Madeleine McCann: ‘Bad Dad’ Gerry McCann, The Psychic Barber And Drugs
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann.
DAILY EXPRESS front page: “Madeleine was drugged but it was by kidnapper says her grandmother.”
Page 9: “Madeleine’s family: She was drugged…but not by parents.”
Eileen McCann, Gerry’s mother – says: “I really believe they [whoever took her] gave her a drug. There is no way they carried her out of there without her waking. If she was taken when she was sleeping by somebody she did not know, she would have screamed the place down.”
Alternatively, she was taken by someone she did know? Or Mrs McCann is just speculating.
“’BAD DAD’ GERRY” – Carlos Anjos, head of the Portuguese Police Federation, says Gerry, “a heart consultant”, is a “negligent father”. This is his “astonishing rant”.
THE SUN front page: “Mystics hunt for Maddie.”
Around 150 leads provided by mystics have been followed up.
Page 6: “ASK PSYCHIC BARBER TO HELP FIND MADDIE” – Clairvoyant Gordon Smith has been contacted by the family. Smith hosts TV’s Most Haunted show. He says he can tell if Madeleine is alive or dead. Mick is nicknamed “THE PSYCHIC BARBER”.
DAILY MIRROR front page: “McCANNS: SHE WAS DRUGGED.”
Page 5: “‘Madeleine must have been drugged..she would have screamed place down’” – GRANDMOTHER EILEEN McCANN YESTERDAY.”
“Couple call on psychic to help” – Ex-hairdresser Smith is a “wacky medium”.
Says he: “In order for it to work I need to sit with the closest relatives who would be the parents. Then I’d tune in and see what I can pick up. But I would always warn them that there’s a possibility nothing might happen.”
Best to warn them of that first…
DAILY MAIL page 5: “Now police leader mocks ‘negligent’ Gerry McCann over his fears that an abductor was in Maddie’s room.”
“Call for the ‘psychic barber’” – “Despite both being strict Roman Catholics, the couple have already made contact” with Gordon Smith.
DAILY STAR front page: “MADDIE I’LL FIND BODY IN DAYS. Parents call in psychic.”
Page 7: “MADDIE’S PARENTS CALL FOR PSYCHIC BARBER” – “I have offered my help for free,” says Smith. “I never charge for private readings. I have already assured them I will say nothing to the press.” Indeed, not. Best save it for the book.
DAILY TELEGRAPH page 15: “Police chief accuses McCanns of hindering inquiry” – Carlos Anjos accuses McCanns of using “diversion tactics”.
THE TIMES page 27: “McCanns ‘considering psychic help’”
THE GUARDIAN no Maddie new today.
Madeleine McCann: A Life In Headlines
Posted: 2nd, October 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (1,268) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
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October 2nd, 2007 at 9:34 pm
845 “Mark now runs a specialist child protection & risk management consultancy” - he ought to have a word with K & G as they seem to need his advice.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:34 pm
840. Rose your comments don’t “offend” me they puzzle me as they are (I reiterate) not connected to the subject of this thread which is:
DAILY EXPRESS front page: “Madeleine was drugged but it was by kidnapper says her grandmother.”
Page 9: “Madeleine’s family: She was drugged…but not by parents.”
Eileen McCann, Gerry’s mother – says: “I really believe they [whoever took her] gave her a drug. There is no way they carried her out of there without her waking. If she was taken when she was sleeping by somebody she did not know, she would have screamed the place down.”
Alternatively, she was taken by someone she did know? Or Mrs McCann is just speculating.
“’BAD DAD’ GERRY” – Carlos Anjos, head of the Portuguese Police Federation, says Gerry, “a heart consultant”, is a “negligent father”. This is his “astonishing rant”.
THE SUN front page: “Mystics hunt for Maddie.”
Around 150 leads provided by mystics have been followed up.
Page 6: “ASK PSYCHIC BARBER TO HELP FIND MADDIE” – Clairvoyant Gordon Smith has been contacted by the family. Smith hosts TV’s Most Haunted show. He says he can tell if Madeleine is alive or dead. Mick is nicknamed “THE PSYCHIC BARBER”.
DAILY MIRROR front page: “McCANNS: SHE WAS DRUGGED.”
