Summers and Swan interview – part 2

In part two of our interview with Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan, the authors explain more about the background to their new book Looking for Madeleine, their thoughts on the police investigations so far, and what may now lie ahead in this extraordinary case.

How did you conduct your research? What was the process you followed?

First and foremost, we spent months doing what we have done on our previous eight books, reading all possible available documentation – in many cases a logistic challenge because of the Portuguese language factor. All of this was sorted and allocated and built into a vast chronology. Chronology, carefully assembled, is the key to investigation – whether by law enforcement or non-fiction authors.

When did you come to the conclusion that Kate and Gerry McCann played no part in covering up their daughter’s disappearance and that claims of this are unfounded?

Were we to have to put a date on this current view of ours, we would say it was at the stage a few months ago when – after all the months of analysing the available evidence and testimony – we were finalizing the manuscript.

Can your book be accurately considered as ‘the definitive account’ of this unsolved case?

Note that our publisher has said that the book is “the most definitive account possible.” Possible at this time. We hope and believe that it is exactly the case at this point, as of September 2014. Events yet to occur may change that and – as and when they do – we would hope to update our work.

Your book has been described as ‘a whitewash’ and ‘propaganda,’ and criticism has been levelled at the amount of ‘spin’ it received in the British media before publication? What is your reaction to this?

It is emphatically not a whitewash, whether or not those making the allegations choose to believe it or not. Should they look at the available evidence and testimony, and in turn how we report it in Looking for Madeleine, they will find such allegations untenable. We know of no articles about us or the book that could be called "spin.” There have been news stories based on the information in the book - that is reporting.

How would you sum up the way in which the investigations have been conducted over the past seven years?

A muddle of events and developments, poorly reported and – because of the lengthy lapse of time after the case was archived – critically interrupted. Hopefully, with both nations’ police forces for some time now engaged in systematic fresh work, lost ground may be retrieved.

How relevant is the Gamble report discussed on Sky TV shortly before publication of the book?

The report written by former Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre head Jim Gamble and his team has not been released. In an interview for our book, Gamble discussed it, we believe, more openly and at greater length than ever before, and this was justifiably newsworthy. The inclusion of this self-critique of British law enforcement’s role in the investigation, from a senior source, was welcome and long overdue. The first Portuguese investigation has been widely criticised, often exaggeratedly and in a way that seemed xenophobic. The new openness from the UK’s Gamble may go some way to redressing the balance. Once it becomes ethically possible, Portuguese law enforcement may perhaps offer similar up-to-date background. Should that occur, we would be glad to report it in a new edition of Looking for Madeleine.

How long do you expect the investigation to continue?

Rather than speak in terms of months or weeks, we hope the investigations by both Portuguese and British law enforcement will be allowed to continue until they have followed up on all the lines of inquiry they regard as necessary. We hope the climate of public opinion in both countries develops positively, in a way that favours true international cooperation. Unbiased, moderate media reporting could do much to make this possible.

Do you think the mystery will ever be solved?

A major breakthrough would be a forensic lead. Any trace, dead or alive, of Madeleine. The police never forget, though, that someone, somewhere, knows – or suspects they have knowledge – of what happened to Madeleine. Someone’s wife, someone’s brother or sister or friend. Someone who noticed something but has until now kept it to themselves. What cold case investigators always hope for is that some hitherto unknown witness or witnesses will come forward with the fragment of information that can break the case. It’s happened in the past, and could yet happen in the case of Madeleine.

Authors Summers and Swan reply to critics of their book about Madeleine

The best-selling authors Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan have responded to criticisms that their new book Looking for Madeleine, published today (September 11), amounts to a pro-McCann ‘whitewash’ rather than the first in-depth, independent and objective analysis of the disappearance and search for the little girl. The criticisms come from people who do not accept the theory that Madeleine McCann was abducted.

In their first interview with the media in Portugal, the authors told me they had in the past tackled controversial subjects, “but never have we encountered this degree of intense reaction to a book even before it has been published. It underlines, we think, why authors who do our kind of intensive investigative work needed to tackle this story.”

How, I asked, did they decide on this subject in the first place?

