Setting the stage, perhaps?

Tell all before you die, Maddie suspect urged
Allan Hall in Berlin
9 December 2009
The Daily Express

A convicted paedophile wanted for questioning by detectives working for Madeleine McCann's parents is close to death, it was revealed yesterday. Sex fiend Raymond Hewlett, 64, can no longer speak because of throat cancer and lives in a council flat he shares with his partner in Aachen, Germany.

Hewlett's lawyer, Detlev Wagner, said: "He could not talk to them even if he wanted to. "He is gravely ill. He does not have long for this world."

Investigators fear that Hewlett could take the secret of Madeleine's disappearance with him to the grave.

(Blogger note: Funny thing, Mr. Hall - the McCann "spokesperson" has stated that Hewlett is not a suspect in Madeleine's case.  The statement you made above clearly implies that Hewlett knows something about the 'SECRET" when it has been determined he was NOWHERE NEAR Praia da Luz when Madeleine went missing.  Also, did you *forget* to mention the interviews the Portuguese police had with Hewlett, or were they deliberately omitted?)

Retired senior police officers working for Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry, from Rothley, Leics, have been trying to quiz Hewlett since May.

(Blogger note:  Hewlett has been interviewed by the OFFICIAL INVESTIGATORS in the case.  The McCann private detectives have no authority to interview him and Hewlett, although gravely ill, earlier attempted to make himself available to them anyway.  There is NOTHING on which to base the clear implication you are making here, Mr. Hall, that Hewlett himself made the interview difficult.)  

But while he has spoken with British police investigating other offences against children dating back nearly 35 years, Hewlett has steadfastly refused to co-operate with the private investigators.

(Blogger note:  Mr. Hall, is there any reason you avoided naming the British investigators or the other offenses against children?  Why didn't you clearly state that it was Max McLean who went to Germany to interview Hewlett?  Remember Max McLean?  You should, after all, he was lead detective in the Lesley Molseed murder investigation.  You know, the one where Stefan Kiszko sat rotting in jail for 16 years while his family fought tooth and nail to have the conviction reviewed?  Then LO and BEHOLD, FSS had screwed up and Kiszko was ruled out because he was sterile and obviously could not have produced the sperm they claimed was his...remember all that now???  Max McLean who is quoted in many articles over many years about the prime suspect in the Molseed case being  none other than Mr. Raymond Hewlett?  Max McLean who did not testify in the Castree case - you know, the *second* man convicted for the Molseed murder - the one convicted based on a piece of TAPE FSS claimed came from the victims clothing...clothing that was destroyed by FSS?  Tape that was also destroyed by FSS?  I'm sure it was just another oversight on your part, Mr. Hall.  I wouldn't have expected you to have done any research prior to writing this article.)

The Briton, who has multiple convictions for offences against children, came to the attention of investigators after an English couple came forward with new information.

(Blogger note: The couple being Alan and Cindy Thompson (of "we found Bin Laden fame).  What about  Peter Verran, ex Scots Guard also told some tales about Hewlett - did you forget him, Mr. Hall? Ex Scots Guard Verran, who was interviewed for a few hours by the LP?  That fellow?  While you are naming names, why not name them all??? )

They alleged he was near to the Praia da Luz holiday resort in Portugal where Madeleine, then three, vanished in May 2007.

(Blogger note:  Mr. Hall, why did you fail to mention that Hewlett lived in Tavira and was at least an hours drive away from Praia da Luz with his wife and numerous children, was already interviewed by the Portuguese police, was very ill with throat cancer and not exactly up to sneaking into PdL to abduct little Maddie?  Why didn't you think about the likelihood of a man as sick as Hewlett sneaking into an apartment, carrying a nearly 4 year old child out a window and off into the night without any of the people out and about on the streets seeing the man or without any of his family or friends noticing him missing with their ONLY vehicle - the van they *lived in*.  Or did you think he might have brought the wife and kids along for the event?  Also, Mr. Hall, have you had a chance to take a look at the videos of the cadaver dog Eddie and the places and items he alerted to?  Its on YouTube, I think you must know that site?  Odd how the only things Eddie alerted to were places in the McCann apartment, outside the window, on the McCann's clothing and on the car key and in the back of a rental car they hired 28 days after Maddie went missing. So you want us to believe you, Mr. Hall, with all the omissions you've made in this article, rather than the police dogs who are sent all over the world in cases like this and have a 100 per cent success rate?)

Private investigators Dave Edgar and Arthur Crowley, both ex-police officers with many years of experience, first went to see him in Aachen when he was being treated for his cancer in hospital. Numerous requests to interview him were all turned down. Wagner claims that his client was poised to broker an interview with the detectives but broke it off because he found the lawmen "too pushy".

(Blogger note:  Mr. Hall, in a comment to you above I mentioned the visits the Portuguese police made to Mr. Hewlett and the fact that you seem to not have known about that, or chose to ignore it.  Shall we ask the PJ to let you know HOW MANY YEARS OF EXPERIENCE those *police officers* have?  Shall we discuss the credentials of the Portuguese *lawmen* who officially investigated Hewlett? I really would NOT want you to be accused of having any kind of xenophobic bias against the official investigators simply because they are not British!)

In June Hewlett - still smoking the cigarettes blamed for causing his throat cancer - said: "It's obvious why they're interested in me.

(Blogger note:  Are smokers evil, Mr. Hall?  Do any of the McCann private investigators smoke?  Oh right, forgive me, you are trying to portray Mr. Hewlett as a low life in every way you can.  Well, he IS a lowlife, Mr. Hall, but I think you only need to interview Max McLean to know how much of a lowlife Hewlett truly is.  Nothing to do with the McCann case, of course, but perhaps McLean could tell you what other things Hewlett was up to and heck, he might even be able to explain how it was Hewlett remained "one step ahead" of the police for all those years!)

"But they can all think what they like. I didn't kill the McCann girl. It's the truth and it's never going to change."

He admits he was in the Algarve at the time Madeleine vanished.

(Blogger note:  The Algarve has an area of 5,412 square kilometres with approximately 410,000 permanent inhabitants, and incorporates 16 municipalities.  See how easy that was, Mr. Hall?  I just took 30 seconds to find that on Wikipedia. Raymond Hewlett and his family were in the Algarve along with all those residents and how many tourists?  And...?  What are you saying there, Mr. Hall?)

Hewlett looks strikingly similar to a sketch of a suspect with a pock-marked face seen lurking around the apartment where the family stayed in May 2007.

(Blogger note:  You know, Mr. Hall, instead of reading your article, perhaps people might want to know more about the pocked-marked man (and all the other misc. alleged abductors) by visiting this site:  The McCann Files or one of the many forums discussing the case.  It just seems like they might want to take a look at information that has been RESEARCHED and not spun, don't you agree, Mr. Hall?)