approximate £100,000-per-month fee “excessive” for the results that were being obtained.

This has since been refuted.

A written entry on the official ‘Find Madeleine’ website said, “In the light of articles in some UK Sunday newspapers this weekend, we feel it is appropriate to comment briefly on our relationship with the investigation company Oakley International.


Oakley International, which is made up of ex-British special forces officers and has FBI contacts, won the contract over the London-based Red Defence International (RDI), though one of the employees, 47-year-old communications expert known as Mr. Halligen, is listed as being involved with both companies.

Weekend reports in the UK claim Halligen is given as the ‘contact name’ for Oakley International Group, a company registered in Washington DC as the manufacturer of search and navigation equipment, and is also, reportedly, a director of RDI.

The company says it has annual sales of around €45,000 and only one employee, which appears to be Mr Halligen.

Initial reports alleged that the day after a crisis meeting last week with the Madeleine Fund administrators, Mr Halligen resigned as a director of RDI.

Previously the McCann Fund had employed a Spanish detective agency called Metodo 3, who were also axed after claims they would ‘find Madeleine before Christmas’ failed.

A McCann spokesperson said yesterday, “Kate and Gerry, the fund and their backers have always sought to employ the very best people and resources in the ongoing search for Madeleine”.

A search that is, according to the McCanns, still continuing.

Source: The Portugal News Online


Team of private investigators abandons the case after receiving ...
24 Aug 2008
Everything points to the fact that multimillionaire Brian Kennedy, who is one of the main contributors to the Find Madeleine fund, is not happy with the work that was developed by the detectives up to the moment. ...

Former FBI abandons searches - Correio da Manhã

25 Aug 2008
The non-renewal of the contract with the Oakley International agency was prompted, according to ‘The Mail on Sunday’, by the fact that the main sponsor of the ‘Find Madeleine’ fund, multimillionaire Brian Kennedy, is “angry” at the ...

A Case of Millions - Focus nº 466/2008
5 May 2008
And this was partly achieved through the several thousands of euros that dripped from donations that were made by millionaire figures like businessman Brian Kennedy – who pays Clarence Mitchell’s salary. ...

McCanns after Murat
3 May 2008
Brian Kennedy offered to help him, although he was unable to explain how. Why? Why does he believe that Robert or his mother Jennifer might have seen someone on the night of 3rd of May in the area of the Ocean Club. ...

McCanns contacted witness that incriminates Gerry - Portugal Diário

6 Aug 2008
In the Maddie case process, this contact was reportedly made by Brian Kennedy, the Scottish millionaire who financially helped the McCanns in the search for their daughter. The Irish officer who questions M. Smith, in Dublin, writes in ...

McCann Hired More Private Investigators
3 Jul 2008
Brian Kennedy, the millionaire who is a friend of the McCanns, has given another donation to the FindMadeleine Fund in order to pay Metodo 3, Mitchell added further. British press razes Portuguese police ...

Edgeley Park millionaire brings Maddie’s dad to Stockport
30 Jan 2008
Mr McCann and his legal adviser Clarence Mitchell were guests of Sharks’ millionaire owner Brian Kennedy. Mr Kennedy, a previous owner of Stockport County, who sold the football club to the supporters’ trust, has been a staunch ...


  1. They're in, they're out, they're good, they're bad, they're this and that and the other.

    Spin, reverse spin, double reverse spin and triple somersault.

    What, exactly, are McCanns' lawyers paid for ?? !!!

  2. "Won the contract ......

    Binding legal agreement for extortionate sums is not the procedure used by reputable 'detectives'.

    Mercenaries work under lucrative contract due to the nature of the 'exercise.

    PFI's involve lucrative contracts with calls in the House of Commons for independent enquiry.

    Government and 'lucrative contracts' walk hand in hand. Both feature strongly in Madeleine's tragic case.

    The police are the only bodies without a vested financial interest.

  3. Good photo - Rogues Gallery ??

  4. Can this be the newspapers cowardly way of hinting that there might be irregularities with the fund and with these "detective" agencies which apparently only employ one person?

  5. 29 August 2008 14:50 super! And also the others,of course.

    Há termos ingleses de que gosto muito,por ex. heavy showers;rains cats and dogs;draine....a must.

    Drenaram a conta.

    The mc´s lawyers work is to a not extradition.But seems to me,is no more necessary because all them have do what they want.Now,only Divine´s Justice to Maddie.

    B.K. who loves so much her mummy,I think he have not a "gun" pointed to him.

  6. Anonymous who wrote 29/08/08 21:48, you are spot on, 'Spin, reverse spin, double reverse spin and triple somersault'.

    Hasn't this muddling-up game been played from the very start, the same tactics applied to every aspect. Upon announcing Madeleine was missing from her bedroom, the McCanns let a lot of people into the apartment, which rather muddled up any DNA and other vital evidence. How odd that doctors (arent they?) were not aware that this was not a good idea if they wanted to find their lost daughter.

    The more it happens the easier it is to see through the game being played.

    Oops, these 'somersaults' are resulting in some bad falls!

  7. Joana: não vou fazer um comentário quanto à Sua notícia.
    Sei,que apesar de ter nascido em 74, o que ficou a saber foi através de Família e Amigos.
    Assim,do DN on-line:

    Víctor Jara. No ano em que se assinala 35 anos da sua morte, a Justiça chilena volta a reabrir o processo da tortura e morte brutal do cantautor e director de teatro......."Somos cinco mil/ nesta pequena parte da cidade/ somos cinco mil/ Quantos seremos no total nas cidades e em todo o país?", dizia o último poema escrito por Jara, intitulado Estádio Chile. Apesar de morto pela ditadura, a sua voz e a sua mensagem continuam a ser ouvidas.

    Como lhe disseram,o estádio era a ante câmara da morte,precedida por tortura.


    un archivo historico de Victor Jara, para los que no pudimos verlo contando

    www.victorjara.turincon.com ... Victor Jara ...

    E,os lawyers do pino. são os do mcs.....e,assim se passa muita coisa.......

  8. The intersting thing is that Mr Brian Kennedy's role in all of this is beginning to dominante the coverage - at last the strangeness of his involvement may emerge. Clarence Mitchell is paid for by him, he has his own lawyer on the fund board, he has spoken directly to Robert Murat and sought to speak to witnesses, for example, the witness who claims he saw Gerry carrying a child on the 3rd of May.

    Brian Kennedy - whats his involvement? Does his money pervert justice and buy political power?

  9. Obrigada,Joana,pela homenagem que também fez a TODOS OS Vítor Jara deste MUNDO.

    ".... Does his money pervert justice and buy political power?"

    Doubts? I have not! But why???????


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