Madeleine McCann: Duarte Levy, Clarence Mitchell And The Daily Mirror
DUARTE Levy writes on the case of Madeleine McCann. He alleges that that Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ PR adviser, is “using the Government’s services to keep watch on journalists and forum participants.” Says Mr Levy:
Clarence Mitchell, the McCann’s PR adviser and spokesman, continues to make use of the British government’s services despite having officially resigned from his position as director of the Media Monitoring Unit*. The accusation comes from a Home Office source who has stated that the outgoing director had called upon his former service to keep a watch not only on several journalists but also on the behaviour of participants in a list of forums and blogs considered to be “highly detrimental to the image of the McCanns and that of the British government”.
Can what Mr Levy alleges be true? And if it is, why would it be a big deal for the McCanns’ spokesman to keep an eye on the web, and get what help he can? Mr Levy continues:
Clarence Mitchell, a former journalist for the Daily Express and the BBC, was seconded by the Foreign Office to act as a liaison officer between the media and Madeleine’s parents. Through the intermediary of the respective British embassies, it was he who organised the McCann’s visits to the Vatican, Madrid, Berlin, Amsterdam and Rabat.
Since the very early days, media monitoring has been an important part of Clarence Mitchell’s work. While the McCann’s were in Praia da Luz, it was he who decided to separate journalists according to nationality: the British first, and the Portuguese last.
Today, the McCann’s PR campaign relies more than ever on monitoring public opinion: over the past few days several UK forums and blogs have been shut down due to “anti-McCann” comments. Amongst them is the Mirror newspaper’s forum, which erased all comments about the case without warning when the participants started to debate Home Office interference.
No response from Mr Mitchell is quoted in Mr Levy’s email to us. But why did the Daily Mirror close its forum? Anyone from those forums care to tell us what they know?
Anorak’s monitoring team try to read all reader comments - of which there are thousands.
Posted: 27th, January 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (741) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
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January 27th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
169
can’t say no
What do you mean? We talk about it, people are always complaining, it gets in the papers. Here’s the front page of the Detroit Free Press Newspaper. The Mayor is a disgrace.
Happy to say, I live in the suburbs of Detroit.
January 27th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
chenier, you have no idea what I think, you presume far to much, I believe, what is proven to be fact, if you wish to presume something else that is your prerogative.
January 27th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
170
chenier
Are the police be able to know wich CC is the true one ??
Only if they use the dogs ?’
January 27th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
168
Ade
There you are
Missed ya
Well ,they have Pinochet lawyer
January 27th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
160
Ade Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
afternoon all
————————–
You’ve missed some deeply moving and poignant stories.
My personal favourite was the news that Metodo 3’s operatives have all been given their own cuddlecats to squeeze in times of need.
Should they ever find the dastardly villain there’s unlikely to be a trial; he’ll have died laughing…
January 27th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
162
Sally
But at least we can talk about it
I mean what happens in the U.S.
January 27th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
165 can’t say no
it’s ok they speak spanish in chile
and they have nice dictators who employ extradition lawyers
January 27th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
148
Sledgehammer Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 11:55 am
————————
god really are a boring old fart. You keep asking anyone and everyone to provide evidence. You have not once provided any evidence of anything apart from your narrowmindedness,
so please stop boring everyone with your repetitive tosh…could you not go fishing or something
January 27th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Mods and Admin
And what an ugly albatross these not so ancient mariners have to relate
————————————————
They do indeed; it seems determined to hang around their necks, though…
January 27th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/2701_maddie.shtml
They wrote the Bio of Agostinho
BUT
Meanwhile, there was a bizarre new “sighting” of Madeleine reported last night—in Chile, South America.
Why bizarre ??
Oh forgot ,it as to be in Portugal ,Spain or North Africa
silly me
January 27th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
157
Logic Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
119
Chenier
I must be very ignorant then, but I am afraid I don’t believe there is any set way governments work. I think they do whatever they need to in the prevailing circumstances …..in order to save their own skins. I am not saying this is happening in this case, of course, just giving my general views. I don’t think letters are necessarily sent though.
——————————————
The Home Office is the government department dealing with law, public order, public safety, immigration, fire, passports, prisons and the police among others.
If an official in the Home Office had actually written to the Mirror Forum about this case it would be all over the main media, politicians would be queuing up to ask questions about it in the House of Commons, and providing interviews with anyone who would have them on this disgraceful breach of the Official Secrets Acts.
The Government is under heavy pressure because of security of information cock ups; a screw up like this would be manna from the gods.
And whilst you may not know this background, investigative journalists who have not been in solitary confinement for the last 3 months do know this.
