Madeleine McCann: With Columnist Fergus Shanahan And The Maddie Squad
MADDIE WATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann, Kate McCann and Gerry McCann
THE COLUMNISTS
FERGUS SHANAHAN: “SWOOP FOR MADDIE”
“I tried to imagine the misery Kate and Gerry McCann must be going through with these Maddie sightings. It’s too awful.”
See the Sun’s front-page Maddie update in which she is served an ice-cream in Brussels. Shanahan is the paper’s deputy editor. It’s too awful…
“They must cling to any hope. But some of the latest rash of ‘sightings’ are based on thin detail.”
The ice-cream was chocolate.
“Sadly, the Maddie tragedy is attracting its fair-share of attention seekers”
The Sun’s front page says the ice-cream was cold and sweet – just how Maddie likes them!
“It seems unlikely that Europe’s most instantly recognisable child would be walked through city streets by her abductors.”
More likely she’d stop and be bought an ice cream…
“But if convincing reports of sightings continue, Scotland Yard should set up a Maddie squad capable of moving instantly anywhere in Europe.”
On the Sun’s word…
Posted: 12th, August 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Tabloids Comments (348) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
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August 12th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
When Yvonne Martin was first mentioned she was ‘a care worker’. Now she is a ‘high ranking Social Worker’. (no such thing!)
A holidaying Social Worker would never give out any information like that. She would be in deep sh*t in UK.
If it was true her formal statement would be in the public domain via the press as are other statements.
This is the 3arses chinese whispers that started with CdM and JM. I’ve watched it unfurl over the months and it is so scary the way rumours grow legs and run.
Did any of us know for sure that Robert Murat /Michaela / Malinka were suing until the they turned up at the High Court? Nope.
Watch this space for David Payne and co. we won’t know until it happens.
August 12th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
That nurse was taking the piss werent she ?
August 12th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Catalina Says:
August 12th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Daisy Says:
August 12th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
In the NOTW article, that detective says the rubbish bins in Praia da Luz weren’t searched; however, I have read a translation of the summary of the police files which says that all the bins, 188 of them, in the town and surrounding area were searched and inspected but nothing relevant was found. If that translation is correct, he obviously hasn’t researched his subject very well! Although I do agree with some of what he says and many of his points are exactly the same as Amaral is said to have made in his book.
DONT BELIEVE ANYTHING IN THAT PAPER IT’S FULL OF BULLSHIT
August 12th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Daisy Says:
August 12th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
In the NOTW article, that detective says the rubbish bins in Praia da Luz weren’t searched; however, I have read a translation of the summary of the police files which says that all the bins, 188 of them, in the town and surrounding area were searched and inspected but nothing relevant was found. If that translation is correct, he obviously hasn’t researched his subject very well! Although I do agree with some of what he says and many of his points are exactly the same as Amaral is said to have made in his book.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Maria Says:
August 12th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
From the Daily Mail’s first report 5th May.
In Leicester, neighbours spoke of the loving, protective parents.
Tracey Horsefield, a 32-year-old nurse, said: “They never let those children out on their own. I have never seen Madeleine without her parents.”
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I don’t have time to look for all links but I do remember reading and hearing about their neighbours’ comments.
Maria - read the statement again….
Tracey Horsefield, a 32-year-old nurse, said: “They never let those children out on their own. I have never seen Madeleine without her parents.”
Just goes to show how much they know doesn’t it! Just goes to show how you think you know someone but you don’t really. The McCanns left them night after night. You have no argument here whatsoever. Gerry seemed like a lovely bloke on that bus on holiday swearing in front of the children didn’t he? Do you f and blind in front of children? Do you leave kids alone at that age to fend for themselves? Do you? If you do you need shooting.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Well that’s one neighbour.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
When other kids have gone missing the parents say things like we want her found so we can give her a proper burial etc……. they actively want the police to look for their remains.
The Mc Canns avoid the whole thing. I know you will all say, oh but they have faith…….etc……
After 16 months you would think they would consider finding out why the dogs picked up a cadaver scent in all those places wouldnt you?
if they were innocent of course.
