Shannon Matthews: The McCanns, A Shameless Scam And Paul Donovan
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Shannon Matthews
THE STAR: “SHANNON SNATCH ‘SCAM’”
A scam? Who would have thought it?
The mum of Shannon Matthews has allegedy confessed that her daughter’s abduction was just a Shameless scam.
Sobbing Karen Matthews, 32, was arrested on suspicion of perverting justice after reportedly telling a woman detective she had known where Shannon was all along.
Shameless? Ashamed?
In an episode of the Channel 4 comedy drama Shameless, screened just four weeks before Shannon vanished, family head Frank Gallagher’s teenage daughter Debbie staged the fake kidnap of her younger brother Liam in a bid to pocket a £500,000 ransom.
“Missing” Liam – played by Johnny Bennett, nine, – was hidden by Debbie (Rebecca Ryan, 16) at a pal’s home just down the road.
Missing children are a form of entertainment.
DAILY EXPRESS: “MUM: ‘I ALWAYS KNEW WHERE SHANNON WAS’”
The mother of kidnap girl Shannon Matthews has allegedly told police: “I knew where she was, right from day one.”
And the McCanns..?
A spokesman for the McCanns confirmed they had received approaches from “people purporting to be members of Shannon’s family” for donations from the Find Madeleine Fund, but said it had been decided not to get involved.
But the McCanns did get involved.
Gerry and Kate were “deeply concerned” at the plight of Shannon’s family. Kate, 39, said: “My heart goes out to them. We always hoped and prayed that no other family would have to suffer like we have.”
And singer Leona Lewis seized the moment to make an appeal.
THE SUN: “’Family’ beg from McCanns”
Kate and Gerry McCann got a string of emails and letters demanding financial help to find Shannon, nine. One man even turned up on their doorstep claiming he represented her family.
Karen Matthews has seven children by five men. Which man was it who turned up?
A source close to the couple said: “Kate and Gerry were getting ready to go to church. He opened the door to find this man who basically demanded cash.
“Gerry was stunned. It was as if he thought he was just going to pull out a cheque book.
“When he explained that the fund is governed by trustees who approve all expenditure, the man got annoyed and said, ‘But I’ve driven all the way from Dewsbury.’
“Kate and Gerry found it quite disturbing. They didn’t even know if these people were who they said they were, and what the cash would actually be used for.”
DAILY MAIL: “Did Shannon’s mother invent kidnap to make money… and base it on TV drama Shameless?”
Well…
It was revealed that Miss Matthews had wanted to leave 22-year-old fishmonger Craig Meehan and had spoken to his uncle, Michael Donovan, 39, who offered her a place to stay. She has denied having an affair with Donovan.
When he allegedly picked up Shannon on February 19, Miss Matthews is said to have “bottled it” and reported Shannon missing instead.
Which, if true, rather put Mr Donovan in an awkward position? But he did, allegedly, have plenty of room, a compact bedroom for Shannon – a room in an actual divan bed…
A source told the Daily Mail: “Her friends started asking her about apparent inconsistencies in her story. They asked her several questions, hoping she would dispel the rumours.
“Then, one of her friends said she had had enough and wanted to know what really happened. She put it to her that she knew right from the very start where Shannon was and who she was with.“At that moment Karen apparently broke down in tears and was shaking uncontrollably.”
DAILY TELEGRAPH: “Shannon Matthews’ mother ‘may have copied TV kidnap plot’”
The Daily Telegraph understands that officers are examining alleged similarities between Shannon’s disappearance and a storyline from the Channel 4 drama series Shameless shown in the month before the nine-year-old vanished.
In it, the teenage daughter of Frank Gallagher, the head of a dysfunctional family, staged the fake kidnap of his youngest son, Liam, in an attempt to obtain a £500,000 ransom. All along, Liam was hidden a few doors away with a friend of his sister.
A missing child. Money. Reward. A kind of fame? A TV entertainment show or a TV news else?
It has emerged that police are examining allegations that people claiming to be connected to Shannon’s family asked for donations from the fund set up to find Madeleine McCann, the four-year-old who vanished from a Portuguese holiday apartment last May. A spokesman for her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, said they had received “a number of approaches” for aid from the Find Madeleine Fund from purported representatives of the Matthews family.
THE TIMES: “Karen Matthews ‘told friends she knew where Shannon was from start’”
Ms Matthews is said to have told her friends that as the hours after her daughter’s disappearance turned into days, “everything got out of control and she didn’t know how to stop it” because she was too ashamed to tell the truth.
Mr Donovan, a former computer programmer, is understood to have maintained from the day of his arrest that other members of Shannon’s family, including the girl’s mother, had known that she was with him.
THE INDEPENDENT: “Shannon’s mother arrested as abduction inquiry widens”
Ms Matthews’ cousin, Vicky Saunders, said the arrest had come as a shock to the community. “I was just shocked. I can’t believe it myself,” she said. “I was with Karen when Shannon first went missing, I went and helped, she was in a state.”
Ms Saunders described Ms Matthews as a loving mother. “She loves all her kids no matter what. It’s just upsetting,” she said.
She added that the community was “sticking together like we did when she went missing.” “Everybody is just all shocked and can’t believe it. I’m still there for all the family and the kids,” she said. “She knows I’m always here for her, being a cousin of hers. Unless anyone’s been charged or proven I’m still sticking by everybody. We’re still all friends on this street.”
Posted: 8th, April 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Madeleine McCann, Tabloids Comments (202) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
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April 8th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Carmen
I accept your apology
I didnt know I had my own river !!