Which is why I somewhat cynically wonder whether Clarrie is bunging the aforesaid journos…
January 27th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
It might be interesting to note that Hitler finally got his hands on power by ordering the burning down of the german parliament building (reichtag). He blamed it on a mentally deficient dutch communist (the communists were the nazi’s main enemies). This blatant act worked, newspapers ran the story, people were fooled, power was seized.
January 27th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
112
Ian
We are not so different. Our government gets away with quite a bit also. Google “Kwamie Kilpatrick”, Mayor of Detroit, he’s been duping the people of Detroit for years, and was reelected for another term after showing disgraceful behavior.
We are being taxed to death and benefits taken away, while government workers are overpaid and receiving more benefits. Our jobs are going overseas due to savings for big corporations.
Tell me, where is Utopia?
January 27th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
sledgehammer…..
blimey they’re after you today! personal attacks and all! And from what I can see from a quick flick through Cheryl got it in the neck last night….
again as Ade would say, such fun.
January 27th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
afternoon all
been away doing tunes for a few days.
has sleletor topped herself yet?
has the comical one changed his shirt?
wot’s tat on skeletor’s head in the piccy above?
a lantern hat?
we should be told before we all get bored to death with these odious shites
such fun to see them suffer
January 27th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
122 Anna (UK)
Regarding wanting to leave the UK, I have these feeling several times most days. There is little justice or fairness here any more and I find life a real struggle just trying to avoid being legally robbed of everything. The various shifts in the economy from time to time ensure that the money goes into the hands of fewer and fewer people and with it the power. Because of the relative affluence of the majority of people today as compared to, say, 30 years ago, people feel that the wealth is better distributed because they feel better off. But I believe this is an illusion - we have less real say in what goes on at the present time than for a very long time.
January 27th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
148
Sledgehammer Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 11:55 am
‘the point of view is very simple, innocent until proven otherwise’
——————————————-
If you really believed that then you would be outraged at Clarrie’s contortions and the News of the World’s antics about the gentleman who lives in Altura.
But you are perfectly happy to see an innocent man dragged in front of the press to be accused of involvement in the kidnapping of one or more children, without even a murmur of protest from you.
I think you are lying.
I think you are perfectly happy to see anyone traduced provided that person isn’t part of Team McCann….
January 27th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
119
Chenier
I must be very ignorant then, but I am afraid I don’t believe there is any set way governments work. I think they do whatever they need to in the prevailing circumstances …..in order to save their own skins. I am not saying this is happening in this case, of course, just giving my general views. I don’t think letters are necessarily sent though.
January 27th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
152
jo
Good day.
Just have to say, I don’t think anyone really gets away with evil deeds, sooner or later their conscience catches up with them——————if they have a conscience.
January 27th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I’m off for Sunday lunch. I wish those in the same time zone “bon appetit”
January 27th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Ah.
Having read the News of the World article I can see why IncreasinglyIncredulous has his/her knickers in a twist.
‘Later, laughing nervously and looking bewildered in front of Portuguese TV cameras, he held a press conference outside his favourite bar, the Snack Bar Aliha at 5pm.’
Not looking good on the evil villain front then…
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/2701_maddie.shtml
January 27th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Sledgehammer, you sound like a broken record
January 27th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Sally
Yes.I know….this is a new never ending story about a little child.I am disgusted,sad and start having no faith in people and justice…if i ever had!
I must fix my computer.Cant paste & copy….nor open links I have saved.
C u soon
January 27th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
112 Ian
If you mean that all this business of carbon footprints and separating the plastic from the paper is a means by which the large corporates are robbing us, then I agree 100%. And it is partly the fault of the British people who are prepared to swallow all the sweet flavoured shit that is spooned to them!
January 27th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
149
jo Says:
Don’t you know not to believe the Sun newspaper? (IMO) gerry mc used to work there and when they said Madeleine was gone g mcc called the Sun before even calling the police. FACT
January 27th, 2008 at 11:56 am
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/maddie/article661209.ece
January 27th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Trismegistus, the point of view is very simple, innocent until proven otherwise, now if you have evidence to prove the otherwise part, it is not unreasonable to ask you to provide it. I won’t be expecting you to post any, also you still never backed up your statement, again I am not surprised.
—————–
Mods and Admin
Presumed innocent, and most peoples contempt is for the neglect of the children, where guilt has been ,albeit reluctantly, admitted.
January 27th, 2008 at 11:51 am
143
Sally Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 11:43 am
****************
We ALL want justice made to Madeleine.
January 27th, 2008 at 11:50 am
142
chenier Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 11:42 am
It would be nice if Team McCann could share their thoughts on these matters with us…
*****************+++
Shall we,Anorakians,organise a press conference,that is if they pay us?
(has the PJ received all the results for the DNA tests? i am looking for a link posted on 08/01/08)
January 27th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Now i really must go
Till latter