Madeleine McCann: Child Alert, Fear And Tony Bennett’s McCann Club
MADDIE WATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
DAILY TELEGRAPH: “Madeleine McCann: Kate and Gerry’s fury at ‘club’ devoted to prosecuting them”
Gerry and Kate McCann have expressed their anger at the establishment of a fee-paying “club” dedicated to seeing them prosecuted over the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine.
A retired British solicitor, Tony Bennett, has set up a fund called The Madeleine Foundation, which aims to bring a private prosecution against the McCanns for alleged child neglect.
Tony Bennett has been on Anorak.
But Madeleine’s parents fear members of the public will inadvertently donate money to it because they may mistake it for the McCanns’ own Madeleine Fund, which pays for private investigations into her whereabouts.
Mr Bennett says his fund is a “subscription-only members’ club, charging a £10 annual fee”.
Says Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman: “It is a great shame that Mr Bennett feels the need to make money out of Madeleine McCann. He did not seek permission from Gerry or Kate to use Madeleine’s name.”
It’s a brand?
“This so-called foundation is in no way doing anything to help find Madeleine.”
Says Bennett:
“Some of the money immediately raised will be used to pay for a barrister to give his or her opinion on how best to proceed with a legal action against the McCanns. We are a group of people, which is rapidly growing in number, who want to get to the truth of what happened to Madeleine. We will also campaign for changes to the law about parents who leave children on their own.
DAILY MAIL: “Brussels throws out McCann’s appeal for European missing child alert system”
Kate and Gerry McCann’s campaign for an alert system for missing children across Europe will not be adopted by the EU, ministers said yesterday.
FENLAND TODAY: “McCanns win more backing for child abduction alert”
More MEPs have backed a campaign spearheaded by the Rothley parents of Madeleine McCann for a Europe-wide child abduction alert, the couple’s spokesman said.
WALES ONLINE: “Common sense not cotton wool for children, says safety tsar”
PARENTS should not respond to fears of child abduction and knife crime by wrapping their children in “cotton wool”, a leading charity’s new child safety tsar warned.
Karen McFarlane has been appointed by Children in Wales to promote a reduction in avoidable deaths and injuries.
She said: “What we’d like to try to do is empower both the children and the parent as they make informed choices. We don’t want to wrap them in cotton wool”…
Lynne Hill, the charity’s policy director, said children’s fears could be fuelled by the portrayal of dangers in media coverage.
She said: “Children are very, very aware of what’s reported on the news. The decision of some children to carry knives was often in response to a fear of attack,” she said.
“What’s striking is very often children think it’s a way of protecting themselves.”
Fears of child abduction had escalated following the disappearance of Madeleine McCann from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz in May 2007.
Ms Hill said: “I know when Madeleine McCann was kidnapped there were a lot of reports of children being very fearful that someone would snatch them or a friend of theirs”
Increasing the fear. It could be you…
Posted: 9th, July 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Madeleine McCann, Tabloids Comments (701) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
- eggman on Daily Mail Scuppers BBC’s Wrong Shipping Forecast
- agw on Daily Mail Scuppers BBC’s Wrong Shipping Forecast
- Bat E Bird on I’m A Celebrity: Samantha Fox Is Shrinking As ‘Lesbian’ Lover Katie Price Quits
- Bat E Bird on In Photos: Susan Boyle Sings Rockefeller Center Plaza In New York City
- yampster on Daily Mail And Tax Payers’ Alliance Attacks BBC Over Its Free Trees For A Better Planet
July 9th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
If the Mccann are innocent-and who knows-then IMO they have made the following errors of judgement.
(Apart from the obvious one)
Not going out to look for themselves for their child-or be seen to.
Going jogging within the week-suely they could have gone to a gym to work off any tension.
Looking impeccable at all times-and then wingeing for money-and opening a fund at the same time saying they needed all the help they can get.
Not even selling one of their cars to add to the fund-yet saying they wold sell the house if needs be.