“In May 2012, readers may recall, the UK’s Scotland Yard released an age progression image of Madeleine as she might have looked if still alive. Robbyn was watching the news with our own young daughter, who is a little older than Madeleine McCann, and whose middle name happens also to be Madeleine.

“Her interest was piqued by hearing her own name, and she asked: ‘What really happened to that little girl? Do her parents really believe she is still alive?’

“And – this really got us: ‘How long would you look for me, Mummy?’ Robbyn realised she didn’t have good answers, and we started tentatively digging. We starting a first scan of the massive police dossier, read Kate McCann’s published account - and took on board the voluminous criticism and analysis of the case, and of the McCanns themselves, that was available online.

“We soon realised as we talked to people from all walks of life that many, many people seemed to suspect there was something wrong with the parents’ account and – and we started to think we could bring something to this almost unique story by drilling down to the best evidence. Our publisher agreed. That’s how it started, and here we are more than two years later.”

The authors are adamant they have not been influenced  at any stage or in any way by the McCann family or anyone close to the investigation. “As you will see in the Notes section of Looking for Madeleine, we felt at the outset that it was only right to advise Madeleine’s parents and London’s Metropolitan police that we planned to investigate with a view to a book.

“We had a single meeting with the McCanns and one with the Met – both of them early in our research. The parents, and then the police, made only one request of us – a fair one given the parents’ hope and the Met’s working thesis that Madeleine may still be alive –  that we do nothing that might hinder or interfere with the ongoing investigation. We have been careful to abide by that request.”

How much cooperation did they get from Kate and Gerry McCann during their research and writing?

 “We have been totally independent of the McCanns – and we emphasise this, given the torrent of internet innuendo to the contrary even before Looking for Madeleine was published.

“An initial meeting aside, a meeting at which Madeleine’s parents made no attempt at all to influence our thinking, there was no cooperation. The parents believed we should work independently of them, and we would not have wanted it otherwise.”

Since the couple began working on the book, both the Portuguese Polícia Judiciária and the Metropolitan Police Service have moved from ‘reviewing’ to renewed investigation and so they have had no more information from either force than was “ethically correct.”  

However, they said they have had contacts with former senior law enforcement officers in both countries and these have served as a valuable guide to the early investigation, and to some degree to what has been going on more recently.

The authors said that before they started their research they had no opinion on whether Madeleine had been abducted or not. And after two years of non-stop work, they have an opinion but not a definitive one.

“We were open - and still are - to anywhere the evidence might lead us. When Madeleine vanished we were deep into the research for our previous book, on the September 11 attacks. That also involved reading many tens of thousands of documents, travel, etc. So, like millions of others, we only had the blurred impression gained from the welter of media coverage and the torrent of rumour. It is only now after looking at every angle that we can justify expressing an opinion. We do that in Looking for Madeleine.”

Anthony Summers and his wife Robbyn Swan think the most likely scenario is that Madeleine was indeed abducted. There is a “cogent skein of evidence” pointing to the notion that she was a carefully selected target, very possibly of a paedophile.”

Does the book contain any real revelations? In other words have Summers and Swan uncovered any previously unknown facts that bring us closer to understanding what really happened to Madeleine?

“Looking for Madeleine is shot through with new information and analysis. In particular, we obtained information not seen publicly before that throws vivid new light on the activity and modus operandi of the intruder who perpetrated at least one of the child sex attacks in the period preceding Madeleine’s disappearance.

“As important, we obtained detailed information on an incident in Praia da Luz that may suggest one of the phoney “charity collectors” may have had a sexual motive. This episode, in particular, coupled with analysis of the overall jigsaw of testimony, contributes to a new understanding of a possible abduction scenario.

“Another key element is the first ever in-depth interview with Brian Kennedy, the wealthy benefactor who throws light on the McCann’s private investigation effort. And much, much more.”

As to the serious doubts about independence and objectivity expressed before the book’s publication, especially by critics who totally reject the abduction theory, the authors responded: “The notion of criticising authors about a book even before it has been published may speak volumes about the biases of those levelling the criticisms.”

