Madeleine McCann: Clarence Mitchell Speaks, Make Madeleine History And Breastfeeding
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann.
DAILY MAIL pages 10 and 11: “Madeleine cried for 18 hours a day. Kate tells of the special bond forged in the painful days of early childhood.”
Kate McCann is speaking with Portuguese magazine Flash!. This interview took place before Kate McCann was named as a suspect in Madeline’s disappearance. Kate says the first six months with Madeleine were “very difficult”. Madeleine had colic. “I had to carry her around permanently,” says Kate.
What does it mean, this interview that has “emerged”? That what you tell magazines can be taken out of context and used in evidence against you, or something else?
THE TIMES page 9: “McCanns go straight to the top in search for powerful backers.”
Gordon Brown is being kept abreast of the investigation on Kate and Gerry McCann, possibly by reading the British press and watching the news bulletins.
(Is any MP still wearing a yellow ribbon?)
The McCanns have a new spokesman. He’s called Clarence Mitchell. He resigned as head of the Government’s Media Monitoring unit to take this new post.
Mr Mitchell once offered: “There’s a whole level of debate taking place online which simply didn’t exist before and departments feel they need to be fully engaged in that.”
Look out for Kate’s blog.
DAILY MIRROR front page: “THE TIDE TURNS.”
“McCanns WON’T be ordered back to Portugal says Judge”
“Gordon Brown briefed on the case”
“New spokesman will declare Gerry and Kate innocent today”
Clarence Mitchell says: “They have nothing whatever to do with Madeleine’s disappearance.” And as the McCann’s new spokesman he should know.
Pages 4 and 5: “RAY OF HOPE.”
Madeleine has not been found but Kate and Gerry McCann will not have to fly back to Portugal for more questioning.
On the downside sales of the “Look for Madeleine” wristband are not going well in Portugal. In “LOCALS REJECTS ‘FIND HER’ BRACELETS,” this year’s Make Poverty History band is being turned down at a car boot sales in Praia da Luz.
Says one ex-pat: “It’s as if they want to forget something so horrible happened.” Or buy something less with their money?
Says another: “We can’t understand how they can carry on jogging after losing Madeleine. Gerry went to a hairdressers a few weeks after she disappeared and continued tennis lessons. The Portuguese feel they should b hysterical.” But not the British, who understand reserve…
THE SUN front page: “MADDIE COPS SLAPPED DOWN. KATE BACKED BY JUDGE. Mum won’t be hauled back to Portugal.”
Judge Pedro Anjos Frias rejected Portuguese police calls for the McCanns to return. “He is thought to have ruled the case to flimsy to justify the move.” Or, to put it another way, he has not received sufficient evidence to be convinced of the need for a trial.
Pages 4 and 5: “COPS CASE COLLAPSING.”
And: “McCanns tell Brown: We have solid defence.” Gordon Brown’s reaction to this news is not known.
THE INDEPENDENT page 32: Thomas Sutcliffe says the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been “yoked by journalists to another kind of story – the primal faction of fairytale”. Here “the beautiful child is swallowed by something that has emerged from the dark”.
It is, is it not, every child’s worst nightmare.
Page 4: “Kate McCann ‘will not be reinterviewed in Portugal’.”
DAILY EXPRESS front page: “MADELEINE POLICE CASE FALLS APART.”
“Judge refuses to recall the McCanns”
“Impossible to detect sedatives in hair”
“But slurs against the parents continue”
Slurs?
Pages 8 and 9: “My struggles to control Madeleine – BY KATE MCCANN.”
As told to Flash! magazine. The twins arrive. “The worst thing is that she started to demand lots of attention, especially when I was breastfeeding them.”
DAILY STAR front page: “MADDIE ALL SEVEN McCANN PALS IN FRAME.” The seven dwarves, to continue Mr Sutcliffe’s analogy?
“Cops set to name them as suspects.”
Pages 6 and 7: “BRIT PALS ALL SUSPECTS.”
