Madeleine McCann investigation 'cost £10 million to date'

[dowie]

Any solicitor worth their salt will not tell their client to answer no comment to every question, and its not standard advice at all.

What are you basing that on? AFAIK no comment and preprepared statements are pretty common especially if the police haven't disclosed much.

Regardless the thing to do is to listen to your solicitors advice - which is what she was doing!

So you think asking questions does after a crime does not lead to further clue's?

Can you repeat/rephrase that please?

 

[Mr-White]

I reckon they rented a boat and dumped her in the ocean. It's what I would do. You know. Theoretically.

You've been watching too much Dexter

What ever happened I feel the parents know more than what they're saying.

 

[jjwf]

What are you basing that on? AFAIK no comment and preprepared statements are pretty common especially if the police haven't disclosed much.

Regardless the thing to do is to listen to your solicitors advice - which is what she was doing!



Can you repeat/rephrase that please?

No comment and prepared statements are completely different things. The police never disclose a great deal until they have too, you must have watched too much of The Bill.

So you think asking witnesses questions after a crime has been committed does not lead to further clue's? I think its pretty explanatory.

 

[dowie]

No comment and prepared statements are completely different things. The police never disclose a great deal until they have too, you must have watched too much of The Bill.

OK, I'm not actually sure whether the Bill is even broadcast these days but my question was what you were basing your statement on? Re: 'any solicitor worth his salt...' Are you a solicitor or something?

So you think asking witnesses questions after a crime has been committed does not lead to further clue's? I think its pretty explanatory.

Further clues relating to what exactly - we're talking about questions relating to the time period after she's already disappeared and in the context of her being a suspect. In answering questions like that you're best off taking legal advice - I'm not sure that talking about her actions necessarily help directly in the actual search, they might well however be used against her in some way.

 

[V F]

Why do you need to ask this?
It is the tenth annivarsary.
It has been the headline in most news broadcasts and papers today.
Or was it sarcastic?

Erm, every year.

 

[jjwf]

OK, I'm not actually sure whether the Bill is even broadcast these days but my question was what you were basing your statement on? Re: 'any solicitor worth his salt...' Are you a solicitor or something?



Further clues relating to what exactly - we're talking about questions relating to the time period after she's already disappeared and in the context of her being a suspect. In answering questions like that you're best off taking legal advice - I'm not sure that talking about her actions necessarily help directly in the actual search, they might well however be used against her in some way.

Experience.

If you don't get why they where asking questions about what happened immediately after they found she had disappeared it would take to long to explain. Used against her how? If they had nothing to hide they would have answered all questions put to them like 99.9999999% of parents would have to help in any which way they could, but they didn't and they end result is, many people feel they have something to hide and its not just the general public either.

 

[Caged]

I wouldn't just randomly talk to police in a foreign country either without having an opportunity to sit down with a lawyer. Especially on something as serious as a child abduction where I had left them unsupervised.

If you're saying you fully read up on the laws of each place you are going to visit and feel confident that you aren't going to incriminate yourself then I don't believe you.

 

[dowie]

If you don't get why they where asking questions about what happened immediately after they found she had disappeared it would take to long to explain. Used against her how? If they had nothing to hide they would have answered all questions put to them like 99.9999999% of parents would have to help in any which way they could, but they didn't and they end result is, many people feel they have something to hide and its not just the general public either.

OK so you don't really have an argument for why you feel any solicitor worth his salt would advise X

There are plenty of ways to use someone's statements against them, especially if they make mistakes or appear inconsistent etc.. but the most important thing is that she was a suspect and she did as her legal advisor told her - I think if you're arrested overseas then it is probably best to go along with the advice of the legal expert not think you know it all through 'experience'.

 

[jjwf]

OK so you don't really have an argument for why you feel any solicitor worth his salt would advise X

There are plenty of ways to use someone's statements against them, especially if they make mistakes or appear inconsistent etc.. but the most important thing is that she was a suspect and she did as her legal advisor told her - I think if you're arrested overseas then it is probably best to go along with the advice of the legal expert not think you know it all through 'experience'.

You said its standard practice for a solicitor to tell his client to answer no comment when you don't know. I'm telling you its not. Do you think there are consequences for someone who's been told to answer no comment to every question put to them?

 

[dowie]

You said its standard practice for a solicitor to tell his client to answer no comment when you don't know. I'm telling you its not. Do you think there are consequences for someone who's been told to answer no comment to every question put to them?

I said:

AFAIK no comment and preprepared statements are pretty common especially if the police haven't disclosed much.

Regardless the thing to do is to listen to your solicitors advice - which is what she was doing!

and

Why do you think that it is the worst thing you can do when being questioned? It seems to be the standard advice in a lot of cases by solicitors.

As for it being 'perverse' these questions pertained to what she did after Maddie had already disappeared - the focus being on her as a suspect not on how to best find Maddie.

It does seem to be the thing to do in a lot of cases AFAIK - that isn't to say it is 'standard practice' or always the option in general but that it is common - whereas you're claim was that it is the 'worst thing you can do'???

Yes there can be consequences and there can also be consequences from answering as mentioned before.

