___________
Blame ANORAK that links other stories to the Mccanns ,and we know why
If you don’t like it ,tell the administrator of the site to kill the “MM” threat” ,using it as a baite for other stories is not working

Sorry to disagree, but I don’t think it’s unfair at all. Some (emphasis on ’some’) posters seem to be bordering on hysterical in their zeal for dragging the McCann’s into everything child-related. I’m sure they’d be a touch miffed at the suggestion that they’re merely apeing the media.

I personally doubt that Madeleine’s case has only been kept in the media spotlight by the actions of ‘our’ posters. I’m sure that the McCanns team of professional PR merchants would have ensured media focus.

Like you, I’m also fascinated by the depth of feeling that this subject generates, and the hostility between the two sides.

Quite so. And why has the mob mentality invaded at all? The MM threads have disintegrated into a venomous, hysterical and ridiculous anti McCann witch hunt. Do we want justice or revenge?

I watched the TV news last night where a man spewed out his feelings for Karen Matthews, whilst behind him a small child bounced up and down precariously on a wheelie bin! You just couldn’t make it up.

Not only are we seeing mob mentality but a vast audience of sneering bystanders all too ready with their condemnation and opinions. What they wear, what they say/don’t say and so on. It really has become a national pastime. Trial by one upmanship, almost.

Behind closed doors, eh?

******************************

I don’t think the MM threads are exclusively anti-McCann at all, there is also a vociferous and venomous crowd who delight in sneering at other posters, viscously and hysterically condemning both them and their opinions, pre-judging their motives, without appearing to have a moments insight into the true value of their own comments.

We have had to moderate easily as many ‘holier-than-thou’ posters as we have had to moderate so called ‘anti McCann’ comments; and I think the tally of posters who have had to be temporarily blocked in order to cool them down is pretty even on both sides.

Were it not for the dedication of some of our posters - obsession even - in a few cases, then Madeleine might well have been forgotten and forsaken by the media and hence the great British public. Then there might not be either justice or revenge for Madeleine’s sad situation.

I am constantly fascinated by the great divide between those who care about Madeleine, and those who are more concerned for the ‘predicament that her parents find themselves in’.

************************

Quite possibly so educated by the media, which has been unable to print any story for months that involved a child without dragging the McCann name into it - a little unfair to blame our posters for copying the media, don’t you think?

Quite so. And why has the mob mentality invaded at all? The MM threads have disintegrated into a venomous, hysterical and ridiculous anti McCann witch hunt. Do we want justice or revenge?

I watched the TV news last night where a man spewed out his feelings for Karen Matthews, whilst behind him a small child bounced up and down precariously on a wheelie bin! You just couldn’t make it up.

Not only are we seeing mob mentality but a vast audience of sneering bystanders all too ready with their condemnation and opinions. What they wear, what they say/don’t say and so on. It really has become a national pastime. Trial by one upmanship, almost.

Behind closed doors, eh?

IMO it is just that.

Should we not wait to see what comes out of the legal process for the Mc C’s as well as for Karen Matthews and family?

I have a feeling that there are many good people contributing here and I have learned a lot of things (thankyou) but why does everything so regularly descend into “we all hate the McScams etc”, backbiting, bitching, all pals together and even (God forbid) flirting - all in the name of having a serious debate!

I wanted Sharon Matthews to be found safe and well. I want Madeleine McCann to be found safe and well. We don’t not know what happened in either case.

I don’t do emoticons but you can add your own.

Comments (70)

Kate McCann admitted they left their daughter Madeleine alone and crying in their holiday apartment on the night before she disappeared, it has been reported.

The accusations stem from leaked statements apparently given by the couple to police in the immediate aftermath of the incident in May last year.

Portuguese police - who are believed to be infuriated by the McCanns’ political influence and by Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s interest in the case - apparently leaked the statements to coincide with the couple’s visit to the European Parliament.

Scroll down for more…

In the news: The couple faced a barrage of photographers as they spoke in Brussels

The McCanns are in Brussels to call on MEPs to call for a Europe-wide centre to help finding missing children.

Excerpts from the statements were broadcast by the Spanish station Telecinco, including a section of Mrs McCann’s statement in which she allegedly said Madeleine was left crying in the family’s holiday apartment on the night before she vanished.

She was reported to have told police that Madeleine remonstrated with her over breakfast the next day, asking why her mother had not come to her room to comfort her.

In the statement, Mrs McCann, 40, and her husband allegedly agreed they should be more vigilant.

Since their daughter’s disappearance, the couple have faced widespread criticism over their decision to leave Madeleine and their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie sleeping in their holiday apartment while they went out for dinner with friends in a nearby restaurant.

Their spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, refused to confirm if the leaked statements were genuine.

He said: “I am not going to confirm or deny the content of any statements Gerry and Kate have made.

“But we are extremely concerned such material, if it is authentic, has apparently been leaked.”

