Finding Maddie is not a priority, says policeman

A SENIOR Portuguese policeman has claimed his officers have more important problems than finding Madeleine McCann.

Carlos Anjos, head of the Judicial Police Inspectors’ Union, made the extraordinary statement that “there are bigger problems in the PJ (Judicial Police) than the Maddie case”.

Mr Anjos, who has previously been highly critical of Gerry and Kate McCann, was quoted in Portuguese daily 24 Horas.

His comments came after national director of the PJ Alipio Ribeiro said in an interview that the authorities had acted “hastily” in making the McCanns formal suspects in their daughter’s disappearance.

Mr Anjos said: “We heard the director’s explanations and we are going to continue to try to clear things up duly.

“The subject should be discussed internally... Everybody has a right to speak, and sometimes not to express themselves well. There are bigger problems in the PJ than the Maddie case, with all the respect it deserves.”

He added: “I am certain that all of my colleagues involved in the investigation are doing everything they can to discover what happened.”

Mr Anjos’s comments are certain to disappoint Madeleine’s parents, who believe their daughter may still be alive and are desperate for police to continue the search. They have hired private detectives at a rate of £50,000 (€67,000) a month because they believe the PJ has failed to follow up vital leads.

Meanwhile, the Portuguese Justice Minister Alberto Costa has defended Mr Ribeiro following his comments that officers acted “hastily” in making the couple suspects. “The fact that the national director of the PJ continues in his job says everything that I think about this matter,” he said.