Madeleine McCann: Spies, Richard Branson PI And Maddy TV
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann.
DAILY EXPRESS front page: “MADELEINE. SPY-IN-SKY PLAN TO FIND HER KIDNAPPER.”
So she was kidnapped. Wasn’t she?
“Satellite and aerial footage as well as internet traffic should be used to help the hunt,” say “intelligence experts”, including Professor Anthony Glees, Director of Brunel University’s Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies. Security is his thing.
Pages 4 and 5: “Riddle of the McCanns’ day out” – Why did the McCanns go to Spain on August 3 and what did they do there? Clarence Mitchell says the TV cameras and journalists tracked their every move.
“Branson: They are innocent” – Richard Branson PI calls it a “grotesque nightmare”. He has donated £100,000 to help the McCanns clear their name. He says the McCanns have “the weight and support of Britain behind them”.
THE SUN front page: “OUTRAGE AS COPS CLAIM MADDIE ‘BURIED IN SPAIN’.”
Pages 6 and 7: “POLICE PROBE LOST 2 HOURS” – Police Claim the McCanns buried Madeleine during a “missing two hours” in Spain.
Kate and Gerry are “shattered”.
Says the Sun:
“SUSPICIOUS the trip was postponed from the day before – because Gerry had intestinal problems.
“’STRANGE’” that the couple from Rothley, Leics, chose to visit Spain on a national holiday, when the shops were shut.
“MYSTERIOUS that the McCanns racked up ‘unjustified mileage’ in their Renault Scenic – hired 25 days after Maddie disappeared.”
A source says a new ad campaign to find Madeleine will start in two weeks.
DAILY MAIL page 3: “Police use CCTV to map McCanns trips.”
As newspaper Correio de Manha reports, Spanish police have given their Portuguese counterparts CCTV footage “showing the Renault Scenic in places in Spain where there was ‘no reason’ for the couple to be.”
A TV series based on Madeleine McCann is being produced in Chile. Says Chilean newspaper El Mercurio: “The case is becoming a soap opera.”
DAILY MIRROR front page: “KATE IS SO FRAGILE. Fears for mum after latest blow.”
Kate McCann’s face is all over the front page. “The anguish is plain to see.” A friend hears that Madeleine had not been found in Morocco: “Kate is so fragile. She’s suffering a devastating disappointment.”
Page 5: “They suffered a devastating blow with the false alarm in Morocco. Kate has crashed.”
“COPS PROBE SPAIN TRIP.”
DAILY STAR pages 6 and 7: “MADDIE DUMPED IN SPAIN.” An “exclusive”.
THE TIMES page 16: Mick Hume says: “The line between investigation and emotive entertainment has disappeared.”
THE TELEGRAPH page 6: “Portuguese focus on McCanns’ Spain trip” – Clarence Mitchell says the McCanns are innocent.
THE GUARDIAN and THE INDEPENDENT: no Madeleine news today.
Posted: 28th, September 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (1,087) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
September 28th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
178: Stevo
Your “emotions” arguement is completely flawed. Do you not think K&G know how MOST people would act/look if they had lost a child i.e loads of tears, constantly breaking down, quivering lips etc. If they were really covering something then you would expect them to put on a normal “parents of an abducted child” act, would you not?
If I was guilty of something I would be constantly in tears etc not sitting there like an ice queen.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
326 patricia
But in the end there is no doubt
The awful truth - it will come out…
September 28th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Another thing
Remember a little girl was snatched from her mother after giving birth about 12 years ago in uk, she was returned after about 2 weeks having been taken by a woman who wanted a baby.
I saw an interveiw with the mother about 10 years later and she described how she never let her out of her sight for years after.
Wasn’t it the next day for the Mc Canns ?
September 28th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
if they held on to the poor childs corpse for those 3 months up to the third of August - they would have had to have kept her in a very dry but warm crypt of some sort (perhaps a sort of underground tomb) which would explain why there wasn’t any smell giving them away. funny how the portuguese church guy has suddenly disappeared. human remains placed in the right conditions can ‘mummify’ quite quickly - but only in hot climates, ie the mexican tombs - egyptian tombs (even without having to be embalmed - as long as the optimum conditions prevail). Should be easy for the right people to select the possible spots that she could’ve been hidden in and around luz.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
322. According to what I read last week the Portuguese legislature have abolished or markedly changed the secrecey laws already. However, due to the massive media interest and maybe for other reasons unnamed PJ have decided to continue with the McCann case under these laws.
It is my understanding PJ feel the McCanns are disrespectful of their laws and have disrupted the investigation by being so actively verbal whether directly or via Mitchell or unspecified “close” family/friends.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Another day of McCann PR
the sad result of a night at the bar
Why must people go through the day
sorting the spin and Clarence’s say
When, oh when will he ever learn
the public did much but now they are burned
September 28th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Anonymous- here, here! eg Kates interview, she looks down and says”she knows we love her”, when she was given the opportunity to be more direct to Madeleine. Given that Kate ,at that time supposedly, didn’t know where Madeleine was or what she could be enduring I would have thought it would have come from the heart ie mammy and daddy love you very much and we will find you. Even it that may be giving Madeleine false hope is that not better than no hope? I know people have on Anorak said that the Mcs may have been advised to tone it down as some abductors supposedly get off on the show of emotions . If it was my child I would want her to have hope and belief that mammy and daddy truly miss them and will get them back and not give two hoots about what advice I had been given about wearing my heart on my sleeve.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
317 312 et al.