Scroll down for more…

Message of hope: Kate McCann smiles at she heads to Brussels

The claims came as the McCanns urged MEPs to adopt an “Amber Alert” scheme liked the one used in the US.

This broadcasts international radio and TV warnings in the vital first few hours after a child goes missing.

Mrs McCann said: “Alert systems have clearly demonstrated that they help save lives. Please do not wait for another child and family to suffer as we have.”

The couple also want more co-operation between countries when search efforts are under way.

As they addressed the politicians - the first time they have spoken publicly since being named as suspects in their daughter’s disappearance - Mrs McCann clutched a favourite photograph of Madeleine.

She also carried the toddler’s soft toy, Cuddle Cat, with her to give her courage.

She spoke of the devastating impact Madeleine’s disappearance had had on her family.

She said: “Madeleine was an incredibly happy, confident and loved little girl. This time last year we were a very happy family.

“I am unable to convey to you just how totally devastating Madeleine’s abduction was. It’s been totally awful.

“If anyone wanted to inflict the maximum amount of pain on us they have certainly achieved that.”

She said she clung to the belief Madeleine was alive, saying: “We certainly still have hope.”

The McCanns’ call for increased resources to find missing children came as the couple revealed they will not return to Portugal to mark the first anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance on May 3.

However, they said they are considering a Portuguese police request for them to take part in a reconstruction of the day Madeleine vanished.

Mr McCann defended himself and his wife against accusations that they should not be spearheading the “Amber Alert” campaign while they remain suspects, or arguidos, in the Portuguese police investigation.

He said: “We don’t know how long we are going to be arguidos.

“We are very concerned that until this system is implemented other children and other families could suffer.”

Mr McCann said he had been “exasperated” by bureaucracy surrounding their early attempts to publicise Madeleine’s disappearance in Portugal.

Strict secrecy laws meant police there refused to release descriptions of a suspect seen carrying a child away from their apartment in Praia da Luz.

Scroll down for more…

On a mission: Kate and Gerry McCann board the Eurostar on their way to meet MEPs

The couple told MEPs that the Amber Alert system - named after an abducted girl in the U.S. - had led to 68 children being found last year.

Mrs McCann said she believed a similar, Europe-wide system could have helped to find Madeleine.

“I believe the chances of recovery would have been higher. It would have improved our chances,” she said.

MEPs attempted to introduce an alert system two years ago but failed to get sufficient support to pass legislation.

The Conservative MEP Edward McMillan-Scott said he backed the couple’s proposal for a dedicated European hotline for information on missing children.

A number has already been reserved, but it has yet to go live.

The couple were dining in a tapas restaurant in Praia da Luz - just an hour’s drive from the Spanish border - when Madeleine, who was aged three at the time, disappeared.

They believe a system similar to “Amber Alert” could have tracked her down in the hours after she vanished on May 3 last year.

The scheme is named for nine-year-old Amber Hagerman, who went missing and was later killed by her abductor.

Mr McMillan-Scott said it had saved nearly 400 abducted children since 2003, four-fifths of whom were found in the first 72 hours after they went missing.

Madeleine: Missing for almost a year
He said the system worked like a severe weather warning, allowing the authorities to broadcast messages on radio, television and motorway signs. In Europe, only Belgium and France have adopted it.

He added: “Gerry and Kate want a European children centre - like the one in Washington - to bring together governments, the police and the voluntary sector to work on a united front and eliminate layers of frustrating bureaucracy and duplication of work.

“The McCanns tell me that the least they can do is ask for some political will. They have got the support of the leading missing children organisations and the goodwill of every right-minded European.

“It is impossible to know what they are going through. We are all praying for the safe return of Madeleine. At the same time Europe must together do all it can to prevent other families suffering like the McCanns.”

The couple’s spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said: “For Kate and Gerry this is an important opportunity to ensure better co-ordination in Europe when a child goes missing to make sure that no other family goes through the anguish that they are continuing to endure.”

An official declaration has been made, and it will remain open for three months. A majority of the 785 MEPs must sign it for it to go before the European Parliament.

While the McCanns are in Brussels, officers from Leicestershire Constabulary will continue to question members of the Tapas Seven - the friends they were dining with on May 3 - as a three-man team of detectives from Portugal listen in.

It is believed that yesterday was the turn of 34-year-old Fiona and 41-year-old David Payne from Leicester.

On Tuesday, detectives questioned Jane Tanner, 37, and her partner, 36-year-old Russell O’Brien, over a ten-hour period

Mic I reckon that was calculated, I liked it too.

“Fears for Kate Matthews that people who love kids might hurt mum-of-seven”

No-one knows the whole story yet she’s lost her children, her home, her friends….

Shouldn’t we wait and see what facts come out at a trial?

Pity the cohort didn’t ask for some clothes from Kate Mccann instead of dough from the Madeleine fund.