You would think this would be the place to start
August 12th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
crikey ! I would hope they DIDNT let them out alone , I dont let my 7 yr old out alone
August 12th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Maria Says:
August 12th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Have you EVER heard any friend, relative or neighbour utter a single word of suspicion about them? Isn’t that very strange? Not one person has ever said,
“Well…..I always thought there was something funny…….” Not ONE. (At least, not one that I’ve ever seen. I could have missed something I suppose.)
______________
Maria, do the google that BF suggested to Doris.
You’ll be shocked! However, we’re not allowed to discuss it here …. so please don’t when you’ve read it or else it will just be whooshed
August 12th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
From the Daily Mail’s first report 5th May.
In Leicester, neighbours spoke of the loving, protective parents.
Tracey Horsefield, a 32-year-old nurse, said: “They never let those children out on their own. I have never seen Madeleine without her parents.”
————————————————————————————
I don’t have time to look for all links but I do remember reading and hearing about their neighbours’ comments.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
maria , no person would be allowed to speak out against them now would they ? clarence would pounce and threaten to sue any paper or person that tried it
August 12th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Thanks, Brandon. Will do.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
doris
I’ll try and find the links for this right now. Some of their neighbours spoke up in the first couple of days to say what good parents they were. Two of Kate’s best friends, who had known her from childhood also made a point of saying the same thing. Jon Corner’s wife has known Kate since they started primary school together.
I’m hopeless about links. I tend to just read stuff and let it go bit I’ll try and fine the links now. I’m not being dishonest. I remember that well. (Of course, all newspaper reports are suspect anyway.)
Why do you think their neighbours in Rothley have been unfailingly supportive from the start? The ones who spoke about them live in the same road but the whole Rothley community has given strong support from day one. Look how many attended the 12 months anniversary service.
Have you EVER heard any friend, relative or neighbour utter a single word of suspicion about them? Isn’t that very strange? Not one person has ever said,
“Well…..I always thought there was something funny…….” Not ONE. (At least, not one that I’ve ever seen. I could have missed something I suppose.)
August 12th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Unfortunately, until a body or else is found, sightings will continue. Nobody will know at the point of a reported sighting, if that particular child could be Maddie or not and IMO it needs to be investigated. There are only two scenarios: she died in PDL or she was taken by someone else and is still alive or is dead. So far, none of these have been proven one way or the other, therefore the saga will continue until one of these scenarios becomes fact.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Daisy
google search these words
kate arul mc cann majorca
Then look at the links
Then do the same and add
yvone martin
August 12th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Pam Says:
August 12th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
I’m sure the police have confirmed that the most recent child isn’t Madeleine, but did any of the reports mention why she spoke English? I just found it curious.
_________________
Why would something like that be strange? Perhaps her father is a Diplomat, or someone from an English speaking country that works there? Nothing strange or curious about a small child speaking English in a foreign country IMO.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Who can kindly tell me what this story about Majorca is all about? Thanks heaps.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
lone
‘Haven’t gotten into family guy that much although when I do watch it it’s funny as hell!’
I enjoyed it, but the last few episodes I have seen keep implying paedophillia is funny which have made me feel uncomfortable and paranoid about the world
August 12th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
BF
I don’t know the facts about the social worker?? It was probably none of her business if she stuck her nose in without knowing anything about them.
I think the PJ should have looked close to home from the first minute, actually, as suggested in that article which Daisy posted the link for.
I’m quite sure that they did, eventually, look very carefully into the Mcs. They made them arguidos didn’t they? Don’t you think they’ll have examined all the “evidence” against them? Seriously, BF, if you and I know they should have done that, surely to God the police will have known? They are the experts, after all, and had access to every possible additional expert assistance anywhere they wanted it.
They didn’t find evidence to link any of the three arguidos to ANY crime connected with Madeleine’s disappearance. Do you think the PJ are fools? Do you think their Attorney General is a fool or a liar? Do you seriously think the British or Portuguese Governments give a damn about protecting a couple of docs on holiday with their kids and their mates….and a mum-in-law? No, I mean SERIOUSLY?!
I just don’t understand why people can’t accept what the police are saying….no evidence!
I mean, before 21st July everyone was saying how wonderful the PJ were, how they would definitely come up with the truth. Then when they publish their conclusions, a few people, who don’t like those conclusions, suddenly decide you can’t believe a word the PJ say! They must be mugs, easily fooled, knaves, doormats or whatever. Of course, jo’s theory is that the PJ are only PRETENDING to believe what they say….playing cat and mouse with the Mcs.