* Anthony Summers, formally a deputy editor of the BBC's Panorama, is the author of eight investigative books and the only two-time winner of the Crime Writers' Association's top award for non-fiction. Robbyn Swan, his co-author and wife, has partnered Summers on three previous biographies and investigations. Their book The Eleventh Day, on the 9/11 attacks, was a Finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize.

Female diplomats no longer ‘a danger’

The arrival in Lisbon of a new woman ambassador representing the United Kingdom is another indication that the gender gap in diplomatic circles is narrowing, but equality is still some way off.

Throughout most of history, ‘manliness’ was deemed an essential ingredient in the conduct of international politics. The English diplomat and politician Sir Harold Nicholson (1986-1968) once said, “women are prone to qualities of zeal, sympathy and intuition which, unless kept under the firmest control, are dangerous qualities in international affairs.”

Diplomatic wives always had an unpaid, subordinate role to play, but it was a long time before women managed to pull down the discriminatory barriers and enter the higher echelons of diplomacy themselves. 

The newly arrived and highly qualified Kirsty Isobel Hayes, like her immediate predecessor at the British Embassy, Jill Gallard, is married and has two children. The demands of family life have not prevented her climbing through the ranks since she joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in 1999.

Her most recent position was Head of the FCO’s International Organisation Department where she was responsible for policy on the United Nations, the Commonwealth, OSCE, war crimes and sanctions, and the UK’s lead negotiator at the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

She has had postings in Washington and Hong Kong, as well as spending three years in Sri Lanka where she accompanied her husband who was then British High Commissioner. 

Mrs Hayes is only Her Majesty’s third female ambassador to Portugal. The first, the formidable Dame Glynne Evans, expressed serious reservations about the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

In a letter from Lisbon in 2004, Dame Glynne wrote: “The more we stand by principle the better. Expediency does not pay. Departing from international humanitarian law even just a little bit is like being just a little bit pregnant… The Americans may hate our legalism but that is not to say they are right and we are wrong. I believe we need to fight back, and hard, for our principles. We should not be ‘gentlemen’ any more, but warriors - and Amazons.”

 Mrs Gillard told us before leaving a month ago that she had not encountered any disadvantages because of her gender. On the contrary: “I think the obvious advantage is that people tend to remember who you are more easily, simply because there are less female faces around,” she said.

“People are often more interested in what you say because you’re something of a novelty, and that’s an advantage too – it’s always good to have an attentive audience!” said Mrs Gillard.

The number of female heads of mission currently serving abroad with the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office is at an all-time high. In 1997 there were just nine; in 2003 there were 18; in 2008 there were 22. The figure now stands at 40.

“There are 193 heads of mission in total – so still work to do, but we’re making progress,” an FCO spokesperson in London told us. And…wait for it… the spokesperson with this very positive attitude was a man!

In addition to Ambassador Kirsty Hayes, women are in charge of three of the UK Lisbon Embassy’s four sections – Consular, Trade & Investment and Corporate Services.  

The Irish Embassy in Lisbon has the distinction of being an all-women mission. It is headed by Ambassador Anne Webster, who has secondary accreditation to Morocco. A mother of three grown children, Mrs Webster served in senior positions in Beijing, Paris, Sydney, at the UN in New York and most recently as Irish ambassador in Kampala, Uganda, before taking up her post as Ireland’s first woman ambassador to Lisbon last September.
     Well-known for having two successive women state presidents, Ireland continues to expand its embassy network and by the end of the year it will have a total of 81 heads of mission, 22 of them women. That is still just over a quarter but it is up from 18% in 2012 and 23% in 2013.

The summer season usually sees a number of ambassadors coming and going, but at last count only 17 of the 139 serving in Lisbon were women. The nations they represent include Israel, Australia, South Africa, Cuba and even a few Muslim states.

In recent weeks, Leena Salim Moazzam called on Pakistan’s President Mamnoon Hussain in Islamabad to discuss matters regarding her new appointment as Ambassador-designate to succeed Pakistan’s outgoing woman envoy in Portugal, Humaira Hassan.

