Which Newspaper Will Buy Robert Murat’s Story?
MADELEINE McCann aguido Robert Murat has accepted £600,000 in libel damages over claims that he was involved in her abduction.
Outside court Mr Murat says: “The newspapers in this case brought about the total and utter destruction of mine and my family’s life and caused immense distress.”
Round up here.
Mr Murat, his friend Michaela Walczuch and IT consultant Sergey Malinka had all brought proceedings against Associated Newspapers, Express Newspapers, MGN Limited and News Group Newspapers over nearly 100 “seriously defamatory” articles.
Murat’s solicitor, Louis Charalambous, says:
“In particular, the defendants accept that none of the claimants had any involvement whatever in the abduction of Madeleine McCann.
“They accept that none of the claimants has any paedophile tendencies or connection with paedophiles or paedophile websites and that none of them lied to the police or obstructed the investigations.
“They accept that Mr Murat’s actions after the abduction were entirely proper and were motivated by a desire to help find Madeleine McCann. He became a volunteer translator for the Portuguese police and did everything he could to assist the investigation.
“Ms Walczuch was never suspected or accused of any involvement in the abduction of Madeleine McCann. Mr Malinka was not guilty of any sexual misconduct and has no criminal convictions.”
Now which paper will buy the rights to his story and try to earn back some of their losses?
Posted: 17th, July 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (499) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
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July 17th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
I wish people would simply wait until Monday. None of us can know for sure what is going to be said.
Just watched RM interviewed on BBC. Very impressive. I hope he can put his life together again. He seems the sort of man who will.
£600,000 is a lot of money but nothing in view of what he’s been through. The apologies mean more but cost nothing. Each newspaper has got off lightly.
Julie, did you read my post about The People? Worth a look, but only if you are prepared to split your sides laughing or explode in fury, depending on your mood. Google The People and do a search on Portuguese Police, for example. Unbelievable. Beyond the pale. How are these journos not behind bars?
July 17th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Do you seriously think they would close a case of this size Rasputin? My belief was that an unsolved case of this nature could never be closed, or am I wrong in thinking this?
By saying closed, are you meaning that it is shut, no further investigations, never to be opened again, or filed - awaiting any new evidence? Is this then not the same thing as shelved?
July 17th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Sorry Julie, the small print is that publications title for its Madeleine reports, nothing ulterior. The case will be shelved of that there is no doubt, it may even be closed. I t is being rumoured that the PJ have solved the case, but not the way that the authorities envisaged, that is said to be the reason for the AG’s blatant high profile now, damage limitations.
July 17th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Why do you say that Rasputin?
Note the cleverly installed small print :
” If Madeleine McCann”
And then in HUGE BOLD PRINT :
Case closed Monday
July 17th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
311 PeterMac
My son’s memory goes back to when he was 18 months old (he couldn’t speak properly at the time), but when he finally got round to speaking in words instead of babbles, he recreated the incident with details that even I could not remember!
To this day (he’s just turned 6) he has not forgotten even the slightest detail of what happened.
Granted, our incident was traumatic, but then so is losing an older sister?
July 17th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Sorry bad news for some people. http://tinyurl.com/6ru2zv
July 17th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Karen, you revealed so much about yourself over the space of three days - I could tell you exactly where your desk is! And I’m thousands of miles away from you!
Be careful what you say !!!
July 17th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
70 chenier
“Quite so; my thought was that over the last year many people have said how awful it was for the twins.
I haven’t seen many people acknowledging the damage done to the other children involved…”
I am not sure how 2 year olds actually react to someone simply not being there any more. Can you remember what it was like for you at nursery school if someone wasn’t there one day? Even if they do notice their attention amd memory span at that age is so limited that I honestly doubt whether it would do any damage at all.
Especially if they are told she has gone to live in a magic castle and is being treated like a princess !!
But they now have either millionaire or very well off parents, so can be indulged in the Disney fantasy world we have become used to being informed about.
July 17th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Never mind the simple issue that David Payne resembles Robert Murat (or the other way around if you like).
If you didn’t know either of them from a bar of soap, either could have been mistaken for the other!
(Haven’t we done this before?)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-506598/Madeleine-witnesses-mistaken-friend-McCanns-Murat-night-disappeared.html
July 17th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
I really am off now.
Bye everyone. x
(don’t worry Ferd - I never reveal the contents of emails on forums - not even if I needed the info to vindicate myself in a dispute.
).
July 17th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
306 Karen Says:
” Ferd
”
I took Coolandcalm’s advice - I have 2 addresses now.
So many?
July 17th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Chenier, I never said Anorak said anything, I said they printed a report, as the link showed, why are you so uptight today, are you unwell, hope you feel better soon.
A British barrister has “revealed he saw a man looking strikingly like suspect Murat lurking near Kate and Gerry McCann’s holiday flat on the night Maddie vanished”
Another witness? “He is the NINTH witness to challenge the ex-pat’s alibi that he was with his mum at their nearby home in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz”
From my previous link to Anoraks printed report.
