Madeleine McCann: Gerry On The Telly And It Could Be U
“MADELEINE: It’s not too late says mum.”
The front page of the Express contains a “Dramatic Plea”.
But it’s not dramatic so much as it is desperate. “It’s not too late, please give her back,” says Kate McCann.
As ever the Express tells readers that Mrs McCann is a GP. Gerry McCann, we learn is a “consultant cardiologist”.
Says she: “Every day is hard. Every day is very difficult… The important thing is getting Madeleine back and we hope that what we are doing increases the chance of that.”
What’s The Story?
Indeed, that is the important thing. It is the only thing. But the press want more.
Says Gerry McCann: “We have a mix of very positive days, when we have done big things and achieved things or big events with the campaign, but we are aware these things are secondary.”
He’s right. Of course he is. But the press have been pointing fingers at the police, gawping at “creepy” men, listening to anyone with a paedophile story, looking for bodies and signs. They have not been on the trail of Madeleine. They follow the McCanns around, first Spain, then Germany, then the UK, the Vatican and Morocco. They are watching the parents. The parents are the story. And we are invited to look on like voyeurs.
We can wear braclets. Find Madeleine is this year’s Make Poverty History campaign.
Infotainment
The Sun says Gerry McCann is to appear at the Edinburgh TV Festival. No, not because he’s given us hours of great telly. Although he is taking the slot once occupied by Simon Cowell and Michael Barrymore. Gerry will be “quizzed” by Newsnight presenter Kirsty Walk on the media campaign to find Madeleine McCann.
Peter Barron, organiser of the event, rated the Find Madeleine campaign a “new and moving phenomenon”. What was that about good telly?
But it’s scaring the children. The Star says an appeal to find Madeleine is being screened before cinema showings of U-rated Shrek The Third.
Children with faces full of popcorn and crisps hear that Madeleine was “snatched” from her bed. “Madeleine’s parents are devastated, but they haven’t given up hope.”
A mum says it’s “unfair” to show this to children. “It makes them fear that they too could be abducted.”
It spreads the fear. It creates anxiety. And it shows no sign whatsoever of finding Madeleine nor the person or persons who might have taken her…
Posted: 4th, July 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (669) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
- yampster on In Photos: Susan Boyle Sings Rockefeller Center Plaza In New York City
- Bat E Bird on In Photos: Susan Boyle Sings Rockefeller Center Plaza In New York City
- Julie Roach on I’m A Celebrity Watch: Katie Price Is More Hated Than Baby P’s Mum
- yampster on The Pirelli 2010 Calendar In Artful Nudity (NSFW)
- yampster on Climate Gate: Politicians Investigate CRU’s Emails And The BBC Sat On The Story
July 24th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Shrek, I read on the internet that since 1999 lie detectors exist in privet companhies in the UK, and they can be used to innocent a person, to check on immigrants, etc But not to accuse a person of a crime and the British police don’t use them.
July 24th, 2007 at 11:12 am
In the UK there is the possilility to make tests with lie detectors and the results can innocent the person, althoug the tests are not used in court.Perhaps the UK authorities were trying to help Gerry, a British citizen in difficulties abroad, showing his innocence through this test, in order to free them of being obliged to stay in Portugal, to get them back to England uptil the PJ finds Madeleine.The PJ agreeded with the idea and Gerry could not refuse it.Two weeks ago Gerry went to London for one an a half day (test?) and one week later the couple “discussed”with the PJ about his “trip to London”.I believe they were questioned, after the PJ got the results of the test which might have been bad for Gerry.That questioning took two hours.Gerry managed to get a second chance, this time in the foresinc capital of the world, Washington, where the FBI have its headquarters and where they have the best investigation laboratories.That could be the reason of his trip to Wahington.
July 23rd, 2007 at 10:02 pm
- The lie detector is not in use in the UK.
- The indian doctor was arrested in Australia whilst trying to leave the country, going to the indian sub-continent.
July 23rd, 2007 at 5:44 pm
The McCanns have to fill up their time running around the world, talking on television, jogging and walking .If they didnt they would have a whole lot of time to reflect on the simple fact that it was their fault. And despite all this publicity the level of public awareness will fade with all the other bad things that happen in life and they will have to face that shes not coming back. And worse that if it was a paedophile (which I’ve always doubted) they wrapped her up and gave her to him.
