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
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January 27th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
ask them why they wont take a polythingy ……..they never answer
they cant because there guilty
January 27th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
467
i know where have they all come from
January 27th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
454
Ciara-Louise Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
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you certainly enjoy the chase dont you?? Stop teasing me, come here i want you NOW
January 27th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
426
Remigius Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
417 Peter O
“INHUMANE” to be under a cloud of suspicion for so long?
Why is it “inhumane?”
It’s so easy to have the cloud removed–take a polygraph, answer the PJ’s questions, fully cooperate with the investigation.
Why haven’t the McCanns done so?
IN the JonBenet Ramsey case, Boulder, Colorado police investigated thousands of “leads,” hundreds of suspects (many named directly by the Ramseys themselves), and were able to strike most of these suspects off their list. Pretty soon, only the parents remained as suspects. Their whereabouts and behaviors on the night JonBenet was murdered were never fully explained. According to several good books written on the subject, including one by the lead police investigator, the Boulder DA felt there was insufficient hard evidence to ensure that a jury would find the Ramseys guilty, and so they refused to try them. The rationalization was that if the Ramseys (one or both) had murdered JonBenet, they were surely sorry they’d done it, they likely would not do it again, and the general public was not in danger from them.
Certainly not all places in the US would have concluded as the Boulder DA allegedly did. But Boulder was a small city with a VERY low crime rate, and the Ramseys were “bona fide millionaires.”
Is a similar rationale at work in Madeleine’s case?
_________________________
REPLY: You overlooked on fact in your reciting of the Ramsey case - by mistake I’m sure - there was DNA found on her that did NOT match anyone’s in the house!
January 27th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Gosh! The blind believers of the Holy Ones are out in force tonight!
But it must have been something to do with them, ironically that is if we are to believe them, as there could have been no abduction!
9:10 (Gerry looked down on Madeleine) to 9:10 (amended time Gerry says Tanner saw Madeleine in the arms of an abductor) simply isn’t sufficient time for a stranger to have abducted cuddle cat let alone a child!
Unless they werent as regular in checking her as they claim?
With that thought, I must away! Good night all.
Special goodnight to the wanna be lawyer sledgehammer!
January 27th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
461
Totje Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
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exactly
January 27th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
448 Remigius
Thanks for the info, see what I mean about the Media? This was actually a Documentary
by one of the Analogue T.V. channels too which you would expect to be factual.
Don”t you ever wonder why the U.K. has so many Daily Newspapers for such a small Country? With 24 hour news on the BBC, SKY, CNN etc you would think some of the Dailies
would have folded by now. If The Sun is the most popular what more can you say!!!!!
January 27th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
460
Tony Bennett Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
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certainly sounds interesting but pretty nasty at the same time. If you have that kind of evidence it would be very interesting to hear the explanation for that. Keep us posted
January 27th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
412
Tony Bennett Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I’ve been frantically mailing out over 60,000 purple postcards in the past 4 weeks as part of our campaign to win a referendum on the European Constitution, which they’ve craftily re-styled the E.U. Reform Treaty). See:
http://www.european-referendum.org.uk
…………………………
Well, that’s one thing we can agree on, Tony, though we are at logger heads over the McCanns. Thanks for your help regarding this, by the way.
Have you heard the latest news on this?
“The I want a Referendum campaign has also announced that they have raised enough money to hold a referendum on the EU Constitution in the region.
The vote in Harlow will be among a wave of referendums in constituencies across the country.
To carry out a professional poll East of England for a Referendum has commissioned Electoral Reform Services – the world’s leading independent ballot administrator and independent scrutineer.
Colleen Morrison, one of the organisers of the campaign in , said:
“This is simply a matter of trust. I’m no expert but what I do know is that if politicians promise something they should stick to it. Gordon Brown has absolutely no excuse for not giving us a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. I believe the people of will seize this opportunity to make politicians like Bill Rammel listen to us.”
http://www.iwantareferendum.com/index.aspx
This is a cross party campaign, TB, which has followed on from the meeting held in a Harlow a few months ago. We would be very grateful for any support you can give to publicise Harlow’s Referendum.
I urge others to organise referendums or petitions for their towns too.
January 27th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
http://www.tesora.com.au/images/products/bullshit-alert-button-l.jpg
January 27th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
455 RedRooster,
chauvinism, well known around the world!
January 27th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
419 RedRooster says (January 27th, 2008 at 7:41 pm):
“…that was a nice read as im eating my tea tony…so did his head come off ???”