The Tapas 9 are in the frame. This will put the lid – the tapas – on the case. Right?
“Maddie cops jet to UK as group face grilling” – Portuguese police are “planning” to come to the UK to continue the investigation. British police will conduct interviews.
DAILY TELEGRAPH page 8: “McCanns to be interviewed by British police.”
Kate and Gerry are also keen to reach Gordon Brown. A source tell the paper: “The McCanns do not expect help or influence to be exerted on their behalf but want to get messages to the very top that they are innocent.”
Does Brown read the Telegraph?
THE GUARDIAN page 35: “Never mind the high street: Branson sells his Virgin Megastores.”
No mention of Madeleine McCann, granted, but this news one day after Branson pledged to help the parents clear their names looks like interesting timing?
Posted: 18th, September 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (1,047) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
September 18th, 2007 at 11:12 am
171 Impressed……since you do not what happened in the dream you can’t know if you want to be involved. If you must know, I dreamt some one broke into my house and I stabbed them a lot with a nail file, kitchen scissors and bread knife whilst yelling to Mr SSS to come and save me!!
Still want to be in my dreams?!
September 18th, 2007 at 11:10 am
that Jane Tanner looks a bit dodgy if you ask me, not the kind of face I would like to leave my kids with
http://bp0.blogger.com/_sEVm4vYn3gU/Ru-R13KwK_I/AAAAAAAAFag/c0xeBgNMgpM/s1600-h/mccannES_468×495.jpg
September 18th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Finally some sensible reaction from Portugal:
dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=482337&in_page_id=1770
Portuguese police chief: ‘I’m fed up with McCanns interfering in Madeleine inquiry’
Last updated at 10:58am on 18th September 2007
A senior police officer investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has launched an astonishing attack on her parents for jeopardising the inquiry.
He accused Kate and Gerry McCann, both official suspects in the case, of interfering with “constant interruptions and distractions”.
The tirade from a senior Portuguese inspector, speaking on condition of anonymity, follows the revelation that Gordon Brown has been approached by Mr McCann to intervene on their behalf in the case.
….
He said: “The Portuguese police are not happy with the constant interruptions in this case. It is amazing to me that people in high positions are getting involved.
“I can’t think of any case in Portugal where this has happened. Doesn’t Gordon Brown have a job to do? Why is he getting involved in a police investigation? We have a job to do and need space in which to do it.”
He added: “Under Portugese law, the McCanns are innocent until proven guilty, so there’s no need for all of this.”
September 18th, 2007 at 11:10 am
168 ~ SSS … seems like you need some time away from anorak… its bad enough this case occupying waking hours … but when it interferes with sleep… then thats the time to start worrying…. unless of course your dream involved me…. in which case dream away…
September 18th, 2007 at 11:09 am
I’ve just come back from Tuesday mass - it was hardly mentioned, but I think the consensus is : Poor Madeleine, what is all this publicity about?
When I think about why Kate and Gerry are famous I loath them - esp Gerry - to even appear to be enjoying the spotlight while your 3 year old is missing (probably raped and murdered) is disgusting.
When I just think of them as the new middle-aged Posh and Becks then I think she’s quite pretty, he’s a prat.
What really bugs me is the crappy press and their sickening prose and their stupid headlines and their democracy-bashing bias.
September 18th, 2007 at 11:08 am
why did comical ali leave the campaign, is she in the same boat as inspector clueso, knows too much perhaps
September 18th, 2007 at 11:06 am
Toni, I don’t know if my instinct is correct, time will tell, but I had a very odd dream last night. Still trying to figure out what it meant, if anything. Am thinking of keeping a dream diary and seeing if these dreams mean anything.
I thought the Bryan Adams song had been taken off the website?
September 18th, 2007 at 11:06 am
Macien, Durban, rossburgh ?? Congella, yes I get the drift now well I am from Kloof so I guess that counts me out.
