Last time I wrote here on November 20th, we thought the Greater Manchester Police were going out to Panama in the next few days. That never happened. Dates were set in early December and for January 11th, but this latest one has just been cancelled. The invitation has been issued by the Panamanian authorities, to the Greater Manchester Police on behalf of the British Government.
The message I received from Manchester police
“I was hoping that I would be able to inform you of the agreement and travel on the 11th January. To date no authority has been granted by either the FCO or Panamanian authorities. ”
turns out to be completely wrong. The Panamanian government has issued the invitation: it is not up to the FCO to accept it, it is entirely up to the Manchester Police. I apologise to the FCO for a number of postings alleging that they were to blame. Matt Searle of the Lucie Blackman Trust – Missing Persons Abroad has been able to confirm this with his contacts.
I will write further when I hear something from Greater Manchester Police. The Assistant Chief Constable has promised to speak to my husband by phone and explain what is going on.
Sorry if the sheer frustration shows through but on top of everything else this sort of bureaucratic nonsense is too much.
Gill