July 23rd, 2007 at 5:34 pm
is the lie detector system known and sometimes used in the UK?
If this is the case, I have a theory.
July 23rd, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Hi but don’t you think they will use the “they’ve suffered enough” line?
Regarding the terrorist attacks rosita one of the alleged terrorist connections got on a plane and came to Brisbane, by the time he got here the police were waiting for him, on instructions from the British Police, he is still being held here prior to deportation.
July 23rd, 2007 at 12:34 pm
Quite right, so if it’s against the law to leave children on their own in Portugal, the Portuguese police have every right to charge them for neglect as they did it on Portuguese soil. I know this is the last thing the McCanns need if they are innocent of anything else, but the law is the law - isn’t it?
July 23rd, 2007 at 7:23 am
Hi Shrek, child neglect is a crime in Portugal as well.People can go to jail for it. I don’t know about the fact that a Britsh citizen who commit a murder outside the UK being tried by a British court.Perhaps it has to do with the kind of agreements among the countries.
Most countries judge by themselves.
Remember Diana: the French police made all the investigations and even her post mortem.No British authorities mixed up in the issue.
Short ago the UK suffered two terrorist attacks and the investigations have or are been made by the British police and not by the police from the countries where the terrorists come from. Those attacks are a British issue.
July 22nd, 2007 at 11:52 pm
In England it’s very unclear at what age you can legally leave children on their own, but this is from a list of NSPCC guidelines:
“There is no law that determines the minimum age that a child can be left alone. However it is an offence to leave a child alone when doing so places them at risk.
Never leave a baby or very young child alone at home, whether asleep or awake, even for a few minutes. It does not take long for unsupervised young children or babies to injure themselves.”
So there you go. They were completely crazy and outrageously irresponsible to leave THREE very young children on their own. Period.
July 22nd, 2007 at 11:21 pm
Rosita…
Thank you. That is what I thought! The UK tabloid press seem to think that the British police have jurisdiction everywhere.
I just wondered if child neglect is one of the offences that can be committed by a British citizen worldwide? For instance, I’m sure that an offence of murder committed by a British citizen in a country outside the UK can be tried in a British court. There are other offences as well, but I don’t have full knowledge of them.
July 22nd, 2007 at 10:54 pm
Shrek, the crime happened in Portugal and Portugal is taking care of it.
You write “it seems to suggest”, yes, “seems” and”suggest”.
Every country is responsible for investigations of his own crimes.
Don’t believe UK has to do with it. They have their own crimes to be solved.
Portugal is not a colony of the UK and it has their own jurisdiction.
July 22nd, 2007 at 10:20 pm
I am surprised that it has taken so long for someone to actually suggest that a legal authority should investigate the McCann’s for neglecting their children. It is quite clear that the “abduction” could not have taken place if their children had been properly cared for.
After reading the report in the Express I was a little confused. It seems to suggest that the English CPS would be carrying out the investigation - surely this is a case of child neglect in Portugal, and would therefore be under Portuguese jurisdiction?
July 22nd, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Another thing had occurred to me: the McCanns are apparently ‘outraged’ at the criticisms of them and are ‘taking legal advice’. Legal advice costs a lot of money; are they paying for it with money collected for the Find Madeleine fund I wonder? If so, this smell bad - money donated by people who would never leave their children the way the McCanns did being used to pay lawyers to defend them from charges of child neglect?
They should make it absolutely clear that the money donated to help find Madeleine is only being used for that purpose and that anything left over if Madeleine is eventually found will be given to charity, not used up in legal fees.
