The shambles in Downing Street is clearly worse than we were led to believe.

Regular readers may recall that I made a freedom of information request, to know how many times Gordon Brown and David Milliband have spoken to the McCann's, their immediate family, Clarence Mitchell and those connected to the McCann's limited company.

Today I recieved a reply.

"Thank you for your e-mail of 16 November asking for details of phone calls, letters or e-mails between the Prime Minister and the family or representatives of the missing child Madeleine McCann.

Your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act
2000.

We do not hold any recorded information in relation to your request. We do hold the following extract from the Prime Minister's press conference with the Portuguese Prime Minister on 9 July 2007:

Question: There are some reports this morning that there maybe progress in the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann this week. Have you been discussing the case and can you tell us about anyprogress at all?

Prime Minister: Well Ihave raised the case with thePortuguese Prime Minister. I thanked him for the work that thePortuguese authorities have done, this has been a very detailed investigation and it is one that has involved not just the authorities in Portugal but the authorities right across Europe and in some cases beyond Europe. So we are grateful to the Portuguese authorities for the time and the effort and the dedication that is being put into this
investigation. I have talked to Madeleine McCann's parents, I have heard from them their appreciation of the work that has been done in this investigation. Obviously there are issues that they want to be assured about and I have raised these with thePortuguese Prime Minister. He has assuredme that everything that can be done will be done and obviously we look for progress in what is something that is heart-rending in its sadness that a young child should be separated from her parents for so long with so little news of what has happened to her and at such a tender age.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides consular assistance in cases involving British children missing abroad. FCO consular officials, both in London and Portugal, are providing all appropriate consular assistance to Madeleine's family. Consular officials continue to follow
Madeleine's case closely and provide on-going assistance as they would for any British national in these circumstances. At the same time the UK and the Portuguese authorities are working closely together and remain focussed on their joint objective - to return Madeleine safely to her family."

Ok, it was expected, the brush off with a straight bat (to mix metaphors).

However in it's own way it is enlightening.

As it would seem to suggest that contacts between Gordon Brown have been far more involved and numerous than we have been led to believe. After all, if there had been the single call, as the Prime Ministers spokesman claimed in September; which contradicted a statement made in May, when Gordon Brown was attempting to use the case fro his own political advantage; then why not just say that?

And it is also disingenuous because it was Clarence Mitchell who claimed in November that contacts between Team McCann and the government had ceased in September. Indeed this was the reason why I made the Freedom of Information request.

Is it really reasonable that the British government does not keep a record of phone conversations? Or that no one has the ability or facility to check the email system to find out how many times senior government ministers have intervened in an on going criminal investigation to correspond with the suspects?

Therefore it is only reasonable to conclude that the government has something to hide.

One wonders how much more sleazy this government can get?

peace:)