Madeline McCann: Parents' friends want to change their story on checking the kids

[TheMoog]

Madeleine: Two of Tapas Nine 'want to change their story'


'It's rubbish': The McCanns' friend Jane Tanner yesterday

Friends of Kate and Gerry McCann want to change their police statements about the night that Madeleine disappeared, it was claimed yesterday.

Two members of the so-called Tapas Nine group of friends have asked to "correct" details in their original witness statements, according to a Spanish newspaper.


Lawyers acting for the pair were said to have asked Portuguese police if they could be re-interviewed so they could change their version of events on May 3.
The friends were even said to have requested that their names be kept secret to avoid "pressure" from those close to the McCanns.
Kate and Gerry McCann, who were declared suspects in Madeleine's disappearance in September, said they and their seven friends ordered six bottles of wine, but two remained virtually untouched because they discovered their daughter was missing.
Leaks from the police investigation suggested the so-called Tapas Nine usually ordered drinks before dinner, drank up to 14 bottles of wine with their meal, and liqueur after.
Sources close to the McCann circle, quoted in the Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias, said: "The friends were left worried about this alleged change of circumstances and they now want to clarify some details, namely the amount of alcohol drunk during the meal and the checks made on the children in the apartments.
"Nothing amazing is going to be revealed."

The report in the respected Spanish newspaper El Mundo came just days after claims that four of the group feared they were about to be made official suspects in the case because of alleged contradictions and inconsistencies in their accounts.

If true, the decision by the unnamed pair is the first rift in the group, who have been accused of operating under a "pact of silence".
But McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell insisted the Spanish newspaper report was "totally untrue".

He said: "All the friends have consistently told the truth. They have made it clear that they are willing to be reinterviewed by the Portuguese police if it helps to clarify any apparent inconsistencies that the police think they have identified.
"To suggest they are changing their story is an utter misrepresentation of their willingness to help the police."
Mr Mitchell categorically denied that any of the friends' lawyers had approached Portuguese police to change details in their statements.

The McCanns and their friends were all interviewed by police in the hours after Madeleine was reported missing. Scroll down for more ...

Missing: Madeleine disappeared on May 3 while on holiday in Portugal

• The group ate together at a tapas bar inside the Ocean Club complex at Praia da Luz on the Algarve, some 50 yards from where their children slept in their holiday apartments.

The McCanns were made official suspects in September but have always denied any involvement in their daughter's disappearance.

Last night a friend of the McCanns insisted there was no rift between them and their friends.

He said: "They frequently speak to each other and there has been no falling out."

Portuguese police refused to comment on the report, as did two of the Tapas Nine contacted by the Mail, Dr David Payne and his wife Fiona.

A third member of the group, Jane Tanner, said the claims were "absolute rubbish". Scroll down for more ...

Four of the Tapas Nine: (clockwise from top left) Fiona Payne, Jane Tanner, Russell O' Brien, Rachael Oldfield. Not pictured are Matthew Oldfield, David Payne, and Dianne Webster



At her home in Exeter, Devon, she denied that she or her partner Russell O'Brien were about to change their statements. She said: "We've had no contact with the police."

Two other members of the Tapas Nine, Matthew and Rachael Oldfield, also denied that they wanted to change their accounts.
At their £1million terraced house in Richmond, South-West London, Mr Oldfield said: "We've not changed our statement and as far as I know it's the same for the rest of the group."


Madeleine: McCanns' friends 'want to change statements on alcohol and checks on children' | the Daily Mail

[Grimmlok]

... dead yet?

Oh wait.

[kchal]

Is the Daily Mail a credible source for anything 'real' though? And change it to what - that they had 14 bottles of wine instead of 9?

[buttmunch]

Actually, doesn't anyone else find it strange that two of the 'tapas nine' went and cleaned up the bed where their vomiting kid had gotten sick and then went back to the party in the bar? Would any parent leave a vomiting child alone in a holiday apartment? I think not and it sounds like this group is starting to crack.

[Mel1973]

Actually, doesn't anyone else find it strange that two of the 'tapas nine' went and cleaned up the bed where their vomiting kid had gotten sick and then went back to the party in the bar? Would any parent leave a vomiting child alone in a holiday apartment? I think not and it sounds like this group is starting to crack.

maybe if they had 14 bottles of wine?
Nah, they are going to crack ... somebody needs to tell the truth ..

[McJag]

Actually, doesn't anyone else find it strange that two of the 'tapas nine' went and cleaned up the bed where their vomiting kid had gotten sick and then went back to the party in the bar? Would any parent leave a vomiting child alone in a holiday apartment? I think not and it sounds like this group is starting to crack.

I fail to see any Mother leaving a sick child.

[KrisNine]

Something is wrong with the whole lot of them.

[buttmunch]

This just gets more and more interesting.

[nwgirl]

Something is wrong with the whole lot of them.

Exactly. Who the hell sits by and watches this shit go down? They all belong in jail if you ask me, just for being stupid.

[Mel1973]

Exactly. Who the hell sits by and watches this shit go down? They all belong in jail if you ask me, just for being stupid.

Talk about overcrowding in our prison system ...

[effie2]

I think too that the shitbag is about to brust..

[Just Kill Me]

Yeah...it's going to be a shit storm.

[Algernon]

My god, they all look really guilty. Terrified. I've never believed the parents had anything to do with this...and now I'm just confused. I really wish there were some answers to this case.

[mella]

Tapas Nine . Sounds just like a name for a criminal gang

[nwgirl]

Talk about overcrowding in our prison system ...

I never claimed to have all the answers!!!!!!!