July 22nd, 2007 at 4:34 pm
marian, ok, to charge them with neglect would make the police change of issue before they are ready with the disappearence itself. It would disturbe the investigations.It is very much possible that things for the Mccanns might go beyond neglect, I mean, that this disappearence was fatal for Madeleine and this would be much worse than simple neglect without much of a consequence.We still don’t know if she is still alive.Since I read, also on the BBC, about Gerry’s trip to the USA, I started to dislike him a lot, which was not the case before. What he is doing and did from the begining, is to distract everybody’s attention from the fact they are also suspects.We think more of them than of Madaleine, we are following them everywhere through internet and Britsh media, they inhibe us to analyze the few little facts we know by suddenly going on a irrational trip to the USA, and they are cheating on the public by telling they are “discussing”the issues with the PJ.But the PJ are not stupid. They are one of the best police that exist, I read about them not very long ago(before Madeleine’s case).The fact that Gerry is making up things on his site (”discussions with the PJ”) shows he is unreliable and is this nice for all the people who trusted him and gave and still give him money?
July 22nd, 2007 at 3:28 pm
I read today that the McCanns may now be charged with neglect and could face up to two years in prison. Frankly I think this would be horrendously cruel considering what they must already going through (unless they staged the whole thing), and a massive blow for their other two children who would have to be looked after by relatives and incur a whole lot more damage through being ripped away from their parents - not good at all.
But while I think a jail sentence would be far too cruel for them all, I still can’t understand how their spokeswoman Justine McGuiness can say this:
“If they could turn back time there are things that they might have done differently, with the benefit of hindsight.
“But it is impossible to say whether, had there been an adult in the apartment at the time of the abduction, it would have stopped a predator.”
For a start, no predator would have even entered the apartment if someone had been there. It’s perfectly obvious that the family were being watched and their movements were known.
Far more honest, and far more likely to get a sympathetic response woule be something like:
“With hindsight they are now mortified that they left their children alone and unattended for up to half-hour periods. They now realise this was a terrible mistake that Madeleine and her entire family will have to suffer the conseqences of for the rest of their lives unless she is found safe and unharmed. They now realise they were seduced into a cavalier sense of security by the surroundings, and would advise all parents, particularly of young children to make sure a close and watchful eye is kept on them at all times wherever they may be.”
I think a humble statement of this nature would go a long way towards convincing the public that they have truly learnt their lesson and don’t just believe they were ‘at worst naive’. Surely they want the public to remain on their side - and Gerry McCann is a doctor yet still goes on to make the comment that he is ‘outraged’ by criticism of them only makes matters considerably worse in my view.
July 22nd, 2007 at 1:13 pm
They may be suffering Rosita but the money and the resort lifestyle and trips abroad may help in their grief. Unlike the poor mother in Gran Canaria whose little boy Yeremi is also missing and other parents who just have to get on with it.
I think the PJ should just charge them with wilful neglect. Same as the other friends in the party.
July 22nd, 2007 at 12:32 pm
By chance I spoke to a Portuguese lawyer who explained me that the PJ in Portugal “never never never” discuss investigations with others, only among thenselves. He said that it is impossible that the PJ are making an exception for the Mccanns.He also believes that the Maccanns are not allowed to leave the country and that they are obliged to show up at the police station every week.This means that they are still on the list of suspects.
Gerry is obviously getting bored in Algarve.He is now going to the USA for a few days.Did people give him money to spend with themselves and to provide them a rich life? Don’t the British media SEE it???Are the British media that far manipulated?Which British news paper dares to start wondering about what is really going on?The Mccanns are very lucky that it happened in a country where they are obliged to keep their mouth.But I still think they are suffering a lot, whatever they konw or don’t know about Madeleine, they are suffering on a terrible way. They miss their little girl.
July 22nd, 2007 at 1:41 am
And that’s another thing……..was there an article written that said the children were medicated? I’ve read a number of people say that but where did it originate from?
July 22nd, 2007 at 1:11 am
Anna - they probably had to give Sean and Amelie’s megadose of benadryl time to wear off!
July 22nd, 2007 at 1:02 am
I cannot for the life of me understand why these people are being heralded as heroes, what with getting an audience with the Pope and the standing ovation that Gerry received by the POLICE of all people and the amount of money that people are handing out to them. Even though Kate and Gerry did not deserve this heartache in any way, they certainly contributed to it by their neglect, which has possibly led to the death of their child. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a cold hearted person, but I don’t understand why they have not been charged with any sort of offence in the way of wilfull neglect. No it wouldn’t bring their child back but it surely would set an example that what they did was totally unacceptable……instead they get standing ovations and trips on private jets to meet high powered people !