Swanning round in private jets-did theyreally think they’d find her in Rome or Holland or US-whilst still begging us to contribute.
Making mortgage payments with the fund-srely they could have scraped a loan rather than leave themselves wide open to criticism again.
Not giving off the correct message that you never, ever put your own needs first when you have a child/children and abandon them .
There are lots more-but to say they have aforded the best countenance in the world they have been ill-advised or not listened.
July 9th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
468
Châtelaine Says:
July 9th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
took a long time to read he thread
now other life is calling
————–
Other life? Are you a cat? Come back…………
July 9th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
#
464
chenier Says:
July 9th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
453
Julie Says:
July 9th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
———
Er, so was I!
I got a bit serious about TB, though…
_____________________
Apologies then - I thought your last line was directed at me
July 9th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
took a long time to read he thread
now other life is calling
BBL though
[would still want to comment on Brandon's yesterday's link about blood and cadaverine findings in & around the apartment....]
July 9th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
450-and well hello Doris.
July 9th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
And thanks to Chenier & âde to deal with Cheryl & Maria
July 9th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Hello Maria-How are you? long time no hear.
July 9th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
453
Julie Says:
July 9th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
———
Er, so was I!
I got a bit serious about TB, though…
July 9th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Gosh, âde, you’ve been missed on this board
July 9th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
448
Maria Says:
July 9th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
(McCannfiles)
Below are some extracts from address to court by Tim Scott QC on Monday. A reasonable reading of the full address makes it clear that there certainly was no ignominious climbing down by Justice Hogg. The very idea is laughable. Is it likely that an experienced judge, dealing with such a high-profile case, would not do her homework, indeed, would not ALREADY know what any lawyer could tell her, ie. that it was likely that the police would certainly not wish to damage in any way their working relationship with the Portuguese police and would be equally concerned that an ongoing criminal investigation should not be compromised. There are important principles here. Scott’s address makes all that only too clear. The Mcs were well aware of all this, as certainly was Justice Hogg.
————————————————–
Maria,
It is dishonest of you to pretend that the hearing on Monday was not unprecedented, just as it is dishonest of you to pretend that Tim Scott was the only Counsel to address the Court, just as it is dishonest of you to pretend that the Chief Constable for Leicestershire did not refuse point blank to accede to the demand made of him on 2cd April by the McCanns that he provide over 11,000 items of information from the criminal investigation files, just as it is dishonest of you to pretend that other law enforcement bodies in the UK did not also refuse point blank to accede to the McCanns demands.
It is also dishonest of you to pretend that Justice Hogg forsaw the likelihood of her being forced to give a judgement in open Court overturning her original order in front of not only the public but also Counsel for the Chief Constable, Counsel for SOCA and Counsel for the Attorney General, all of whom had opposed her order as being unlawful. It is, after all, unprecedented.
According to her own Judgement, Justice Hogg made Madeleine a Ward of Court on 2cd April 2008, and on the same day the McCanns demanded that the police provide them with over 11,000 items of information in their files.
If, as you claim, the Mccanns were well aware of the need not to compromise the criminal investigation, why did they make the demand?
The Leicester police made a very dignified statement following the hearing:
”Today in court the public will have been made aware of the immense effort that the UK law enforcement agencies, led by Leicestershire Constabulary, have dedicated to the search for Madeleine.
‘Tim Scott QC, appearing for the McCanns, commented that these proceedings could be a diversion from the primary objective, which is the search to discover what happened to Madeleine when she disappeared.
We agree and on that basis we don’t intend to comment further at this stage.’
The people who instigated the proceedings and the diversion from the search to discover what happened to Madeleine when she disappeared were the McCanns.
It is dishonest of you to pretend otherwise.
July 9th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
451 Maria
amber alert only kicks in when there is evidence of abduction
it’s therefore irrelevant to the mcconn scam
they hijacked it to draw attention from their own child neglect (i.e. child abuse)
July 9th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
414 BabyJane:
” Mr Mitchell said the Amber alert campaign, which was already being considered before the McCanns offered their support, had gained 308 MEP signatures and needed just 85 more to gain a majority. ”
Not up to date. The current state, as of yesterday, is 351 signatures, thus 42 more needed.