September 18th, 2007 at 11:05 am
In theory, if Madeleine doesn’t turn up, it is likely the PR effort is only offering exposure to who these people really are as well as the rest of the people who are contributing to what will be an obvious cover up. PR exposure.
September 18th, 2007 at 11:04 am
How come Gerry McCann claims “we are fighting for our lives”. Do they have the death penalty in Portugal or is it a case of more exagerrated histrionics encouarged by his spin doctors? How come they didn’t hire Alistair Campbell, fund not quite big enough for a real big hitter? Or did he turn them down?
September 18th, 2007 at 11:03 am
on a more serious note….. whilst we are stuck in this news vacuum…for those of you who have not visted go to:
http://gazetadigital.blogspot.com/ ~ this guy Paulo Reis is well informed and researches his stories fully…. now that the more gullible elements of the xenophobic media have been taken over by TprMcc, if you want balanced reporting of this heinous crime [sorry sir clarence i realise plagiarism is the lowest form of wit] then Paulo Reis is your man. Proof positive out there that not all journalists are dim witted gullible fools.
September 18th, 2007 at 11:00 am
157. Moderation, I would agree with your interpretation and not really read too much into what she said. Although, maybe a trained psychologist could detect something else, I don’t know.
However, I am afraid that even if she was being stalked it was not a fait accompli that she would be snatched until they neglegently left her a sitting duck.
Anyway, regardless of whether it would have happened or not, leaving young children alone is wrong.
September 18th, 2007 at 10:58 am
moderation do you think they are guilty of neglect?
September 18th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Toni….. think Troyville and Benoni and so on fro Chavs. Or in CT think Woodstock,Maitland Salt River etc…..
September 18th, 2007 at 10:56 am
149 and a fool and his money …….bit like mc Branson
September 18th, 2007 at 10:56 am
148. I was wondering the same. How come this happened under other circumstances and not because the children were left alone? I understand that is the very nuclear that the theory and the defence rely on, that the leaving the kids alone opened the way for the abductor to act.
September 18th, 2007 at 10:55 am
It has become a routine line of inquiry in child murder investigations since the case of Beverley Allitt, the hospital nurse who killed four children in 1991.
Allitt was convicted in 1993 on 13 charges of murder and causing grievous bodily harm.
Those suffering from the condition often have a high knowledge of medical practice.
In the context of this case however, the suggestion was being seen as another attempt to blacken the McCann name and put the couple under pressure.
In the interview, Mrs McCann insisted that she and her husband were “truly responsible parents” and had committed no crime.
Speaking of the night Madeleine disappeared, she said: “I was sure immediately that she didn’t walk out of that room.
“I never doubted that she had been taken by someone.
“I went through a phase of guilt for not knowing what happened to her. I blamed myself for thinking that the place was safe.
“But the certainty that we are truly responsible parents has helped me carry on.
“I know that what happened is not due to the fact of us leaving the children asleep. I know it happened under other circumstances.”
Asked about whether the decision to leave them meant she and her husband were responsible for their daughter’s disappearance, she said: “It cannot be considered a crime.
“Someone committed one, but not us.”
September 18th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Seymours Law…. what she meant before the double translation is allegedly what others think…. (including me)
Spotted… stalked…. snatched. Off to Spain before the PJ even arrived on the scene.
September 18th, 2007 at 10:53 am
If allegations are true and the McCanns know Madeleine is dead and they continue a find Madeleine campaign no doubt they deserve each other. After reading an article about Clarene, the new spokesperson, my thought is if the allegations are true and the McCanns know Madeleine is dead then there is no better person than Clarence for a threesome with them. He would appear to fit right in perfectly.
I do not know what happened to Madeleine. That is only my opinion if the McCanns know what happened to Madeleine.
September 18th, 2007 at 10:53 am
148
Its bizzare !!!!!!!!!!!!