July 21st, 2007 at 11:56 pm
A Junket in the USA will definitely help find Madeleine.
July 21st, 2007 at 10:23 pm
Gerry off on another Jolli - What a bloody sham - If Uk and Europe cant help - then God alone knows why this prat should be jetting off to the US. The whole lot stiinks
SKY NEWS REPORT
“The father of missing Madeleine McCann is flying to Washington where he may meet Laura Bush.
Gerry McCann will visit WashingtonGerry McCann will be in the US tomorrow to talk to American politicians and child abduction experts.
But he is also reportedly hoping to meet the wife of President Bush during his three-day trip.
The Daily Mirror said Mrs Bush had read about the family’s plight and wanted to lend her personal support to the family.
A source told the newspaper: “Plans are still being finalised but it is hoped Gerry and Laura will meet at some point during the trip.”
Mr McCann will visit the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children to learn about techniques that might help find his daughter.
“We want to to work closely with the police and child welfare agencies in maintaining the profile of Madeleine’s disappearance and other children’s disappearances,” the source said.
The NCMEC was set up in 1984 following the murder of six-year-old Adam Walsh.
He was abducted from a Florida shopping centre.
Madeleine was snatched from her hotel room in the resort of Praia da Luz in Portugal 11 weeks ago.
July 21st, 2007 at 9:51 pm
whole thing sticks of deception
July 21st, 2007 at 5:47 pm
Hey there might even be a phone in the tapas bar!! Think of that phone your husband and friends there and tell them that “They’ve taken her”. No instead you get twenty people to search one apartment.
July 21st, 2007 at 4:56 pm
Here’s a conundrum - according to Portuguese journalist Paulo Reis, who seems to be extremely painstaking in his research and writings:
“Police precinct in Lagos was called only at 22.50pm, May 3 – almost one hour after Kate realized Madeleine had disappeared. They sent a patrol that arrived at Ocean Club 12/15 minutes later.”
Kate McCann rushed from the apartment screaming ‘they’ve taken her!’ - meaning presumably that she thought Madeleine had been snatched rather than wandered off. Can anybody then come up with any credible explanation as to why no one then phoned the police immediately?
Another mystery - the McCanns say they called the police virtually straight away, but according to Paulo Reis they didn’t. As three minutes thinking your child has disappeared can seem like a nightmarish eternity, it’s hard to even imagine what an hour must feel like. So why on earth would nobody have phoned the police for that long? Wouldn’t that be the very first thing you’d do? You’re searching an apartment, presumbly there’s a phone there……???
July 20th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
I agree with you, this man Murat seems to fit the “profile”. ie lonely git still living with his mother - of Course he must be dodgy!!!
RESULT!
July 20th, 2007 at 8:52 pm
You could well be right, Rosita, but it’s hard not to get the feeling Murat is about to be charged with Madeleine’s abduction whether he’s guilty or not and whether or not Madeleine is found. Which would be heartbreaking for the parents - a breakthrough of sorts but still no Madeleine - and potentially devastating for Murat if he is in fact innocent.
July 20th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
Anne, no police in the world would discuss with outsiders the progress of their investigations and the Mccanns are outsiders.Investigations are always kept highly secret.I don’t believe the PJ discusses it with Madeleine’s parents and even not with Scotland Yard. If the Mccanns stayed two hours with the police today( really long) or yesterday, it is high probable that they were submit again to interrogations. Last week(or this week) two people of the party went to Algarve to be questioned.Maybe they came up with something new they had forgotten before, and the police had to check the story with the Mccanns. -Every person who was that night in the resort was in principle a suspect.It is always like that.We know about Murat because the media started with the story.His life became hell. Who knows the PJ have a dozen of suspects about whom they will not tell . The less we know, the better for the PJ.
July 20th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Correction: one slip-up could help give the game away if they were lying. You’re not likely to forget what you ate or saw on TV on what turned out to be such a momentous night for you.
July 20th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
Just thought of a totally obvious thing the PJ could have done but maybe haven’t? Like ask both Robert and Jenny Murat independently what they had for supper that night? And what they watched on television? OK if they’re lying they had time to match their stories, but one slip-up could help give the game away if they weren’t…