Much more generally, Portugal only began to get to grips with gender equality and associated changes in family life in the 1980s. Academic reports claim that the big advances made in the first decade of the new millennium have been significantly curtailed by the ongoing financial crisis with its accompanying austerity measures.

In the UK, much fuss was made recently about the ousting from the cabinet of four “male, pale and stale” ministers  – but their replacement by woman only brought the number of females in the cabinet to five out of 22. 

In the Portuguese government, three out of the 15 ministers are women. The number of women in the Portuguese parliament is 72 out of a total of 230. That is over 31% compared with 23% in the British parliament.

“The United States government is the world’s strongest advocate for unlocking the power and potential for progress that women and girls represent around the world,” according to Secretary of State John Kerry. Fine words, but since the setting up of diplomatic relations between the US and Portugal in 1791, only one of the 68 US ambassadors to Lisbon has been a woman, Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, who was appointed in 1994. Less than 19% of the members of the US Congress today are women.

This year’s elections to the EU parliament produced a record high of 38% women, just 3% up on the 2009 elections. In recent weeks, Jean-Claude Juncker, the new President of the European Commission, has been urging member states to pick more female candidates, saying that a Commission without a strong female representation would “neither be legitimate nor credible.”

So, women are still under-represented, but things have moved along since Sir Harold Nicholson declared women to be “dangerous qualities in international affairs.”

Incidentally, Sir Harold had an interesting take on gender equality: he was bisexual and so was his wife with whom he had an ‘open’ marriage. They discussed their mutual homosexual tendencies frankly and remained devoted to each other and their two children.

Crisis in Ukraine: agony and apathy

Ukrainians, who comprise the second largest immigrant community in this country, have been viewing the ongoing crisis in their homeland with growing alarm, and also with some disappointment over a perceived lack of interest among the Portuguese people.

Tuesday’s face-to-face meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents in the Belarusian capital of Minsk was the latest development in a fast-moving scenario that in February saw former President Yanukovych fleeing to Russia and the setting up of a pro-European government.

Russian forces helped separatists seize power in Crimea, which Russia formally annexed in March, prompting US and its European allies to impose sanctions on Russia.

Pro-Russian elements went on to stoke separatist sentiment that led to fatal clashes in eastern and south-west Ukraine.

A Malaysian airliner was shot down in rebel-held territory in July and in August Russia has sent hundreds of aid trucks to rebels across the border in what the Ukrainian government describes as a direct invasion.

Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko has now dissolved parliament in the capital Kiev and called for early elections in October as the battle against pro-Russian insurgency continues.

Most Ukrainians in Portugal have been supportive of the government in Kiev and have clearly displayed this in protest letters and at rallies outside the Russian, French and German Embassies in Lisbon. 

On the other hand, pro-Russian sentiments have been expressed by a minority of Ukrainians here and also by the Portuguese Communist Party.

Pavlo Sadokha, president of the biggest association representing Ukrainians in Portugal, told us that since the beginning of direct Russian aggression and the annexation of Crimea, Russian propaganda has radicalised the views of a small number of immigrants originating from the eastern regions of Ukraine.

“The Communist Party of Portugal and other related organisations have actively relayed the Russian propaganda. These promoters invited the rare but radicalised pro-Russian Ukrainians to witness‘rampant Nazism and fascism in Ukraine,’” he said.

Efforts by Mr Sadokha’s organisation to alert the Portuguese to Moscow’s aggression and explain that it will not stop in Ukraine have not brought the hoped-for results.

Portuguese political leaders have said little openly on the subject since Foreign Minister Rui Machete declared after a meeting with his counterparts in Brussels in March that the European Union was fully behind the Ukraine and that there should be no doubt as to its political and economic support over the Crimea dispute.

It took the shooting down of the Malaysian Airways plane with the killing of 298 people to overcome the general apathy among the Portuguese, said Mr Sadokha.

“Before the tragedy with the plane, the Ukrainian community planned rallies before the embassies of Germany and France in Lisbon. The Ukrainian community protested against an excessively mild position of the leaders of these countries towards the Kremlin aggression, and in the case of France against the sale of Mistral military ships to Putin's Russia,” he said.