GM keep control of her
September 18th, 2007 at 10:52 am
Any truth they’re replacing Bryan Adams song with “Every Breath You Take” by the Police? Maybe the PJ should commission a website and upload all their findings. Oh that’s not the done thing though is it? Yet again, one rule for the McPossiblyguiltys and one rule for the poor PJs.
September 18th, 2007 at 10:52 am
If it were one of mine, then the door would have been locked, and I would have been at home.
But if the child was abducted despite all that, I would call the police and answer everything truthfully and do my best to recall everything that happened. If there was a law that prohibited me from speaking out about the case, then I would remain quiet when asked by the media.
If, a few weeks later, the police came back and started asking me questions like “have you ever lost your temper with your children?” and “do you ever lose control when you drink too much?” then I would refuse to answer any questions at least until I was able to consult with my lawyer.
September 18th, 2007 at 10:51 am
147 ~ SSS… i must come clean … I cannot lie [are you watching K&G] you have forced me to unmask myself… I am
clarence mccmitchell…… i only told you to resign so i could claim the job for myself…… but fear not oh great anorak warrior…. i sahll dedicate the book to you
lots of love… sir CM kiss kiss kiss
September 18th, 2007 at 10:51 am
148 - is this definitely what she said or was it translated into portuguese for the papers, then back into english for ours?
Because if it is what she said then it’s very suspicious indeed….
September 18th, 2007 at 10:50 am
The investigation may not be compromised by the massive media coverage or by lobbying important politicians, may it. This is not a political or PR issue but all about a missing child and child neglect, potentially involving criminal acts. So the investigation may not possibly be carried down til there are solid evidence and answers. It’s unbearable to think that UK politicians could be led by lobbying to trying to affect the course of the investigation and a possible trial. Would that be any better than to have the Portuguse polica bad and corrupted, as is often being repeated. In the end, they apparently gave everything to solve the Madeleine case, despite limited financial and other resources.
September 18th, 2007 at 10:48 am
142 ~ Toni… I’d read that…cheesy yes… but mark my words.. sir clarence is no fool….
September 18th, 2007 at 10:47 am
“I know that what happened is not due to the fact of us leaving the children asleep.
I know it happened under other circumstances.”
What on earth does this mean? Does it mean that, even if she hadn’t been left alone, “it” would have happened? Does it mean that when “it” happened, they hadn’t left her alone (they were there)? This is a really strange thing to say. If she knows that, she knows what the circumstances were and she’s obviously not telling. Or has she gone completely mad?
September 18th, 2007 at 10:46 am
135 Impressed
I KNEW giving up that PR job was a bad move, but I listened to YOUR bad advice. I could have had that book deal
If you had to live in Liverpool, then you too would leap at the chance of going to London, you would probably PAY the Mc’s to let you go!
(Apologies to any Scousers, but you must admit, Liverpool is getting grim nowadays - well, some parts!)
September 18th, 2007 at 10:46 am
So much for the authorities saying we need to get parents to take more responsibilty for thier children … in my oppinion it says it all if two highly educated doctors can leave children under school age alone in the evening. It will be ineteresting to see what would happen if some not so educated parents take the same approach as the mccanns …after all they keep telling us how loving/caring/doting these parents are… so much for LEAD BY EXAMPLE !!!!!!
September 18th, 2007 at 10:46 am
# SSS Says:
September 18th, 2007 at 9:49 am
62 Seymour Laws was saying a similar thing yesterday. He felt that “chavs” were more likely to think that Teflon 2 guilty than those who are not “chavs”. This was apparently based on an informal grilling, sorry polling, of people he knew.
Seymour spends most of his time here trying to assume the role of upper class, and his legal knowledge .I am very upper class and have 4 kids..I take my staff on holidays, to take care of the kids when we want to go party. And I am suspicious of McCann’s story. SL is guilty of stereotyping about something he obviously has little idea of.All our pals are “upper” and they are horrified and skeptical too.SL is hiding behind a class war that happens to suit his agenda.