I'm still not sure what your reasoning is for stating that it is the 'worst thing to do' and that 'any solicitor worth his salt' won't advise it?

 

[mmj_uk]

they did help the police AFAIK, however the story is about a formal interview where they were suspects

If they had answered the questions truthfully it could have helped the investigation AND ruled them out as suspects much quicker, they acted like they had something to hide. Did the Portuguese police make them suspects because they refused to answer questions freely? in which case answering no comment to so many key questions just increases suspicion against them.

I'd happily take punishment for child neglect or whatever you get for inducing sleep with drugs if it improved the chances of finding them.

 

[asim18]

You said its standard practice for a solicitor to tell his client to answer no comment when you don't know. I'm telling you its not.

You're absolutely right.

The thing people are forgetting here is that IF a solicitor would ask their client to say this it's just to stop self incrimination - AND this is ONLY for people who know they are GUILTY of something or makes them look absolutely evil for goodness sake lol! The solicitor is trying to minimise legal damage/punishment to their client.

The solicitor must have asked her "did you do it" and her reply must have been something dreadful which is why a solicitor would recommend the client keeps their mouth shut.

 

[asim18]

Should I be surprised that you've gone for the 'conspiracy' angle here?

Why do you never explain yourself troll? I never said she told the solicitor she did it, I said her reply was something dreadful - ie something which would make her look bad or incriminate her of other things.

What is conspiracy about the solicitor asking their client about the incident and then telling them to answer "no comment" to police questioning?

Do you think any solicitor just tells their client to answer no comment without even gauging their guilt of anything or without actually knowing anything? Of course they're going to be asking their client EVERYTHING, and their reccommendation for what the client tells the police will be based on that individual's potential guilt or how bad they look.

They are going to be asking the types of questions the police will ask, and if they think their clients answers incriminate them of things

As the solicitor and the entire world understands it, they left their kids and went to party for many hours. Of course a solicitor is going to recommend they don't answer questions about what they did. There is nothing conspiracy about this - this is what happened.

And please go away troll. You've been confirmed as a troll lol.

 

[Sankari]

My God they're STILL 'looking' for her? Good God, how many years has it been since she went missing?

10 years. She's got a while to go before she breaks the record: Jaycee Dugard was found alive 18 years after her abduction.

 

[jjwf]

I said:



and



It does seem to be the thing to do in a lot of cases AFAIK - that isn't to say it is 'standard practice' or always the option in general but that it is common - whereas you're claim was that it is the 'worst thing you can do'???

Yes there can be consequences and there can also be consequences from answering as mentioned before.

I'm still not sure what your reasoning is for stating that it is the 'worst thing to do' and that 'any solicitor worth his salt' won't advise it?

You said AFAIK its common, its not common at all and it doesn't happen in a lot of cases, infact it happens in probably in less than 2% of people being questioned.

Answering no comment to all questions leads to a couple of things to happen, you're thought to have something to hide & investigators will dig a lot deeper than they normally would as your trying to hide evidence or don't have an alibi.

 

[V F]

10 years. She's got a while to go before she breaks the record: Jaycee Dugard was found alive 18 years after her abduction.

I cannot even try to imagine how one copes with that.

 

[Sankari]

I cannot even try to imagine how one copes with that.

As far as I can tell, she had collapsed into Stockholm Syndrome by the time she was found.

 

[dowie]

You said AFAIK its common, its not common at all and it doesn't happen in a lot of cases, infact it happens in probably in less than 2% of people being questioned.

Answering no comment to all questions leads to a couple of things to happen, you're thought to have something to hide & investigators will dig a lot deeper than they normally would as your trying to hide evidence or don't have an alibi.

[/quote]

Are you a police officer or solicitor out of interest?

If you are then you probably know better but I was lead to believe that it was pretty common and was told by a friend that if I was ever in trouble with the police that I should keep quite and call him - that they generally go no comment or preprepared statements. But I'm going on second hand info thus the 'AFAIK' so am curious as to whether you're claiming this 2% from direct experience as it is counter to what I'd been told.

 

[jjwf]

Are you a police officer or solicitor out of interest?

If you are then you probably know better but I was lead to believe that it was pretty common and was told by a friend that if I was ever in trouble with the police that I should keep quite and call him - that they generally go no comment or preprepared statements. But I'm going on second hand info thus the 'AFAIK' so am curious as to whether you're claiming this 2% from direct experience as it is counter to what I'd been told.[/QUOTE]

A lot of experience and a best mate who retired rather high up in the police force & a family member who's a solicitor. Keeping quiet and calling him is sensible, however when being questioned saying no comment to all their questions can lead to further trouble. Prepared statements are normally done when the police are looking for someone who then hands themselves in.

 

[delta0]

If they had answered the questions truthfully it could have helped the investigation AND ruled them out as suspects much quicker, they acted like they had something to hide. Did the Portuguese police make them suspects because they refused to answer questions freely? in which case answering no comment to so many key questions just increases suspicion against them.

I'd happily take punishment for child neglect or whatever you get for inducing sleep with drugs if it improved the chances of finding them.

They became suspects because the blood and dead body dogs both signalled the hire car, property and clothes. This is what originally caused them to be suspects. However they are not suspects at this time.