“The downed plane finally attracted considerable attention of the Portuguese towards these protests.”  

But since then the agony in Ukraine has worsened and while Portuguese national newspapers continue to run reports on the situation, most politicians and people here are firmly focused on the myriad economic and social problems at home.

 

* A Ukrainian protest outside the Russian Embassy in Lisbon

Sir Cliff Richard: a villain or a victim?

Sir Cliff Richard has maintained a low profile in Portugal this week while preparing for a return to Britain to face police questioning about his alleged sexual assault on a young boy. 

 Many thought it almost inevitable that Sir Cliff would one day be investigated for alleged child abuse and yet when the news broke it came as a shock.

The allegation of sexual impropriety was quickly eclipsed by a scandal in which investigating police and the BBC have been accused of collusion and orchestrating a public spectacle that has been branded a ‘witch-hunt.’

Sir Cliff, who was relaxing at his holiday home in the Algarve, suddenly found himself named and shamed globally because of a single complaint from an unknown individual about an as yet unverified assault nearly 30 years ago.

The way in which the police and media have handled the matter remains highly questionable. Serious ethical questions have been raised.

For starters, should someone be publicly identified by the police and have their name splashed on TV and in newspapers before they have even been interviewed let alone charged?

Gossip about the singing star’s sexuality had been rife for decades, of course. And since the outpouring of revelations about Jimmy Saville, Rolf Harris and other entertainers, the Internet has been abuzz with suggestions that Sir Cliff would sooner or later be exposed as a paedophile.

The shock news hit the headlines last Thursday (14th August) with a live-on-TV police raid on Sir Cliff’s Berkshire home. When eight plain-clothed police officers arrived in five unmarked cars to search Sir Cliff’s penthouse property within a gated community, a BBC helicopter was already hovering overhead and another camera crew was at the front gate.

The BBC led with a report that the search, which lasted five hours, had been instigated by an alleged historical sex offence involving a boy under the age of 16.

Just a few hours before the raid, Sir Cliff had left his Algarve vineyard estate and travelled to the Alentejo with his youngest sister, Joan Pilgrim. They returned the next day.

By then Sir Cliff had described the sexual assault allegation as “completely false” and expressed anger that the police had apparently alerted the press before contacting him.

The following day, the galloping story of the search and assault claim appeared on the front page of most of Britain’s national papers and in many others around the world. Most people on the planet not otherwise preoccupied by a nearby war were soon aware that the iconic singer was in big trouble.

Trolls galore rushed to make asinine comments on social media. Droves of devoted fans countered with expressions of support on Facebook and Twitter, but it was already too late. As the saying goes, mud sticks.

What exactly had Sir Cliff done to deserve all this? It was far from clear, but obviously the media had enthusiastically latched on to the fact that Sir Cliff is famous and in danger of becoming infamous.

Apparently the allegation against him came from a man in his 40s who had watched a TV documentary about Jimmy Saville and then contacted the producer of the programme, the investigative journalist Mark Williams-Thomas. The allegation and other information was duly passed on by Williams-Thomas to Metropolitan Police Service detectives conducting the Operation Yewtree sexual abuse inquiry.

Last weekend the South Yorkshire Police revealed they had been contacted “weeks ago” by a BBC reporter who had found out about their supposedly highly confidential investigation into Sir Cliff’s alleged assault, said to have taken place in 1985 at an event in Sheffield that featured the US preacher Billy Graham.

 The South Yorkshire Police said they had been “reluctant” to co-operate with the BBC, but believed if they did not the BBC would run the story anyway, potentially jeopardising the police investigation.

So the police struck a deal whereby the BBC was given exclusive information in advance of the Berkshire raid in return for delaying publication of their story.

Amid a flurry of reported denials, claims and counter claims from both the police and the BBC, Keith Vaz, chairman of the House of Commons home affairs committee, said: “The police have a duty to act with fairness and integrity. Incalculable damage can be done to the reputation of individuals in circumstances such as this.”

Former attorney general Dominic Grieve called the police’s handling of the case “odd.” A prominent human rights lawyer, Geoffrey Robertson, questioned both the judgement of the BBC and legality of the search warrant used by the police.

