Madeleine McCann: Tapas Sums, Shannon Matthews And GMTV
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann and Shannon Matthews
THE SUN: “Cops plot McCann pals’ quiz.”
“It could involve British police putting questions to the ‘Tapas seven’.”
“Gran’s plea over missing Shannon”
A picture of Karen Matthews wearing a T-shirt bearing the image of her missing daughter. The mother is smiling. Why show this picture?
MISSING Shannon Matthews’ heartbroken gran fought tears yesterday as she pleaded: “I just want to see her little smiley face at my window again.”
June Matthews is a “pensioner”. She suffers from “ill health”. Is interviewing the grandmother now part of the protocol for reporting on missing children?
THE SCOTSMAN: “Madeleine: police may quiz ‘Tapas Nine’ again”
The Sun’s Tapas Seven becomes the Scotsman’s Tapas Nine. Such are the facts.
Detective Superintendent Stuart Prior, of Leicestershire Police, returned from the Algarve yesterday after meeting counterparts in Portugal about how the fresh interviews would be conducted.
The Leicestershire Police spokeswoman says: “Since Madeleine’s disappearance, we, together with other law-enforcement agencies, have been working closely with the Portuguese authorities.
“Mr Prior has attended a series of meetings with his Portuguese counterparts,” she said yesterday. “He travelled to Portugal on Tuesday and returned this morning.
“He went to discuss how the request for mutual legal assistance is to be executed and to seek clarification over elements of the request.”
DAILY MAIL: “Madeleine: British police meet Portuguese detectives to plan fresh interviews with Tapas Nine”
The “so-called Tapas Nine - the McCanns and their seven friends - could still hold the solution to the unsolved mystery that began in May last year”.
Says the McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell: “The sooner this re-interviewing takes place the better. The friends are very keen to help police understand their original statements. No one will be changing their story. We are not aware that Kate and Gerry are to be re-interviewed at this stage, but if so, that’s not an issue.”
Tapas Nine minus Tapas Two equals Tapas Seven.
The McCanns, from Rothley in Leicestershire, were joined at the tapas restaurant on by Dr Matthew Oldfield and his recruitment consultant wife Rachael, Dr Russell O’Brien and his partner Jane Tanner, and medical researcher David Payne, his wife Fiona, and her mother Dianne Webster.
Gerry McCann is a heart consultant. Kate McCann is a GP. Such are the facts.
THE TIMES: “Shannon’s mother, Karen Matthews, defends her partner on TV.”
The mother of Shannon Matthews, the missing nine-year-old girl, insisted yesterday that her boyfriend had nothing to do with her disappearance. Karen Matthews, 32, said that Craig Meehan, 22, “would not hurt anybody”.
The Times hacks are watching mid-morning telly. It was ever so.
Ms Matthews chose an interview on GMTV to confront those making accusations against Mr Meehan, her partner for the past four years, whom she called her “rock”. She said: “I know it has nothing to do with him. He would not hurt anybody. It is very hurtful to think people think he would do something like this, because he would not.”
Mr Meehan said that he had taken no notice of the fingers being pointed at him. He added that the police activity surrounding the family was routine in such cases. “They do it to every family this happens to,” he said.
We watch, voyeurs to suffering. We watch, playing amateur detectives on our sofas. It’s interactive entertainment. It’s just routine questioning on the GMTV sofa.
The family have received messages of support from around Britain, including the family of Madeleine McCann. Mr Meehan said: “They know what we are going through.”
Will GMTV unite the families for a special show?
DAILY EXPRESS: “Shannon: Police dig wasteland.”
It is “grim twist” as police call in a digger to search wasteland.
Says the Express: “There are 1,327 registered sex offenders living within a 20-mile radius of Shannon’s home”
It was 1,400.
No mention of Madeleine McCann in the paper that led with her image for weeks on end.
DAILY STAR: “SHANNON COPS START DIGGING UP WASTELAND”
A “dramatic move” close to Shannon’s fmaily home in Desbuery, West Yorkshire.
Says the Express’s sister paper: “Detectives have been orderd to trace 1,387 convicted sex offenders” in the area.
The number grows.
DAILY MIRROR (front page): “WE SAW SHANNON SOBBING.”
Says a boy, aged 12: “There were tears running down her face. She was proper crying.”
Pages 4 and 5: “THE HUNT FOR SHANNON.”
“’It breaks my heart to think she was so upset on that wall. Why did no one comfort her and bring her home to me?’” Karen Matthews. The missing child’s mother.