July 17th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Ferd
I took Coolandcalm’s advice - I have 2 addresses now.
July 17th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
304 Karen Says:
” Ferd
”
I hope you don’t mind.
I won’t, but expect to hear a little speach from the mods now for giving away your e-mail address.
July 17th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Ferd
I hope you don’t mind.
July 17th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
238 lone pigeon
Why cant Mods& Admin please take this offensive posting off
I enjoy following the Anorak I agree with Karen
July 17th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
299 Karen Says:
” Ferd
I just sent you an email on that formmailler thing. It didn’t seem to happy though. What is it? ”
I received it. It’s my personal formmailer on a server I have access to. Nothing to do with Anorak.
July 17th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
I’ve missed Big Brother’s Little Brother. What if Zezi was on the lash again and I missed another precious episode without her????
July 17th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
293 star
Press reports were that they stayed in Vancouver with an aunt. Interviews with the aunt when they’d come home.
They may have been in debt, as perhaps indicated by the two mortgage payments, but I bet you can pretty quickly build up enough for fares to Canada out of a consultant’s hefty salary! Anyway, this time other family members may have helped. Who knows?
I’d be exceedingly surprised if it was the fund; for the reasons I’ve given. If challenged, how could any of the directors seriously stand up and justify it? It’s not quite like those two mortgage payments, and, as Karen says, they even had their fingers burnt on that one months ago. Not likely to repeat that mistake! The big donors to the fund will want to see the money used correctly. Anyway, do we have evidence that the directors are not doing their job properly? I might be wrong, but I’d be surprised if it was the fund.
The case IS very odd though… you never said a truer word! I fear you may well be right that Madeleine was already dead by the time we heard she was missing. That has always seemed to me to be the likeliest scenario, but if I were her parent, I’d never give up hope completely until I had definite proof.
July 17th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Ferd
I just sent you an email on that formmailler thing. It didn’t seem to happy though. What is it?
July 17th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I must leave. I can’t just sit here.
July 17th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
281 Melanie Says:
” I am not sure what is meant by “solution”. It may be a bad translation or mean something different in portugese to english. Afterall even in english it means different things. ”
I think he only wanted to give us some food for speculation over the weekend.
July 17th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
294
Karen Says:
July 17th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Maria
I thought you were referring to P.R. disasters.
—————————
Sorry Karen. I was, actually! My mistake. Just thought for a moment that “getting into trouble” might have meant something else which I’d missed!
Yes, I agree. They lost out massively on that one. Could never understand why the family didn’t club together for those mortgage payments. Bet the directors have regretted it ever since!
July 17th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
289
Rasputin Says:
July 17th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Sorry if you have already seen this.
——————————-
I legged it out of Court before the vultures descended, but you’ll be glad to know it’s getting good coverage in the press here.
It will get even better coverage tomorrow…
July 17th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Maria
I thought you were referring to P.R. disasters.
July 17th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Maria…not sure where they stayed…just read an article that says they went on Holiday!!
I’m sure Gerry makes a good income…..but were they not in major debt because of them not working and staying on while searching?
This case is so very odd. From the way the parents have behaved to their friends and how it seems they ran the show for a while, to how the children where left most of the time on a FAMILY holiday. I am sick as to what may have happen to Madeleine!! I get a gut feeling that she was already dead when we learned she was missing.
July 17th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Rasputin
That Anorak article says no such thing.
But it brought back memories - we were so young and innocent in those days…
July 17th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
287
Rasputin Says:
July 17th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Chenier, I object strongly to the comments you made against me this morning, far from being dishonest, Anorak printed the very point I was making a little while ago. I would hazard that in all probability a civil court would take the view that 9 are more likely to be correct than 1.
http://www.anorak.co.uk/madeleine-mccann/178934.html
———————–
Anorak said nothing of the kind; that link is to his summary on the 1st January 2008 of some of the the articles which were agreed in Court this morning to be defamatory.
And it wasn’t a little while ago, it was almost 7 months ago.
Your accuracy leaves as much to be desired as the gutter press you emulate…
July 17th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
285
Karen Says:
July 17th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Maria
They did get in trouble for using the fund to pay their mortgage… so… that horse has already bolted.
—————————————————————-
With whom? Serious question. I simply don’t know. Thought it was a PR disaster but I didn’t know the directors had been rebuked by lawyers or anything like that??? I thought the directors must have agreed the payments in order to allow them to stay on longer in Portugal, as close to the investigation as possible. I presumed that it was felt to be sufficiently important, at least in Kate’s mind, for them to be there a bit longer, even though the impression we were given was that the family (and G himself) thought it was high time to come home and establish some sort of normality for the family…including him starting to earn again.
Perhaps I missed something even more significant?
July 17th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Sorry if you have already seen this.
http://tinyurl.com/6yk9c2