16 May 2011
Met Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson announced last week that his officers would undertake an evaluation of Madeline McCann case, following a request by home secretary Theresa May. Madeleine McCann vanished during a family holiday on the Algarve in 2007.
Jenny Jones, Green member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, and Green candidate for Mayor of London, said:
"As a mother and a grandmother, I feel for Kate and Jerry McCann, and of course, they are desperate to help locate Maddy. However, as a member of the MPA, I have to look at how resources are responsibly used.
"There are many serious crimes in London, and it is the job of the Met Police to investigate crimes on a fair and impartial basis. Tying up vast amounts of police time and resources on one case does not instill confidence that each crime will be investigated on its own merits.
For example, the forensic service unit has been closed, and many will wonder exactly what the Prime Minister's motives were, and whether he understands how difficult policing it in this economic climate.
"It is my belief that the Prime Minister was wrong to allocate Met Police resources to this new investigation. He appears to have been swayed by the Sun newspaper, and it is wholly wrong to capitalise in this way and try to win popular support for what is fundamentally a Portuguese investigation."
For more information on Jenny Jones's campaign for London Mayor in 2012, please see: http://www.jennyforlondon.org/