Maybe the poor little mite didn’t say very much at all…
September 28th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
318 - Anonymous
Past tense is correct in talking about a newborn baby. Madeleine isn’t a newborn anymore. I think that’s what Kate probably meant. Nothing sinister in that.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
310. They could be involved.
But I think their government would intervene because our government is so interested in the case, if only to save international bad publicity.
They’re already changing their secrecy laws.
I thought it was Murat at first, then I thought it was the PJs, but then everything that makes me suspicious of the McCanns has come directly from the McCanns. And what kind of police force would be stupid enough to kidnap or cover-up the kidnap or frame the parents of a random tourist from a fairly upmarket resort?
September 28th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
314 - i work with a freind of the McC’s nanny - who did go to portugal twice following maddies dissapearance. She is still working chez McC, and has turned down at least one TV interveiw.
If I were her - I’d do exactly what she is doing - wait for it all to be over then ‘publish and be dammed’! If she’s clever then she’ll earn more than enough money to keep her from having to work as a Nanny for a while!!
September 28th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
314 steve
let’s launch a “Find the McNanny” appeal…
September 28th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
313 stevo
“Why then don’t the other Tapas 7 give a newspaper or TV interview about the events of May 3?”
Well they do indirectly through Mitchell, Auntie Phil, Uncle Tom Cobley and all…
September 28th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
308. Exactly!
Oh well Kate claims cuddle cat is Madeleine’s favorite toy. Kate said about her birth: “There she was - perfect. She was lovely. She had the most beautiful face.” (Notice past tense usage? Strange for a mother who claims she believes her child is still alive in all other interviews?)
September 28th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
312 - anonymous
I said to LL Cool J that I was surprised how little we knew about Madeleine. She then said it was strange how we never hear any audio of Madeleine.
We really know extremely little about Madeleine. All we have is a bunch of photos.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
re 190 “Dominic Lawson: Kate McCann, a victim of our emotional tyranny”
No it is probably Madeleine that was a victim of Kate Mccann’s emotional tyranny.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
9/11 ’survivor’ ditched from group over doubts
By Emma Henry and agencies
Last Updated: 9:25am BST 28/09/2007
A woman who claimed to have survived the September 11 terror attacks has been removed from her position as president of a survivors group after none of the details of her account could be verified.
9/11: The eager heroine who fell to earth
Tania Head claimed that she was badly burned on the 78th floor of the south tower when the second plane hit, that flames on her clothing were doused by a man who died trying to save others, and that a dying man handed her his inscribed wedding ring, which she later returned to his widow.
Tania Head talking to then-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.
She was saved, she said, but regained consciousness five days later only to learn that Dave, her husband or fiance, had died instantly in the north tower.
Multiple inconsistencies in her story emerged after the New York Times said it tried to interview her in recent weeks about her experiences to coincide with the sixth anniversary of the attack.
Head cancelled three scheduled interviews, citing her privacy and “emotional turmoil”. She refused to provide further details to corroborate her story.
On Tuesday, she told the newspaper she would not explain her silence but stressed she had not filed any claims with the government’s Victim Compensation Fund. “I have done nothing illegal,” she said.
The board of the nonprofit survivors’ organisation Survivors’ Network removed her as president and director this week.
The group’s secretary Elia Zedeno said Head “couldn’t or wouldn’t” verify or collaborate her story, and changed parts of her account to different board members of the network.
advertisementA statement on the group’s website read: “Tania Head is no longer associated with the World Trade Centre Survivors’ Network.
“Our organisation was created so that those affected by the terrorist attacks could help each other through crisis and its aftermath.”
Head’s lawyer, Stephanie Furgang Adwar, told The New York Times by e-mail, “With regard to the veracity of my client’s story, neither my client, nor I, have any comment.”
Ms Head has also stopped leading tours of the World Trade Centre site, where in the past she has shown around former New York City Mayor and Republican presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani and mayor Michael Bloomberg, telling them her story..
Jennifer Adams, the Tribute Centre’s CEO, said: “At this time, we are unable to confirm the veracity of Tania Head’s connection to the events of September 11.”
The New York Times reported that none of her claims had been verified and said Merrill Lynch & Company, where Ms Head told people she had worked, had no record of her employment.
The newspaper also reported that the family of the man with whom she claims she had a romantic relationship, who is a confirmed victim of the terror attacks, has never heard of her and discount details of her story.
No telephone listing exists for a Tania Head in New York City, and details she gave of her education could not be corroborated.
