# Tapas 7

The so called Group of the “Tapas 7” are the adults in the group of holidaymakers with which the McCann's went to Praia da Luz in spring 2007.

Sometimes they thus are also called the “Tapas 9” if the McCann's are included.

The name stems from the fact, that the group came together at evening time at the Tapas Bar . The Tapas Bar is part of the Ocean Club Resort and was 50 meters away from the veranda of the Apartment 5A.

→The Group consisted of:

1. Dr. Russel O'Brien
2. Jane Tanner, partner of Dr Russell O'Brien
3. Dr Matthew Oldfield
4. Rachael Oldfield, wife of Dr Matthew Oldfield
5. David Payne (Senior Research Fellow)
6. Dr Fiona Payne, wife of David Payne
7. Dianne Webster, Dr Fiona Payne's mother
8. (Gerald Patrick McCann, Madeleine's father) -“Tapas 9”
9. (Kate Marie McCann, Madeliene's mother) -“Tapas 9”

More details at →McCannFiles

Dailymail →Article (08 September 2007):

“They are the key witnesses to Madeleine's disappearance - the friends of Kate and Gerry McCann who could help unlock the mystery of what happened that fateful night. But despite their knowledge they have strangely said virtually nothing in four months. As the McCanns embarked on a global publicity campaign to find their daughter, the group of friends closest to the couple - and who were dining with them on May 3 when Madeleine vanished - were reluctant to talk…The Mail on Sunday asked one of the McCanns' friends, Dr Fiona Payne, for an interview. Initially she strongly indicated that she was prepared to talk to this newspaper but changed her mind when the McCanns inexplicably advised her against it….”

BBC News →Article (16 October 2008):

“…The seven friends who dined with Kate and Gerry McCann on the night of Madeleine's disappearance were central witnesses in the case. Their evidence was pored over by the police, and their backgrounds closely scrutinised by journalists and bloggers alike. None of the seven were ever a formal suspect or “arguido”, and all co-operated willingly and voluntarily with the investigation. Bound by judicial secrecy laws while the case was still being investigated by Portuguese police, most made no public comment about what they saw. They have now received a £375,000 libel payout from Express Newspapers after untrue allegations about their conduct appeared in three publications. Their friendship goes back a long way. Four of the group - Matthew Oldfield, Russell O'Brien, David Payne and Fiona Payne - studied medicine together at Leicester University in the early 1990s - the Paynes becoming a couple.”