April 8th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
I cant Blaim them for trying a scam,the government and ministers along with councilors do it everyday and we cant do a thing about it for a couple of years or so,it seems to be the way of the world in todays life,scam scam and more bloody scam,and we pickup the tab……..karen should ave tried to have an affair with paul mcartney she would be a multi millonaire by now…lol.
April 8th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
47 DCB
Fooled me Karen did. The party was a giveaway though. What a mess they all left too.
An Oscar for Karen as she did well with acting. Life is in the balance for her now and the others. Bet when the authorities start digging further we will have more surprises.
April 8th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
47
DCB
probably relief ! Maybe once Craig was locked up she felt safe to unload
April 8th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
45
lyn
++++
I remember karen’s big wide, and what I thought, genuine smile when Shannon was found safe.
April 8th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Poor numpty’s,Bet they get more punishment than jeffrey archer got and jonathan aitken put together,and both those toe rags lied on oath,but hey one rule for the rich one rule for the poor,welcome to “England” if it still exists……..Down with Brown,
April 8th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
43DCB
Doubt it. They are probably in the scam too. How they must feel as seeing the “goose money” fly away. They could have got away with it, but it appears that Karen also has a big mouth!
April 8th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Incidentally - the same Granny and Grandad who wanted to take in Shannon and presumably bring her up with the same standards that they brought up Karen!
April 8th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Are nasty Granny and Grandad, who brought Karen up in an exemplary manner, safe?
April 8th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
What a mess! Must say Karen Matthews did a good job acting. Even had her hair done
for the occasion. Those photos where Karen is being taken shopping escorted by the policewomen. All the presents bought for Shannon, for when she returns home and some of them bought by reporters too. Oh my, what next. See, they haven’t got the nouse to have carried the sham off, and didn’t have anyone to act as their media person, IMO>Bt, we do know where Shannon is now. Alive, and in care.
April 8th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Brandon
Agreed, libelous, hurtful and untrue, but irresistible.
This is the front page apology, donation to your mortgage fund en-route!!!!!
The river running through Brandon forms the border between Norfolk and Suffolk.
April 8th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Yes it as all been a scam…ie…shannon mathews,the word on the street as been out for a while now,the papers and news reports tell us nowt new,
If they had been a bit more educated and trained as doctors wonder if the scam would have gone on for twelve months or so,??? mmmm I do wonder……….But what ever happened at least we know shannon is safe and well,just cost the tax payer a load of dosh,but hey…
remember…….M.R.S.A……=..Mcanns,Run,Scared,Again……
April 8th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Carmen
I am furious at that allegation! It is slanderous!
April 8th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Brandon is in suffolk brandon!
April 8th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
34 BF… but he was a singing dancing policeman wasn’t he? There because he was bi-lingual? and not all the time if I remember rightly… do you have his name? I’ve been googling all sorts lately (don’t want to work) and finding out all sorts of stuff I didn’t know.
…………….
On another tack BF… I’m offended that I have to pay an arm and a leg for an extension on the garage because I couldn’t find a Polish builder anywhere! I was hoping to find one whose wife was a ghost writer….
April 8th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
33
Carmen Says:
April 8th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Brandon Flours
Border-line, my dear, border-line, keep taking the meds………………..
April 8th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
‘Family Liaison Officer’ seems to have done a good job:
Shannon in care
Mother arrested
Mother’s boyfriend in the clink
Mother’s boyfriend’s uncle in the clink
Mother’s boyfriend’s mother arrested and out on bail
Mother’s boyfriend’s sister arrested and out on bail.
All in a days work eh!
April 8th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
32
coolandcalm
Oh but they did!!!!
Kate got furious when he was at the Police station on the day of her questioning!!!
It really pissed her off, by no mistake
April 8th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Brandon Flours
Border-line, my dear, border-line, keep taking the meds………………..
April 8th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Scotfree 30…… do the PJ have Family Liaison Officers then? wonder why they didn’t offer the McCanns one?
April 8th, 2008 at 11:58 am
excuse me lone and carmen ???
I am on the border of WHAT????
April 8th, 2008 at 11:50 am
17 coolandcalm Says:
I read that Karen Matthews didn’t realise that the ‘Family Liaison Officer’ was actually a policewoman.
The way I read it, the conversation/ row between Karen and her friends went on in the back of a police care then the policwoman FLO stopped the car and read Karen her rights then and there!!
Oh dear…..
Isn’t this just the thing when you have a police ‘Family Liaison Officer’ and not a paid flunky of a personal spokesman???
April 8th, 2008 at 11:44 am
28
Carmen Says:
April 8th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Lone Pigeon
Remember the tea-rooms and the boat hire, right by the bridge?
T’was I.
I don’t know it that well unfortunately! I know it just for driving through! However if ever I go through there again I shall check it out!
April 8th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Lone Pigeon
Remember the tea-rooms and the boat hire, right by the bridge?
T’was I.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:38 am
21 noseycow
royaume-uni nil points… where have i heard that before
Send more clues. Bowl of icecream has got into the gray matter.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:38 am
25
Carmen Says:
April 8th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Lone Pigeon
So did I, Brandon actually, right on the border…….
I know it !!
April 8th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Lone Pigeon
So did I, Brandon actually, right on the border…….
April 8th, 2008 at 11:28 am
23
Carmen Says:
April 8th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Lone Pigeon
It is an actual event, every year in East Anglia……..the posters advertising it disappear as fast as they are put up, can’t think why!!!!
Hi carmen - I know all about it - i’m from east anglia! It looks like a good laugh but bloody freezing cold !!!
April 8th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Lone Pigeon
It is an actual event, every year in East Anglia……..the posters advertising it disappear as fast as they are put up, can’t think why!!!!
April 8th, 2008 at 11:20 am
17
coolandcalm
+++++++++
Yes it’s what I understood too.
Some people do slip up don’t they!