Page 5: “‘Madeleine must have been drugged..she would have screamed place down’” – GRANDMOTHER EILEEN McCANN YESTERDAY.”
“Couple call on psychic to help” – Ex-hairdresser Smith is a “wacky medium”.
Says he: “In order for it to work I need to sit with the closest relatives who would be the parents. Then I’d tune in and see what I can pick up. But I would always warn them that there’s a possibility nothing might happen.”
Best to warn them of that first…
DAILY MAIL page 5: “Now police leader mocks ‘negligent’ Gerry McCann over his fears that an abductor was in Maddie’s room.”
“Call for the ‘psychic barber’” – “Despite both being strict Roman Catholics, the couple have already made contact” with Gordon Smith.
DAILY STAR front page: “MADDIE I’LL FIND BODY IN DAYS. Parents call in psychic.”
Page 7: “MADDIE’S PARENTS CALL FOR PSYCHIC BARBER” – “I have offered my help for free,” says Smith. “I never charge for private readings. I have already assured them I will say nothing to the press.” Indeed, not. Best save it for the book.
DAILY TELEGRAPH page 15: “Police chief accuses McCanns of hindering inquiry” – Carlos Anjos accuses McCanns of using “diversion tactics”.
THE TIMES page 27: “McCanns ‘considering psychic help’”
THE GUARDIAN no Maddie new today.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:32 pm
Anorak
Congratulations on your mention on Sky News this evening - you’re famous!! It seems that Martin Brunt is indeed a closet fan of yours. You showed great foresight in starting the “watching the parents” thread in the middle of May - it’s really put you on the map.
Judith C
You are spot on. if the McCanns want to leave “no stone unturned” then this should mean that they “leave no question unanswered.” There are plenty that agree on here, such as Tony Bennett and Batman.
Tony Bennett - if you are a lawyer, can you list the circumstances in which a lawyer would advise the parents of an abducted child to give “no comment” answers to the police. I imagine those circumstances would include there being some harmful evidence against the parents and a feeling on the lawyer’s part that it would be a good idea to stall/test/obstruct the police. If the parents were innocent and there was no evidence against them, is it conceivable that the lawyer would still advise them to give “no comment” answers given that the police are the trying to help them find the child?
I’ll probably get some smart question from a troll as happened last time but what the hell.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:31 pm
836. I’m glad you aprpeciated it Jolie. I try to keep my eyes open for interesting articles in hopes that I might find a glimmer of truth.
Mark’s bio from the Guardian: http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/mark_williamsthomas/profile.html
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:31 pm
715 mother goose
“dont take this the wrong way but are you on drugs my dear?”
Well then she should take it the right way and treat it as stupid personal attack from someone probably switching ID’s like a 7yr old. Its past your bedtime, you should leave.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:30 pm
827 Stevo
Not being British, can you explain to me what ‘hoodie culture’ means?
In the US, a hoodie is a hooded sweatshirt that mostly teenagers like to wear.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:28 pm
827. That might be true but I don’t have evidence PJ are any better or any worse at investigating mysterious crimes than UK police. Unless one takes the massive desparing statistics into account then the UK police should run a ship shape ship. They’ve got hundreds of thousands of missing cases per year whereas Portugal less than 40 last year.
Practise makes perfect.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:28 pm
839 Stevo
“don’t know enough about Amaral to comment to be honest. From what I hear, I think the guy is most likely innocent.”
From what you hear?? Can you verify that with a few links for us Stevo? I am very curious about your sources.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Sorry anonymus 829 if it does offend you but as you say what you think i say what i know .
Now if this is too much for you to cope that kate middleton does voodoo on prince william , again sorry and you are absolutely free not to beleive .
I didnt invent any sordid situation , it is said that is real so i trust this info .
But this doesnt offend me so much as it does for you .
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:25 pm
818 - Andy
Yeah it was a bit strong….and unreasoned. My humourous comparison with Jack Regan backfired. But like I always say, I’ll hold up my hands if I’m wrong.
I don’t know enough about Amaral to comment to be honest. From what I hear, I think the guy is most likely innocent.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:25 pm
832. Sunny, Don’t you have another trick for the evening? I’m not usually a snob but I just cannot meet anyone who cannot bother to capitalise words or write whole sentences if their first language is English.
