Hogan-Howe defends police in McCann investigation

METROPOLITAN Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe has defended the way Portuguese police handled the initial investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

The country’s most senior officer said it would have been “very difficult” for officers in Praia da Luz to know if they were dealing with a serious crime immediately after she vanished.

He said: “I think sometimes these things at the beginning can be very difficult to deal with. You don’t know exactly if the child has just wandered off.

“I’m sure for them that must have been a challenge. Anybody can go back after two, three, five, six years and say ‘Why didn’t you do that?’ That’s easy in hindsight.”