While criticising the manner in which Portuguese police
have conducted the investigation into the disappearance
of Madeleine McCann, a British MEP also attacked the
country's dubious human rights history.
"The Portuguese police and judicial system are known
to be suspect", read a letter from the office of Roger
Knapman.
The letter, whose contents were published by Sky News
this week, further quotes the MEP as saying: "The
original police investigation was amateurish and flawed.
"It is important to realise that Portugal has no real
history of citizen's rights and liberties or democracy",
adds the letter, despite Portugal recently being found
to have a level of press freedom much higher than in
modern democracies, such as Britain or the United
States.
The letter was written on the United Kingdom
Independence Party MEP's behalf, in reply to a woman who
was seeking support from MEPs, to halt the damage the
Madeleine case is having on Anglo-Portuguese relations.
The two countries also share the world's longest
standing alliance.
The unnamed woman wrote that London and Prime
Minister Gordon Brown were exerting political pressure
on Lisbon, and the Portuguese police to ensure the
McCanns "avoid the consequences of Portugal's legal
system".
But the MEP's letter defends the British Prime
Minister, saying it would be "absurd" to suggest Mr
Brown was involved in a cover-up to protect Kate and
Gerry McCann.
Instead, the letter focuses on Portugal's 33-year old
democracy.
"Many of the police were trained under fascism and
the institutions still bear the impact of the long
period of dictatorship", it explains.
The MEP also says Britons need protection from
Portuguese officials.
"In all the circumstances it is entirely right that
British citizens should be protected against an
unreliable foreign system.
"In any event I think you can rest assured that the
British police and intelligence services, have long had
a better grip on the facts of this case than the
Portuguese police."
The letter was written on Roger Knapman's behalf by
his assistant Piers Merchant, who was forced to resign
as a Conservative Party MP after an affair with a
17-year girl was exposed by media in Britain.
Roger Knapman has since publicly defended the
contents of the letter.
"It sounds fair enough. Piers has very carefully
investigated this matter and responded on my behalf."
Since the publication of the letter, the chief of
police, the Justice Minister and the AttorneyGeneral
have all attacked its contents, though the most vehement
criticism came from former Ambassador to Indonesia and
MEP Ana Gomes.
"These comments don't intimidate us, especially as
they come from an anti-European group, who are
xenophobic and suspect everything. Their vision of our
institutions is completely distorted, partial and
partisan", said Ana Gomes.
The spokeswoman at the Justice Minister meanwhile
referred to the position assumed by Roger Knapman on his
party's behalf as "impossible to qualify and do not
represent the position of British authorities".
The Attorney-General, Fernando Pinto Monteiro also
reacted.
"The accusations made against the Portuguese judicial
system and the Polícia Judiciária are unfounded, and are
in contrast to those assumed by the British government
and its police forces."
The National Director of the PJ, Alípio Ribeiro
termed the latest attack on his force as
"irresponsible".
"I am certain that British authorities and Britons,
in general, do not subscribe to these comments. Nothing
will stop us from continuing our police activities
within the strict principles of democratic legality".
This latest outburst follows a number of recent
anti-Portuguese positions being assumed by public
figures.
A fortnight ago, The Mirror published an article
strongly criticising Portugal's Ambassador to Britain,
António Santana Carlos.
The article in The Mirror by Tony Parsons followed an
interview by the Ambassador to The Times, in which he
said the Madeleine McCann case has seriously damaged
relations between the two countries.
Mr Parsons, responding to the piece, argued that the
strained relations are "the fault of the spec tacularly
stupid Portuguese police".
The Mirror article also attacks the Portuguese
public, saying: "The sight of locals jeering at Kate
McCann as she went in for questioning made me feel as
though these leering bumpkins were not from another
country, but another planet."
The article concludes with another attack on the
Ambassador: "If you can't saying something constructive
about the disappearance of little Madeleine, then just
keep your stupid, sardinemunching mouth shut."