———-
” 42 more WERE needed, Ferdinand. It’s too late now. ”
There’s time until July 24th. Practically, the signatures should come in this week, since it seems to be the last session of the parliament before July 24th.
July 9th, 2008 at 8:23 pm
401
âde Says:
July 9th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
397 Cheryl
how many of the 8 did you post?
let’s face it the odiates are all washed up
people are sick of them and their whiney voices
great sport
__________–
Only one, Ade, with my name on it. See I don’t feel the need to hide behind a fictitious name because what I say or put in writing I’d say to the person directly standing in front of them. If one has something to say whatever, Ade, then have the courage to say it upfront and not hide behind fictitious names. I may well have several different theories about this case which I don’t put in writing, Ade. As I look at this way, if the McCanns aren’t charged and all hell breaks loose and papers start falling all over the place, and it won’t surprise me if that happens, I’m not about to put myself in a position to be ‘invited’ to appear over there . Payback can be a real bitch and I’d rather be sitting in the visitors gallery watching the payback be dished out.
July 9th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Duncan, too right. As it happens I have broken my glasses!
July 9th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
455 - Melanie
You should have gone to Specsavers
July 9th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Rasputin, the 2nd August date was mentioned earlier. No conclusive proof would seem about right
July 9th, 2008 at 8:13 pm
I swear my keyboard is broken - that should have said dimwit humour
July 9th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Hi Julie, dimeit humpur suited me
July 9th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
#
289
chenier Says:
July 9th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
269
âde Says:
July 9th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
257 Julie
“I am so pompously appalled at the whole lot of you - you have no respect for the suffering of the McCann’s whatsoever.”
yep… absolutely no respect whatsoever
these odious, money and attention grabbing creeps deserve everything they get
five years for neglect would be a welcome start
great sporting fun to watch them squirm though
————————
I’m deeply shocked, and saddened, and shocked, that anyone should devote any of their time pondering over what happened to Madeleine when they could be sympathising with her parents instead!
I’m equally shocked, and saddened, and shocked, that TB is providing a nice little diversion when journos could be inquiring instead why a Judge in the High Court thought she could drive a horse and cart through the legislation enacted by Parliament, in secret, demanding disclosure of over 11,000 items of information in an ongoing criminal investigation, and was only forced to desist by the combined efforts of the Leicestershire Police Force, the Serious Organised Crimes Agency, and the Attorney General!
For someone who claim’s to be on Madeleine’s side, that is a strange way of going about it…
______________________________
Chenier,
Actually I was joking! But unfortunately have been unable to access Anorak for the rest of the afternoon until now!
So apologies, I shall not try dimwit humour again.
July 9th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Story breaking in the well respected Publico, that a decision about archiving the case will be made on August 2nd by order of the Portuguese Attorney General. It is stated that there appears to be no conclusive evidence of any nature.
July 9th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
449 ade
It wasn’t actually the judge who said this but their own QC so we might expect him to be sympathetic to them!
However, I put forward this extract to illustrate that the picture being forward by some (judge forced to ignominious climbdown etc.) is not an accurate picture ; it is a prejudiced one.
Similarly, we ned a balanced view of the Amber Alert matter. Missing People, PACT, Missing Children Europe looked for the McCanns’ support in their long-standing campaign to persuade the EU nations to adopt a system like the Amber Alert in the USA. Paul Tuohy, director of Missing People, actually went into the chamber with the McCanns when they went to Brussels. The PACT spokesperson spoke on TV of the importance of the McCanns’ support in raising the awareness of MEPs on this issue. The McCanns willingly gave their support, even at a time when they obviously had more pressing personal concerns.
It appears from the figures that the declaration has received a massively increased number of signatures compared with the last time the issue was discussed at this level. Some of that increased support may well be the result of the McCanns’ support and, of course, the huge publicity that Madeleine’s disappearance attracted.