REPLY: Nearly. A lot will depend on the tachograph evidence, which will show that the mixer was switched on twice - at 12.59am and 1.03am on 18 July 2002. Who switched it on and why? The ambulance was also called at 1.03am precisely
January 27th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
401
Amused Bystander
Its purely coincidental (I am sure) that the Stig post you cite is also very convoluted and LONG!
Anyway, I decided to seek out his reasons for believing that an abduction took place on ‘that fateful night’ of 3rd of May 2007 from that post - as you cited it.
He begins by stating that the alternatives to abduction are ‘at best, convoluted, and at worst, utterly preposterous’.
Incredibly and with an unbelievable exposure of narrow mindedness he says ‘applying Occam’s razor, that seems to leave abduction’ and states that this is his ‘logical reasoning’.
He then proceeds to outline his, as he describes them, ‘illogical’ reasons.
He states that ‘in all my life I have never seen a greater expression of utter profound grief than I saw in Kate those first few days’.
This actually defies the perception of many people, but let us accept (for the sake of argument) that Stig is perceiving something many of us have missed.
I have very profound doubts in accepting (in fact I’ll be more direct and say it is completely illogical to accept) this as proof of abduction.
Why? Well, simply that it would not be the ’cause’ which would have such an effect, but the result. Madeleine, her daughter, was dead or missing. In fact if Kate were in any way the cause, then I’d expect her to be distraught!
His argument is that she could not have ‘turned this on’ to order and that this proves she was not involved. This is unsound as I have explianed above, even if one does accept that she displayed real and honest grief (which I do not).
I have no need to continue to examine his post as incredibly it turns out that he has no further evidence to present. From that point of the post onward, he drifts through his reasons for not accepting many of the theories other than abduction which have been suggested, regarding the use of anaesthetics etc (he does not discuss unsupervised children having an accident at all!).
In fact he does not provide any further argument for believing abduction.
When he finally returns to the abduction theory he states…’however I try and assemble the pieces, the only theory I can get a sandwich out of is the abduction hypothesis. But there is no evidence for this.’
Finally he explains why there isnt any abduction evidence, in essence blaming it on popular misundertanding of the value of forensics encouraged by TV shows such as CIS etc. He says ‘these shows have created a popular mythology that every crime scene must have a magical essence of clues to follow, but this isn’t the reality. There are innumerable cases of missing persons and other crimes for which insufficient clues can be found to allow them to be solved.’
In short, if you are citing Stigs post to support a theory of abdcution, it contains nothing at all which meets that need.
It did, however, distract me for a while!
January 27th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
454
Ciara-Louise Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
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hi Ciara-lou hows it going babe xx Where have you been ?? I’ve been thinking about you
January 27th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
441 Val
I might add that JonBenet’s autopsy was not even completed before the Ramseys tried to leave the state.
Patsy Ramsey had struggled with stage 4 ovarian cancer, and was supposedly “cured” by rigorous, experimental treatments at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesday,MD. Some police, including the top detective on the case, speculated that Patsy’s illness may have played some role in causing her to kill her daughter.
REportedly, Patsy’s cancer returned, and she died just before some guy in Thailand declared himself to be JonBenet’s assailant and murderer, and the Boulder cops were busy declaring the case closed, but then the declarant’s wife said that he’d been with her and the kids all the time during the Christmas in question (when JonBenet was murdered), and so he could not have been the killer. His alibi turned out to be unshakeable, if involuntary. In the end, some speculated that he just wanted a free plane ride out of Thailand.
January 27th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
404
Tony Bennett Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
372 Stevo says (January 27th, 2008 at 5:58 pm):
“Tony Bennett - Hope it went OK yesterday”.
REPLY: Yes. We agreed at our meeting in Harlow yesterday to form The Madeleine Foundation - a democratic membership organisation open to anyone who supports our aims - and made several decisions relating to its aims and initial actions. We believe that the name Madeleine should live on forever and that her main message to this genration and to future generations of parents should be: “Never leave young children on their own”. May we all care for and love the children we bring into the world.
______________________________
REPLY TO ABOVE: That is very commendable, Tony, and I know your goal is to pass such laws to protect all children from neglect. However, there are laws against murder - murders happen every day; laws against embezzlement - embezzlements happen every day; laws against stealing - theft happens every day; the list is endless on laws that are in effect and people don’t pay heed to them. Yes, a law should be tightened and put into effect especially to protect children from imperfect parenting. Yet, unfortunately this world is imperfect and the people in it are imperfect.
Initial actions of The Madeleine Foundation will include writing formal letters to:
1) The McCanns’ Solicitors, asking their clients to tell the PJ the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about Madeleine’s disappearance
__________________
REPLY TO THE ABOVE: Once they read that letter - what do you think they’ll do with it? Throw it in the trash or put it in the paper-shredder? However, where are the FACTS that say they are not telling the truth?