My post was a comment on the way you constantly say you are going yet remain. That’s all. No biggie and no need to respond in your childlike scrawl.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:24 pm
831
I couldn’t agree with you more.
I don’t think there is more corruption in Portugal than elsewhere.
But in this particular case at this particular time what has been going on with Amaral is not helping the Portuguese police at all.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:23 pm
819 Anonymous
Thanks for posting that article. How interesting! Someone whose company has a contract with the McCanns (oops! no, says Mark Williams-Thomas, I didn’t mean contract, I meant I spoke with the McCanns’ PR people–that’s all) thinks the PJ should just drop the case against the McCanns. I’m so surprised!
Thanks for posting that information.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:21 pm
829
Did you have a question for me?
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:21 pm
828. Rose with all due respect I was joking. Your comments here, while interesting, are not at all, not even in the littlest bit, related to the subject. I know someone named “Magda” brought this subject up long ago and from another galaxy and I am not against side conversations but this one is not even remotely related to Madeleine McCann’s investigation unless you have information that Kate and Gerry are a part of an occult group which engages in wild sex orgies and human sacrifice - if you have the goods on the last part I’m all ears. (JOKING MCCANN MINIONS.)
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:21 pm
792 “But something tells me they will walk out of this one…” - I think you are right. What a sad day that will be. They should be charged in Portugal with child neglect. In Britain, they should the BMA should strike them off - having no concern about the health and welfare of their own offspring, how can they be trusted to care about their patients? Kate may look like a million dollars for the rest of her life, and Gerry may bounce around from one TV studio to the next with a smug smile on his face; they may have Gordon Brown by the short and curlies for all I know. But they will never be at peace, unlike their daughter. One way or another, their selfishness is responsible for whatever has happened to Maddy. They will have to live with that, and, if they are hiding something, that secret will start to stink worse than a dead body in a hot climate and they will live in fear that someday, somewhere, someone will sniff around and dig it up.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:20 pm
826.
don’t get your post. Again would you like to meet because you keep commenting on my posts and last night you wrote a very strong post about how you would never post about my comments again. I know a great italian restaurant, lets meet sweetie pie.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:20 pm
787 - Wendy. Wasn’t one of the British police officers involved with the Soham/Ian Huntley case also suspended (for being a paediphile or something??). There is corruption in almost all institutions worldwide. Just look at the Church for another example!
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:20 pm
God help anyone in a trial with Stig, Sunny, and Maura in the jury. If you notice any of those three with a newspaper tucked under their arms, you know your fate would be in the hands of the tabloids!
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:18 pm
824. They demoted him. So what? Somehow you missed the information in post 819? When researching what the UK media are spoon feeding you, you never once came across other articles like the one I posted?
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Well it is reported that Kate Middleton ( the on-off girlfriend of Prince William )paid a huge amount to witchcraft and voodoo on Prince William .
Evebody loves him but she doesnt and that what she said to close sourses.
I have heard about this many times so why not beleive the people who saw it .
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:15 pm
762 - Jolie
I know…but back in the 70s and before then, in the UK they had public information films on TV. I know a lot of them look cheesy now but with slick production etc. they could be a good tool to sandwich into the adverts on Coronation Street. Equally, in 1984, the UK government didn’t waste time getting an AIDS campaign out to every household in the UK using John Hurt in a disturbing TV ad and printing millions of leaflets. Likewise with the Millenium Bug.
Governments can educate the public but they don’t. No wonder there’s a hoodie culture.
But having said all that, do the McCanns watch Coronation Street and if so, would they heed the advice on a public information film? I doubt it.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:15 pm
822. Why not say “How do you do?” And leave?
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Oaky, I am becoming more convinced - even though I like the idea of the stranger abduction - it appears that the more plausible theory so far is that the parents are responsible.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:14 pm
802
I quote:
“Wendy you are basing your own judgment of PJ on hearsay”.
The latest development with Amaral is certainly not hearsay.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:13 pm
If the McCanns are innocent of everything (apart from neglect) then they, their friends and family have done a really good job of making them and other members of the T9 appear shifty characters.
Portuguese and British police think that something is not right in the abduction scenario - getting the details in order to prove what they suspect will take time.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:13 pm
799, agree with you there.
