winnower1 issues a challenge: Bennett's analysis of the Smith family's actions and statements is 'seriously flawed'. Is it?

Cmaryholmes wrote:Talk about a tangled web ! By the way, any thoughts on the astonishing resemblance of 'Smithman' to Gerry McCann, which many people have noticed. There  is a wonderful photo of the Mccanns in the Crimewatch studio sitting under a gigantic e fit of Martin Smith's sighting. Is this a coincidence ? ( forgive me if this has already been addressed)

Cmaryholmes wrote:So it seems. Smith sighting just serves to cause confusion, then.

Verdi wrote:

Cmaryholmes wrote:Talk about a tangled web ! By the way, any thoughts on the astonishing resemblance of 'Smithman' to Gerry McCann, which many people have noticed. There  is a wonderful photo of the Mccanns in the Crimewatch studio sitting under a gigantic e fit of Martin Smith's sighting. Is this a coincidence ? ( forgive me if this has already been addressed)

Allow me please @ Verdi to make one or two observations:

I can't see any particular resemblance between either of the e-fits and Gerry McCann. 

Agreed

It's not difficult, with a little artistic licence,  to convince yourself there's a likeness - even if only vague.  Some while ago I posted-up an image of ex-DCI Andy Redwood which could be thought to be a likeness to one of the e-fits.

That aside, this issue needs to be woven into the extraordinary report published by The Sunday Times (News International Corporation) in October 2013, following the Crimewatch Madeleine McCann special, that ultimately led to an out of court libel settlement between the McCanns and The Sunday Times.

27 October

The same e-fits presented by ex-DCI Andy Redwood during the Crimewatch production, the centre of their focus, said to have been drawn up in collaboration with key witnesses, i.e. the Smith family, were at the centre of the Sunday Times report that claimed the McCanns had concealed vital information from the police for five years.  This vital information was claimed to be the e-fits passed to the McCanns by their team of private investigators - Oakley International and instigated by one Henri Exton in collaboration with the Smith family.

Not forgetting the core subject of this entire saga, the disappearance of a three year old child, you need to ask - if Martin Smith and his family assisted with the e-fits prepared under the auspices of Oakley International five years prior to DCI Andy Redwood's revelation moment on Crimewatch, why didn't any of the Smith family run riot knowing that their description of the sighting had been ignored or concealed?  Only to emerge five years later on the television?  Especially if one of the images was purposely designed to resemble Gerry McCann.

He has been remarkably silent - just as well as he's been singing from the McCanns' hymn sheet ever since December 2007. And that's a very long time now 

I've always thought there was something very odd about this saga interlude.  Quite possibly Henri Exton had issue with the boss, Kevin Halligan (I understand he was owed [sp.] a considerable sum of money) which may have led to a false claim as reported by the Sunday Times (and very swiftly withdrawn following a snotty missive from lawyers inc. Carter Ruck) but that doesn't explain Martin Smith's position.  Of course he knew the Crimewatch e-fits were the same as the Oakley International e-fits - why did he keep quiet knowing the action could be seen to be perverting the course of justice?

See above. One day, Martin Smith has one heck of a lot of explaining to do. And yes, I suspect that money (or rather, the lack of it) was at the root of all the venom Exton turned on the McCanns after the Crimewatch report. He produced two fabricated efits for the McCanns, pretended to hunt for an abductor in Portugal, no doubt didn't get paid enough for his taste, only to see his erstwhile mate Kevin Halligen a.k.a. Richard Halligen swan off round Italian, American and English 5-star hotels with his squeeze Shirin Trachiotis in tow and a wad of 100,000 fivers (five hundred grand).

I wonder how much the UK taxman saw of that, by the way? Still, like another McCann servant, mentioning no names Antonio Giminez Raso, Halligen got his come-uppance with four years in clink. To quote the Good Book: 'How are the mighty fallen'   

April28th wrote:

Verdi wrote:Tanner's faux-pas - what when where was that?

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