____________________________________
2) Bates, Wells and Braithwaite, Solicitors to the Find Madeleine Fund Trust, raising several serious concerns about the operation of this private trust
___________________
REPLY TO ABOVE: Concerns written out of public interest and for the public good or to further muddy the waters and cast further aspersions upon the McCanns?
___________________________
3) The General Medical Council, raising the question of whether either of the McCanns is fit to practice as Doctors, especially having regard to their status as criminal suspects, and
_________________
REPLY TO THE ABOVE: There are 3 suspects if I’m not mistaken and none have been charged. They should find them unfit to practice on suspicions, innuendos as yet unproven by FACTS? Surely there is no deliberate intent to violate their rights under the laws, is there? Don’t we all have a right to work? Don’t we have a right to prove ourselves innocent? Don’t we all have a right to a fair hearing? Don’t we all have a right to a fair trial?
___________________________________
4) Home Secretray Jacqui Smith, urging her to give maximum help to the PJ in their efforts to solve this suspicious death.
________________
REPLY TO ABOVE: What suspicious death, Tony? I didn’t know they found the young child yet - alive or her remains. Are you privy to inside information that the public hasn’t been told yet?
January 27th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
452
Totje Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
————————————————
January 27th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
450
RedRooster Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
445
Sledgehammer Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
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you think goron brown has a great grasp on reality
——————————————————————————–
I thought you meant to write moron brown.
January 27th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
445
Sledgehammer Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
———————————————–
January 27th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
446 RedRooster,
For therapy you could search the Yellow Pages or ask your local GP, I guess.
I’ve got this very nice mobile phone, with internet access!
Afraid posting will be hardly possible, typing takes too much time and carnival is much much fun!
January 27th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
srry for the typo should say gordon brown
was laughing so 
much 
January 27th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
445
Sledgehammer Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
you do have a sense of humour after all 
——————————————-
you think goron brown has a great grasp on reality, OMG you really are a BAFFOON
January 27th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Now on the Portuuese TV ,British press IS STALKING Joaquim José Nóia Agostinho !!
I think ,we are seing the start of a war !!!
If that’s true , i wont stop !!
F**** all those criminals
January 27th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
441 Val
Please take the time to review “Perfect Murder, Perfect Town,” an excelllent book about Jonbenet Ramsey’s murder and the following investigiation.
The Ramseys were not “hounded” out of Colorado! In fact, the VERY DAY that the Ramseys reported to the police that their daughter had been allegedly kidnapped and then, a few hours later once John Ramsey “found” her body, John Ramsey then ordered his private plane pilot to fire up the engines and take them home to Atlanta, Georgia.
The Ramseys had only recently moved to Colorado when JonBenet was murdered. John Ramsey had lived most of his life in Michigan, where he still owned his family home. Patsy Ramsey was from WEst Viriginia, where she’d been a beauty queen. She and John met in Atlanta, Georgie, where Patsy was looking for a job after college and John had moved to start up a new computer business. They lived there a long time. AFter his business was aquired by a big company, they moved to Boulder where the new company had a headquartters.
So Colorado was hardly their “home” state.
But the Ramseys sought to flee Boulder almost immediately. Their regular attorney reportedly had to persuade them to stay and deal with the investigation.
January 27th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
I just love posts like 431 that leave me waiting expectantly on the edge of my seat waiting for Duncan to respond! He he.
January 27th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
444
Totje Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
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sadly im banned from anorak for the whole of next weekend. Do you know where i get therapy or something to get through it??
January 27th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
DuncanR, thank you it is a well known fact that the Scots have a greater grasp of reality, probably through having had to fight the English’s battles for them, and supply the majority of politicians and Prime Ministers………Freedom!!!
January 27th, 2008 at 8:07 pm
442 RedRooster Says:
thanks…and to top it all i wont have access to anorak
*************
Oh dear, that’s really serious! Do they live in the dark ages, or in the bush, or is “the other half” telling you you’re not allowed to have a look at anorak?
Can’t you get a terrible contagious flu and drop out of the event?
January 27th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
434 Peter O
Please don’t take it personally. I am just responding to the WHOLE of the post, which started under you. I agree with what YOU wrote. Of course, I suspect that child neglect is the least of what the McCanns did. But I do agree with you–the inhumanity lies in Madeleine being left alone on MANY occasions, sobbing, distressed….
January 27th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
439
Totje Says:
January 27th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
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thanks…and to top it all i wont have access to anorak