Do you think that’s true? The AG was only pretending?
August 12th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
maria , do you also think it is peculiar that no friends of mccanns have ever put themselves forward to defend them , or even their characters ? I am sure if innocent friends of mine were in that position and I was confident ot their innocence I would feel compelled to defend them , but absolutely nobody has done this , not even their neighbours !
August 12th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
brandon flours Says:
August 12th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
lone
You got them on ebay! didnt ya
I got some old enid blytons and was aghast at the contents of the gollywogs!
BTW Do you watch Family Guy ?
Nope - they were passed onto me from a friend - had no idea the stories were like that! Haven’t gotten into family guy that much although when I do watch it it’s funny as hell!
August 12th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
I’m sure the police have confirmed that the most recent child isn’t Madeleine, but did any of the reports mention why she spoke English? I just found it curious.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
brandon flours Says:
August 12th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Maria
Why do you think that a social worker had concerns about one of the tappas members and was backed up by two other witneses ?
Do you think that they should be looking closer to home?
Do you not think its strange that there has been a complete silence over this from the other tappas and the mc canns?
–
Brandon,
I tend to agree with you here. In the beginning of all this sad saga, I had the feeling that the parents knew what had happened to the child … at the hand of someone else of the group!
August 12th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Maria
Why do you think that a social worker had concerns about one of the tappas members and was backed up by two other witneses ?
Do you think that they should be looking closer to home?
Do you not think its strange that there has been a complete silence over this from the other tappas and the mc canns?
August 12th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
BF
Do you mean the counter attack of the PJ on their own report…..?!?!
August 12th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Daisy Says:
August 12th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I wonder what else will transpire in the next few days/weeks!
———————————————————————
Indeed!
One thing I guess we can be sure of…if the Mcs’ investigators are actually following up any possible leads, they’ll be doing it quietly and behind the scenes, not in the full glare of media publicity. CM has to be reasonably polite to the press but the Mcs must know as well as anyone how unlikely these big media-hype “sightings” are. They are just money-spinners for the press.
I hope there are things going on to find the truth that we know nothing about. Sadly, I suspect that “truth” will be about how Madeleine died rather than where she is, alive, today. But I think the parents want the truth, whatever it is. They cannot grieve properly until they know what really happened. I hope Madeleine is still alive, but I doubt it very much.
August 12th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Daisy
The counter attack of the pj and the dogs
August 12th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I wonder what else will transpire in the next few days/weeks!
August 12th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Sorry. here’s the link.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1043730/Judge-admits-Made
August 12th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Daily Mail online
Judge admits Madeleine’s case was at a ‘dead end’ in December - but it took another seven months to clear Kate and Gerry
By VANESSA ALLEN
Last updated at 8:46 AM on 12th August 2008
The presiding judge in the Madeleine McCann investigation admitted the case had hit a ‘dead end’ last December, secret police files have revealed.
But the missing girl’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann were forced to endure another seven months of agony as suspects in the case before officials finally shelved it last month and admitted they had no evidence against them.
The damning statement from presiding judge Pedro Daniel dos Anjos Frias was revealed in the mammoth dossier of case files released last week.
He oversaw the investigation and wrote to lawyers on December 12, saying: ‘It is obvious in the situation, when you view the state of the case files, the investigation is at a dead end.’
And a police report written on day 47 of the hunt, in June last year, warned that investigators had come to a standstill.
But it was not until July 21 this year that Portugal’s attorney-general announced he was shelving the case because police had failed to find any evidence about what had happened to Madeleine.
Mr and Mrs McCann, both 40, were named as official suspects on September 7 last year. Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said it should never have happened.
He said: ‘The picture of the investigation that is emerging from the case files is that Kate and Gerry were made arguidos wrongly, and that once that was put in place it stayed in place for far too long.
‘The tragedy is that it was time wasted when the police should have been looking for Madeleine.’
——————————————————————————————————
Well, at least it shows they spent another seven months trying to find evidence against them, and failed. (They obviously don’t read Anorak!)
I don’t necessarily believe they stopped looking for Madeleine because Rebelo made it clear that he (unlike Amaral) was looking at all possibilities.