A last poignant sighting of vanished Shannon Matthews by two boys has pierced the heart of her stricken mum Karen. Clutching the hand of partner Craig Meehan, despairing Karen, 32, said: “It breaks my heart to think she was so upset and we don’t know why. Why did no one comfort her and bring her home to me?”
Readers are invited to empathise with her pain.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror from her home in Dewsbury Moor, West Yorks, Karen said she was mystified by her daughter’s tears and convinced she was still alive after being snatched. She said: “Shannon was perfectly normal on the day she disappeared. “She came running downstairs already in her uniform because she was so excited about going swimming. “Then she was out of the door, shouting ‘See you at teatime - love you’. She didn’t tell us about being bullied at school and I didn’t think she was upset about anything. I’m sure she’s still alive. It’s just a feeling I have - a mother’s feeling. “Wherever she is, she’s going to be frightened. It’s breaking our hearts. I don’t think she’s run away. I think something sinister has happened.”
We can join in the speculation:
Karen said: “I even hate going upstairs. Just walking past her open door is painful. She loved her room. It seems so empty since she’s been gone. Courtney, who shares the bedroom with her half sister, now sleeps cuddled up to Shannon’s favourite teddy. Karen said: “You can hear her shouting out for Shannon. It’s heartbreaking.” At her side, Craig said: “With 200 police on the case you’d think they’d have picked up something by now. But Shannon hasn’t been seen anywhere. I think someone must have taken her. It could be a person with a grudge or who can’t have children of their own. If someone has her, just let her come home. That’s what everyone wants. That’s what Shannon and her family want. We’re all missing her.”
TYPICALLY SPANISH: “Two Million Euro ransom demanded in Marí Luz case”
A phone call was made to the family yesterday, but it is not considered by police to be genuine
The family of the missing five year old girl, Mari Luz Cortés, who vanished from Huelva in the middle of January, says they have received a ransom demand for two million Euros. They say they received a phone call from an individual yesterday, who demanded two million € to release the child.But at a press conference held today in the Plaza Rosa del Torrejón, in Huelva, the missing child’s uncle, Diego Cortés, lamented the call which he described as ‘upsetting and senseless’, as it was believed the call is a hoax. He said that the family ‘was prepared to negotiate’ in the case of serious calls, adding that if the family would go personally to rescue Mari Luz if necessary. He said there was no chance of the family raising a sum of two million €, but that 300,000€ was possible.
And:
Speculation continues in some media over a possible link to the Madeleine McCann disappearance, but there is no evidence of any relationship, apart from the geographical location of the two cases.
Posted: 7th, March 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Tabloids Comments (570) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
March 7th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Julie -
March 7th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
446 Dave
You will rot in jail
he he
March 7th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Candy - I have friends in Uxbridge…
March 7th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
if I am to be arrested I guess i’ll have to come quietly…
March 7th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
I do not think the Mc’s had any need to ”dip into” the fund set up to help find their daughter.
As far as I know if we (mere mortals) have difficulty paying our mortgage (for whatever reason) we speak to the building society/bank & make arrangements to pay less/defer etc until we get back on our feet again.
In the grand scheme of things 2 missed payments is not a huge deal……especially with the said building society knowing of their predicament etc.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
M&A should be worried now?
March 7th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
419
Dave Says:
March 7th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Julie - you been chatting up the lads?
———————————-
March 7th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
King Street? :-O No.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Its un educated guess
Are you near King Street?
March 7th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Logic
I agree with you that the teachers can be bad ie why allow a ”popular”child to pick their team (in pe) resulting in the less capable/abled sporty one to be left sitting on the bench alone? To me that is cruel & they should know better.
However I have come across some very good teachers also the odd (as in occasional!) Doctor, which is another profession that it appears (to me) that they very full of their own self importance.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
437 Brandon
Can you see my w-fi settings? How do you know that?
God, I am tracked right now. I will start dancing to CCTVs now. What if someone abduct me right now? (to be honest, I don’t know where, as I am spending all my time in front of computer)
March 7th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
431 Logic Says:
“but it should not be necessary for a missing child and could actually cause a child to BECOME missing.”
As soon as this happens for the first time, the issue will be over anyway.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Candy
I knew you would be in West london
March 7th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
433 Dave
How do you know I live near Uxbridge?
M&A if I go missing, please arrest Dave!
March 7th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
428 Salomon ES Says:
“Ferdinand 426
Do you think or not that the McCanns should have paid back that money to the fund?”
I think they cannot and they don’t want to keep the money they are about to earn from the story. So yes, I think it should be returned, and I expect it will be more than returned.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
431 Logic
‘NOT to some charity that spreads it so thinly that nobody benefits.’