If it isn’t actually successful this time, the McCanns will still know that they did what they could to support the campaign. The signs are that there is more awareness than previously of the necessity for European countries to cooperate in a methodical way on this issue. They will no doubt be disappointed but they aren’t fools. They know that these things take time. We should all be hoping that it won’t be too long before Europe develops its own appropriate version of Amber Alert to ensure a consistent approach across borders in the case of missing children. I have no expertise in the matter but if Missing People, PACT etc. support the measure, then I am willing to believe that such a consistent approach might well be worth serious consideration.
July 9th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
G AND K MCCONN YOU SHOULD HAVE RETURNED TO WORK WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS IE PJ CO OPERATIVELY WITH A RECONSTRUCTION
July 9th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
448 Maria
“Since Gerry and Kate have always wanted to work with all law enforcement agencies on a cooperative basis”
utter bollocks
what planet is this judge living on?
always wanted to but never actually managed to do so
how ludicrous
great fun though
July 9th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
(McCannfiles)
Below are some extracts from address to court by Tim Scott QC on Monday. A reasonable reading of the full address makes it clear that there certainly was no ignominious climbing down by Justice Hogg. The very idea is laughable. Is it likely that an experienced judge, dealing with such a high-profile case, would not do her homework, indeed, would not ALREADY know what any lawyer could tell her, ie. that it was likely that the police would certainly not wish to damage in any way their working relationship with the Portuguese police and would be equally concerned that an ongoing criminal investigation should not be compromised. There are important principles here. Scott’s address makes all that only too clear. The Mcs were well aware of all this, as certainly was Justice Hogg.
You will see that BUILT INTO HER ORIGINAL ORDER last year was the possibility of any group to which it might be applied being able to apply for it to be disapplied in their case. This is obviously what happened in the case of the police. (See last sentence of first paragraph of the extract.)
In fact, CM might well be delighted.
Firstly, the police have shown a commendable concern for the parents’ desire to have as much information as possible (The police’s own QC says precisely this.) The Mcs could have come away with precisely nothing. That was a very possible outcome.
Secondly, the judge showed unequivocal support for the McCanns in her judgement and in a situation where she had no need to make any comment of this sort. The Mcs will derive considerable consolation from this. Where or not Justice Hogg may regret her words at a later stage is quite another matter.
Here is the extract. Others can be read on the Mccannfiles.
“On 22 May 2007 an Order was made by you [4] in very wide terms requiring any person on whom the Order was served to disclose to the parents’ solicitors any information which might assist in identifying Madeleine’s whereabouts. The Order contained a clause entitling any person served with it to apply to discharge or vary it.
Among the bodies on whom the Order was served was the Leicestershire Constabulary, who immediately expressed doubts as to whether the Order was intended to or could properly extend to them. In due course the parents’ solicitors issued a further application seeking clarification of this. On 02 April 2008 you gave directions which were intended to lead to a hearing at which this question would be resolved. This is that hearing.
As the preparations for this hearing advanced, it became clear that the Leicestershire Constabulary and other law enforcement agencies, while personally sympathetic to the position of the McCann’s objected on principle to the disclosure of at least the great bulk of the information in their possession. They raised a number of legal arguments relating among other matters to the public interest in maintaining the confidentiality of police investigations. Both the Serious Organised Crimes Agency and the Attorney-General intervened in the proceedings in order to advance their own arguments on issues of public policy.
It became clear that if today’s hearing proceeded on a fully contested basis a number of areas of law of great interest to lawyers would have had to be considered. However Gerry and Kate McCann are not lawyers and so far as they were concerned the legal proceedings were moving further and further from the only matter which concerns them: the search for Madeleine. The proceedings were in danger of becoming a distraction from rather than an aid to that single goal.
Also there have been two recent developments which have greatly affected Gerry and Kate’s views on these proceedings. The first is that the Leicestershire Constabulary has now agreed to release an important, though limited, part of the information which they have been seeking; I shall come back to that. The second is that, as has been widely publicised, it is expected that Gerry and Kate’s status in Portugal as arguidos or suspects will be lifted soon. When that happens it is hoped and expected that a substantial further amount of information will be released.