Former home secretary David Davis said the “extraordinary decision” of the police to allow filming outside Sir Cliff's home demonstrated that there is “something sick at the heart of Britain’s police and justice system.”

The police condemned the live coverage in an official letter of complaint to the BBC’s director-general, pointing out that the corporation appeared to have contravened its own editorial guidelines.

Despite all the huffing and puffing, the police expressed gratitude for the press publicity on the search because it resulted in a number of people coming forward with further information. They would not say whether the callers included more alleged victims or potential witnesses, but the plot was thickening.

So far, the police and the media had blackened a person’s name even though that person had not been confronted with any evidence of wrongdoing or given an opportunity to properly respond.

While being buoyed by a tight coterie of friends and advisers, Sir Cliff’s has had a visit from a highly-rated British solicitor, Ian Burton, whose legal firm has represented the likes of former Harrod’s owner Mohamed Al-Fayed, football manager Harry Redknapp, PR agent Max Clifford and TV celebrity Nigel Lawson. Ian Burton enjoys the reputation of being a particularly tough and canny lawyer adept at nipping criminal investigations in the bud.

In defence of bulls and wild birds

Anti-bullfighting campaigners are planning their biggest public protest outside the Albufeira bullring in opposition to what is expected to be one of the country’s most attended bullfighting events of the year.

The campaigners have unveiled a huge billboard by the side of the N125 between Boliqueime and Albufeira proclaiming in Portuguese and English: “Bullfighting = shameful torture. We demand abolition!”  

The organisers are hoping as many protesters as possible of various nationalities will come together for a peaceful demonstration scheduled to start at 8.30pm next Friday (August 22). Police are likely to be on hand to ensure that no one outside the ring comes to any harm - unlike the animals inside it.

 In addition to wanting bullfighting abolished nationwide, one of the concerns of the protesters is what they claim is the failure of the security authorities to uphold the law in regard to under-age children being admitted to bullfights.

Isabel Searle, a founder member of Cidade de Albufeira Anti Touradas (CAAT), says their group have repeatedly asked why the Inspeção-Geral das Atividades Culturais (IGAC) are “doing nothing” to stop children under 12-year-olds being allowed into bullfights.

“They have ignored us,” she said.

Both the United Nations and the European Commission have expressed concern in the past about the possible affects of bullfight violence on child spectators.

On the other hand, many generations of young people have witnessed bullfights in Portugal and Spain and many today would claim they have not been traumatised or emotionally affected by the experience.

The CAAT group have written to the president of the Albufeira Câmara asking him to look into safety aspects of the bullring building, which they claim has badly deteriorated over the years.

“The Câmara president has ignored us as well. We are simply not being given answers,” said Ms Searle.

Those in favour of bullfighting believe it to be a traditional art form, a deeply-rooted integral part of Iberian culture steeped in ritualistic grace and confidence in mastering the bull.

“Bullfighting is the only art in which the artist is in danger of death and in which the degree of brilliance in the performance is left to the fighter’s honour,” wrote Ernest Hemingway.

Appalled by such notions, opponents see bullfights as an outmoded and cruel form of entertainment, mainly for holidaymakers, mostly from the UK and elsewhere in northern Europe where animal cruelty is generally outlawed.

*  Protesters will meet at the roundabout of ‘ Corcovada  in the parking lot opposite Roberto´s chicken restaurant at 8pm and then march the 50 metres to the bullring at 8.30pm. 

 As with bullfighting, the shooting and trapping of wild birds is entrenched in the culture of Portugal. A new hunting season has just started. The following is an extract from the e-book People in a Place Apart.

« Most at risk are migratory species that pass through southern Europe in vast numbers on their way to and from wintering grounds in Africa. Among the Mediterranean countries, Malta, Italy and Cyprus are probably the worst offenders in terms of sheer numbers of birds killed, but Portugal, especially the Algarve, is not far behind, according to Dr Colin Key, a resident ornithologist and strong advocate of greater protection.