That is also the truth, unfortunetely
March 7th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Candy - we could do our version of the “Uxbridge English Dictionary” and do our own new words. Like Measles. Something artists use for self-portraits.
March 7th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
429 myself
beginning, not beggining (however, that may be a new word which means: begging from the start)
March 7th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I don’t really care how the Fund is spent. If people were silly enough to give money to such an endeavour, hard luck. However, I do think the time has come for a law to be passed prohibiting such collections when a child goes missing. I’m not against people collecting for a person who’s very ill etc, but it should not be necessary for a missing child and could actually cause a child to BECOME missing.
To everyone who thinks the money should be handed to a charity: Do you think that all these charities spend the money in an honourable way? If I wanted to give money, I would find a deserving cause and give it directly to the person or persons, NOT to some charity that spreads it so thinly that nobody benefits.
On the “ugly” child question, I think everyone should shut up about that, because Shannon is 9 years old and can probably read the papers.
On the question of bullying, it seems likely that she was bullied at school and, reading what the headmistress of Shannon’s school reportedly said in the papers, she seemed somewhat on the defensive on the school’s role in this. Schools can be very cruel places, places that teach many children only to be a failure, and try to brainwash the children into the prevailing political views. Teachers can be the cruellest of the lot and not only to the slow or deprived children. Teachers like the average, easy children - not the slow and cerrtainly not the very bright. In my opinion, most schools are shit.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
425 Salomon ES Says:
“Did they pay back that money? Why not? Because they didn’t think it was morally wrong - they only thought it was a bit of a PR cockup. This event alone says more about the moral standards (lack of) by which Gerry and Kate McCann live their lives than anything else.”
I would be upset if it will not be more than refunded from the prospective profits from books, libel suits etc.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
425 Solomon.
Thank you for that.
I would like to believe that was an innocent mistake as I find it hard to understand how anyone can behave like that. However, even with this attitude I cannot be blind for the facts. The whole thing lacked authenticity from the beggining. It’s like someone, who does not really have good manners or social skills and learned to react properly … it is sort of ok, but you see it is not natural. They are so sociopathic in their reactions; it’s like they know they are supposed to feel something but they are not sure what. They don’t have a moral INSTINCT and they are guessing, while for most of people it would be like breathing.
It has been said thousands times before, but who cares about reputation, house, anyting in a situation like that? Most parents would give everything (life included) to know their kid is safe. I have been deeply upset by this case, and I am quite cynical myself. I have nothing but contempt for this kind of behaviour.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Ferdinand 426
Do you think or not that the McCanns should have paid back that money to the fund?
March 7th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Solomon ES - agreed, when you think pensioners that have trouble keeping warm spared a few quid to help, and kids giving their pocket money, its sickening that it went towards them and their lovely house
March 7th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
417 Candy Says:
“But, I am absolutely sure, many people would be embarrassed to do that and rather sell the house before they spend a penny from a public donation.”
There was no need to sell the house. The McCanns are creditworthy, there would have been another solution possible for the mortgage. But if you are in Portugal organising the campaign for the search, you wouldn’t think much about your mortgage in England and use the most simple solution (in terms of time you use up for that “problem”). £4000 are peanuts after all.
But it was bad PR, unprofessional. Bad advice.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Candy - 421 - I know we share the same view. My message addressed to you was to support your position.
For those that think that it was an innocent mistake by the McCanns to start paying their mortgage with the fund… just think about it… would any decent individual not have paid back to the find madeleine fund those 2 mortgage payments made months before? I know I would.
Did they pay back that money? Why not? Because they didn’t think it was morally wrong - they only thought it was a bit of a PR cockup. This event alone says more about the moral standards (lack of) by which Gerry and Kate McCann live their lives than anything else.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
415
Yes, it get them now. Must have been a glitch.
My 103% faith in the integrity of the Guardian is restored.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Early days
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/audio/2007/sep/07/giles.tremlett.on.madeleine.mccann
March 7th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Jo 420
”Clarence Mitchell, a family friend,”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Not heard that before!
So he is actually a family friend???
March 7th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
413 Solomon
Maybe I failed to phrase my posts clearly - I absolutely agree with what you’ve written:
‘Accepting we may have different perspectives on right and wrong use of the fund, the legal framework under which the fund was established is not a justification for condoning morally inappropriate use of the money in that fund. In other words, the fact that you can do wrong, does not mean it’s right.’
March 7th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Got it
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/sep/07/ukcrime.madeleinemccann