A tad soon if you want to escape the bruises I received for daring to suggest in a similar vein.

Point-scoring aside, one little child, one of many, is still missing and this case does keep awareness of this dark facet of human nature alive. I think this is no bad thing. It is an uncomfortable feature of human nature, nevertheless it is there. It makes us uncomfortable and we are glad to shove it under a carpet when we can.

It is also sad to realize that the case was going nowhere and little or nothing was being actively done out of the local domain, as far as we know, once arguido status was declared on any suspect.

It is easy to point fingers and moralize; there but for the grace of... could be a mantra for an awful lot of people. The Mcann's will live with the issue all their lives, will probably have to explain this element to their twins at some stage. Rationalising, accusing and excusing is not for me, it is not my role; it is theirs if they choose to take that route.

There has been a media circus, which in part has educated people into the way other countries deal with criminal and other investigations.

Meantime, a little child remains on the missing list, along with many others who may never be found.

Well said, thank you.

My 'arguments' were not with the subject matter or indeed with the simple fact that it is a bloody awful situation for the family and their friends.

More with the way the media have willingly colluded with a very astute and manipulative middle class coterie to decide, on our behalf, what is and what is not news of 'national importance', to the exclusion of other equally deserving cases.

From what I can gather from a 'source' (i.e. garrulous relative) at one of the dailies the Portugese Policias were as hard-working and dedicated in the investigation as any in Europe however the media circus and heavy-handed approach of the Mcanns 'advisers' hindered rather than helped the investigations. Plus the Policias did not have the technological resources of the Brits which is why our cops were assisting.

As regards restrictions on travel etc. I think I am right in saying there were several disappearances of children in Britain, France and other EU countries at the time as well as 2 others in Portugal. I don't believe it was feasible to shut Europe!

However, thanks for your comments. I appreciate you taking the time.