Since Gerry and Kate have always wanted to work with all law enforcement agencies on a cooperative basis, they decided to withdraw the application against the Leicestershire Constabulary. We therefore come to Court today to ask you to approve an Order which all parties consent to.
The first part of the Order recites that the Chief Constable of Leicestershire has agreed to provide by today a document in accordance with Paragraph 50 of the Skeleton Argument which
has been presented to the Court on his behalf. That Paragraph is at 34. It says that the Chief Constable is currently preparing a document which will provide the parents with the contact details of persons that have been forwarded to the investigation by the parents or those acting for them. This document will also contain a brief resume of the information that it is believed the person informed the parents or those acting for them that they wished to pass on to the investigation.
I said earlier that this is an important but limited amount of the information which Gerry and Kate had hoped to obtain. I would like to explain why it is important. Although the Leicestershire Constabulary were quick to set up a major incident room and to provide a telephone number which anyone with information could call, there was a period of time before this became widely known.
During that time Gerry and Kate’s solicitor, Ms Ann Thomas of The International Family Law Group, who sits in front of me, had already been retained. Her firm’s number was publicised and a large number of people called in.
All of these callers were given the number which the Leicestershire Constabulary had set up for the purpose. The solicitors thought it right that the police should be receiving it. In fact with few exceptions the solicitors did not even retain any notes on what the callers were saying or even their contact details.
So what the Chief Constable is now voluntarily providing is the contact details and a summary of the information provided by a substantial number of people who were among the first to try to help the investigation. It is because these were on the whole people who came forward to volunteer information in the period immediately after the abduction that it is likely that the information which they provided will be most helpful.
So on that basis Gerry and Kate McCann are content to withdraw their application for any wider disclosure. Paragraph 4 of the Order provides that the documents in the case shall remain confidential to the Court. This of course is completely normal in wardship. An exception is made
to enable the Chief Constable at his discretion to reveal the contents of his evidence and the legal arguments advanced on his behalf.
The parents understand that the points of principle which have arisen are of wider interest to law enforcement agencies, and they would not want to restrict proper discussion of those matters which might have a beneficial purpose in future investigations. They are confident that the Chief Constable will exercise his discretion in a responsible way.”
July 9th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
441
Garth Says:
July 9th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
……… sorry walk
————————-
I should think so too; there is no place for deviants on this blog.
You got into enough trouble when you lost the lead…
July 9th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Garth, are you still on this board?
I hope you are not one of those poor unfortunate English schoolboys who has been shut up in one of those horrid boarding schools.
July 9th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
437 Portia
i agree
some form of blackmail seems a likely reason for the behaviour of all concerned
July 9th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
434
âde Says:
July 9th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
424 chenier
“We agree and on that basis we don’t intend to comment further at this stage.”
i am surprised that leicester plod aren’t bending the rules for the wretches
i had assumed that freemasonry and other connections would have kicked in with leicester plod and things leaked/covered up to suit the suspects
leicester plod’s stance must be worrying for the unpleasant ones
81 phone calls to their solicitors is hardly a breakthrough after all
———————–
Quite so; despite those retired rent-a-coppers telling the tabloids that the Mccanns were obviously innocent, the serving officers actually conducting the enquiry seem to wish to get on with the enquiry.
Without allowing the MCcanns access to to any information they hadn’t had already.
And with it flagged up and noted that it was the Mccanns who were diverting the police from the primary objective which is the search to discover what happened to Madeleine when she disappeared…
July 9th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
433 Rasputin you may be right.
But then I think that by treating the parents with kid gloves, the judge may be showing profound concern for Maddie’s siblings. Personally, even if I thought the parents were involved, as a judge I would do everything I could do to publicly look like I had given the parents every opportunity to cooperate with the justice system. I would even plead with their conscience.
Time will tell.
July 9th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
……… sorry walk