On the fifth anniversary of the attacks, Ms Head said: “It was like King Kong had come up and basically taken a chunk out of the north tower.
“Black smoke was billowing out into the blue sky.
“It was such a contrast, I’ll never be able to forget it.
“I hit the marble wall. When I came to I was in terrible pain, like a million needles were sticking in me at once. I realised that my back and my arm were burning. I couldn’t stand.
“For I while I had heard people around me asking for help, moaning and screaming.
“I managed to start crawling, over people who were burnt, who had lost body parts and blood. There were piles of people - it was pure carnage.”
She went on: “For me, and for New York, 9/11 was our worst day, and also our best day.
“Because that day the people here really shone through all the tragedy.”
She added: “It’s not about the death and destruction for us any more.
“We didn’t have a choice on 9/11 - somebody took that choice for us.
“But we choose what we do with it now.”
September 28th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
300 - matty
It’s the British nanny - Ms. Pennington. Employed by MW.
The McCanns nanny is another story. We never hear about her do we? I’m sure she’d have plenty to say.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
306 - Moderation
That’s stretching it a bit don’t you think? I mean…they weren’t told they were suspects until recently and they may not have been told that. We only hear that from papers.
The facts are that until you are named a suspect, and you reside in the UK, you can talk about it openly. Why then don’t the other Tapas 7 give a newspaper or TV interview about the events of May 3?
September 28th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
287. Very true Matty. As Brandonflours has remarked, “This is why we cannot fathom the McCanns.”
Another interesting aspect of the McCann’s parental persona of an alleged missing very young child is this:
Parents of abducted children (as the McCanns would like us to believe Madeleine is) use the media to communicate with their child. They do this because they love and miss their child. They hope their abducted child is either watching tv or within hearing range of a tv or radio and they wish to offer the child comfort, security and love. The powerful love they have for their child is recogniseable to anyone watching the drama unfold.
I have never once seen the McCanns look into the tv cameras and tell Madeleine they love her; miss her; are searching for her; will find her soon etc…..I have never heard them directly and simply say, ‘Madeleine we love you.’ Or any words of strength or comfort at all to Madeleine. I’ve never heard any loving or compassionate messages uttered to Madeleine on tv, radio or via the net.
The fact they have instead chosent to use the media as a way for them to become famous (or infamous whichever way the gavel may fall) and the way in which Gerry has freely narcissistically and without any delay announced his interest in “the politics” of the situation and how he and Kate are going to use their platform to bring awareness to all missing and exploited children’s cases is disturbing as it is mind boggling. Especially considering the UK media will not ask pertinent questions of this (alleged) grieving couple.
Oh and they have certainly used the media to proclaim their innocence ad nauseum.
Very little comes from their mouths about Madeleine herself. I think it was LL Cool J who mentioned the McCann’s haven’t even offered any video footage of Madeleine speaking!
If the McCanns are innocent as they claim I cannot help but wonder why they act as if they are guilty? Was there something else they were involved in they are afraid of PJ or press discovering about them?
September 28th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
310
do you not think in any way the police could have been involved?
after all you know it happens
September 28th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
301. Ben. There are so many miscarriages of Justice down in England, I wouldn’t know where to start.
For years a confession was enough to convict till the law either changed or Judges started using more discrimination.
Scots law is different. That’s why we’ve only had about 3 dubious cases in the past 100 years.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
297
thanks
I think they thought they were untouchable by then ! big mistake for gerry going of on his tour.
the lady doth protest me thinks is what the pjs were thinking
Also Rosemary did you read about the 9/11 woman ?
September 28th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Does anyone out there have more known facts about Madeleine than this?
1. We know her birthday (May 12) and that she is 4 yrs old.
2. We know her height (although I can’t find that on findmadeleine.com anymore)
Why is there no more about Madeleine than one useless and one useful piece of information?
September 28th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
303 like i say corruption-we have to look at it in this case
September 28th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Stevo, but all the ones who’ve spoken out are out of Portugal.
The Tapas group have all been told they may get called back and MW staff that are still there are tight-lipped.
If I knew I may get called back then I wouldn’t speak out.
But then maybe I’m just a wuss…
September 28th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
303 Interesting point karen. To go by the way the PJ is being painted as completely corrupt, I was subconsciously being sucked into the trap that the police in Blighty are 100% corrupt-free!
Shome mishtake Shurely…
September 28th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
on2u Says:
September 28th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Would love to believe that Madeleine was abducted. At least there would be hope. Is there any real evidence of this? Show me the evidence????
No there isn’t any evidence, I’ve always said its what I think. Other think differently. That’s what opinions are all about. I’ve tried to analyse and abduction is what I always come back to.
September 28th, 2007 at 2:38 pm
279. Ben. About a year or so after the Soham murders one of the investigating officers went to jail for downloading child porn. But Huntley is still guilty (or at least no one has challenged his conviction).
September 28th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
http://www.bild.t-online.de/BTO/news/2007/09/21/fall-madeleine/imagemap/imagemap,geo=2533040.html