Who in their right mind in this forum, whether you support the McCanns or not would willingly elect Amaral to investigate the disappearance of your child knowing that he has been charged with corruption in a previous missing child’s case. And not to mention the fact that the previous case was his first case and that Madeleine is only his second case. The man clearly does not have enough experience regarding such matters and if he had he would have handled the whole investigation with due diligence from the start. The guy should have been suspended and not allowed to investigate another case until the charges against him were dealt with.
Yes I am very happy, and I can now enjoy the rest of my evening.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:10 pm
808. Anonymous.
the main reason I have followed what is happening in this case is because of the degree of mind and opinion manipulation that has been apparent throughout…(not so much the tragic details of another poor victim, Madeleine to add to all those other innocent children who are suffering globally) because I am aware
. I personally try to resist pressure put on me by others to concede with their opinions…I like to make my own mind up. I have my own ‘gut’ feelings however, but wish to keep them to myself…no, I don’t accept that I am trying to be pc…I just don’t see the point of treading on toes for the sake of it.
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:10 pm
(809)
The Real Stig Says:
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:58 pm
594 ian
“So, Mccann fans, tell me this, if Madeleine had not been left alone that night whilst their parents went ‘dining’, would we be discssuing her now? Yes or no?”
No, but if the McCanns hadn’t desperately wanted a child and gone to the trouble of IVF she would never have been - period.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Real Stig: Have you never heard of designer babies?
October 2nd, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Mark Williams-Thomas, a former policeman and managing director of WT Associates, a PR company specialized in child protection, media handling and advice for high profile cases, urged Portuguese police to ditch the case against the McCann – a case that he classified as “ludicrous” - and follow another lead that he thinks could take PJ to the real kidnapper.
The managing director of PR company WT Associates, who is usually introduced to Sky News viewers only as a “child protection expert” or “crime expert”, criticised Polícia Judiciária for not paying attention to “such a strong line of inquiry”. The PR expert referred that, even if “over 90% of murders are domestic-related”, he can’t “accept that Gerry and Kate as parents of the child could have been involved in her murder.”
For the managing director of WT Associates, “the answer to the case may lie in the disappearance of an eight-year-old Portuguese girl in 2004.” Joana Cipriano vanished from a village just seven miles from Praia da Luz, where Madeleine disappeared.
Leonor Cipriano and her brother, who had a incestuous relationship, were both sentenced to 16 years in jail, after appealing to Portuguese Supreme Court, for the murder of Joana Cipriano. Her body never appeared, but blood found inside the family’s refrigerator and the confession of Joana’s uncle were sufficient to convince the jury. Her case has been referred, by the British Media, in what seems to be an attempt to discredit Portuguese Police, comparing it with Madeleine’s case.
Leonor Cipriano, who never confessed the crime, accused five CID officers of beating her. Later, she was not able to identify none of the five officers, when she was taken to a police line-up, behind a two-way mirror. The Public Prosecutor’s Office decide to charge the five CID officers ASFIC, the CID inspectors union filled a formal complaint against the Public Prosecutor’s magistrate, because he didn’t included in the case’s dossier the results of the police line up.
The fact that one of the officers accused in Chief-Inspector Gonçalo Amaral casts “huge doubt” to the managing director of WT Associates, who believes that Mr. Amaral should be ousted from the investigation of Madeleine’s case: “”Even if we work on the basis that he is innocent, given this allegation against him, he shouldn’t have anything to do with the Madeleine investigation”, the PR expert told to Sky News.
Questioned yesterday, September 14, about his business relationship, as a expert also in media handling and advice for high profile cases, Mr. Mark Williams-Thomas initially confirmed that his company had a contract to provide services to the McCann. Asked to confirm some details of that business relationship, he changed his initial answer and denied any relationship, admitting only that he has “been in contact with the press officers for the family.”
We asked also to Sky News if they were aware of the fact that Mr Mark Williams-Thomas was also the owner and managing director of a PR company, as Sky News has invited almost every day, to comment about Madeleine McCan’s case, introducing him only as a “child protection expert” or a “crime expert”. We are waiting for Sky News answer to those questions.
Duarte Levy (Rothley) and Paulo Reis (Sevilha)