Traditionally, wild birds were shot by the poor in Portugal to put food on the table. Now it is sport. Although there are regulations on where and when hunting is allowed and what species may be killed, the regulations are often ignored. Attitudes are undoubtedly changing as a result of the spread of information and enthusiasm about wildlife, especially among the young. “Hunting with guns and dogs is now the preserve of the middle-aged and older generations. Also, Portugal is now ‘on the map’ for visiting foreign birdwatchers, especially the British, and this has lead to an awareness of the value of ecotourism. The situation is improving, but it is a slow process. The cultural aspects of killing wildlife, whether for food or sport, will take at least another generation to grow out.” »

The hunting season runs from mid-August to the end of February but is restricted to Sundays, Thursdays and national holidays. 

* On the first day of the new hunting season GNR police arrested two hunters for shooting protected species and fined 33 others for firearms and ammunition infringements. Six weapons were confiscated. 

UK envoy upbeat about oldest allies

 Jill Gallard, who has just completed her three-year tenure as the UK’s Ambassador to Lisbon, says that while  Portugal still faces formidable economic problems, in some ways the country is better off than when she first arrived.

Mrs Gallard gave us a cogent appraisal of the current state of affairs just before leaving for London to take up her new post at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office as Human Resources director.

She arrived in Portugal in the summer of 2011, six weeks after the €78 billion bailout package had been agreed and a month after the present Government took office.  

“So it felt like crisis time to all of us back then, not just for Portugal but for several eurozone countries,” she recalled.

“The adjustment has been a painful process and many Portuguese - with the support of their extended family ties - are still suffering the impact of austerity measures. But the fact that Portugal made a clean exit from the bailout in May this year was obviously a huge milestone and an important success.

“Growth and exports figures have risen since 2011, unemployment is falling, the deficit has been cut significantly and many structural reforms implemented. All of this is vital to attract more inward investment.

“So in many ways things feel much better than in summer 2011. However, we all know that the economic problems are not over – neither in Portugal nor the rest of the EU. Many EU countries have a high level of debt which will have to be tackled.

“The new President of the European Commission has made clear that achieving sustainable growth and reducing unemployment – especially youth unemployment – have to be the priorities for Europe in the next period. That is the next challenge for all of us,” said Mrs Gallard.

In terms of bilateral relations, Portugal and Britain have a shared objective on EU economic reform so that Europe can tackle the huge challenge of achieving sustainable growth, better competitiveness and therefore reduced unemployment, she said.

“We both strongly support the proposed Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership. We have had a steady stream of ministerial visits in both directions, and this always helps to promote greater synergy between our two Governments.”

She also noted that Prime Minister Cameron and his family have holidayed in this country on two successive years and that the UK makes a significant contribution to the Portuguese economy through the large number of other British visitors – 2.1 million last year and rising.

In terms of commercial relations, Mrs Gallard’s team at the Embassy in Lisbon have exceeded their bilateral trade and investment targets for the third consecutive year, despite the eurozone crisis and tough austerity measures in both countries.  

“In 2013/14 we helped British companies gain €35 million of business in Portugal and supported 400 small and medium sized enterprises seeking business in this country. British companies are increasingly interested in using Portugal as a platform to the Lusophone world, and we’ve worked hard on raising awareness about Portugal’s extensive links with Angola, Mozambique and Brazil so that British and Portuguese companies can partner to gain access to those markets.”

As members of the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, NATO and the United Nations, the UK and Portugal work together in many multilateral fora, usually with the same shared objectives in mind.  

A further sign of the close links between the two countries was the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s decision to choose Lisbon as the hub for human resources activities for 43 diplomatic posts across Europe. The team in Lisbon is currently being expanded by some 30% to reflect that.

“Part of the reason for the choice of Lisbon is that there is a highly skilled, multilingual workforce in Portugal.” said Mrs Gallard.   

Her job before becoming Ambassador to Portugal was the FCO’s deputy director of human resources. She has now been appointed director of the department, which has a global workforce of 13,000 based in 165 countries.

Her successor as Ambassador in Lisbon will be Mrs Kirsty Isobel Hayes, who is expected to arrive at the end of the month.