Madeleine McCann: Mum’s The Word, War Of Words And Woolfall PR
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann.
DAILY EXPRESS front page: “MADELEINE – Police wanted to lock up mum.”
(As noted yesterday, Kate McCann I snow billed as ‘mum’.)
“Kate McCann was just hours away from being locked up in a police cell, it emerged yesterday,” readers learn
“Detectives who interrogated the mother of missing Madeleine for more than 11 hours wanted her put behind bars after she refused to answer key questions.”
The police want to put the suspects behind bars, eh? Maybe they want to put all suspects behind bars, just to be safe? And swab them all, like they do in the UK, just to be safe?
DAILY STAR front page: “MADDIE IS DEAD: No doubts say British cops”
No doubts? Unless she is found alive, of course…
British police also believe it was right for the McCanns to be named as suspects by their Portuguese counterparts
A “senior British detective” says: “It was not a decision that would have been taken at all lightly. The English officers would have been fully aware of the implications of taking such a step and would have agonised over it. They knew they would effectively be casting a shadow of suspicion over a couple who have lost their daughter and who maintain they are entirely innocent victims of a heinous crime.
“The case is in the media spotlight. A wrong call would be exposed to worldwide condemnation. There is no way any officer would make that decision unless they believed it was wholly necessary as a crucial part of the investigation.’’
Good to know the British and Portuguese police are working together…
DAILY MAIL: “British police attack Portuguese ‘dirty tricks’ over Madeleine”
Oh?
“British police entered the war of words over Madeleine McCann to deny Portuguese detectives’ claims that she was killed in her family’s holiday apartment. The Leicestershire force said it did not back the theory put forward by Portuguese detectives that the four-year-old died in the care of her parents, Gerry and Kate, which was leaked to a Portuguese newspaper this week.
“The daily Correio da Manha quoted unnamed sources as saying British officers believed the missing four-year-old’s corpse was hidden in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz”
A police source adds: “Leicestershire Constabulary have been careful not to offer an opinion as to what has happened to Madeleine as it is not party to all the evidence as it is not our investigation.”
Quite so. What is there to add? No new facts. No arrests. No body.
Says the Mail: “The move also highlighted the deep divisions between detectives in the McCanns’ home county and those in Portugal.”
A British source “linked to the inquiry” says: “It appears that Portuguese police are resorting to dirty tricks to divert attention from their troubled investigation
At last the papers are focusing on finding the missing girl…
DAILY MIRROR: “McCanns plea to talk as cop case collapses”
“The shambolic Portuguese investigation into Madeleine McCann’s disappearance has ground to a halt”
A source says: “There is little expectation of dramatic developments in the near future…There is no body and the chances of finding evidence to suggest that Madeleine’s corpse could have been stored then put in the boot of the McCanns’ car are fading fast. It means the police will have serious difficulties in convincing prosecutors of their theory - let alone a jury.
“Unless the Portuguese police have kept something pretty amazing up their sleeve they need a new witness or a major new discovery. Basically they’ve run out of evidence”
But what is this case about if not drama and sensation? Nothing should be ruled out.
Alipio Ribeiro, head of the Policia Judiciaria, reportedly told aides: “There is a crisis every day. This one is resolved, let’s see what tomorrow’s is”
He gets it
THE TIMES: “I saw Kate and Gerry McCanns’ despair and if they were acting they deserved an Oscar - The PR expert who advised Madeleine’s parents in the first weeks of her disappearance offers a new insight into their state of mind”
Alex Woolfall is a public relations consultant for the Ocean Club, Praia da Luz. He met the McCanns. He is an expert in “crisis PR” – just what the case needs. And who can trust if not a PR?
“I was struck at the perception of people who had watched Kate and Gerry: that they were very controlled and perhaps were not responding in a way people thought would be more natural. They were not at all controlled. When I was with them, they were between being completely distraught and trying to do what they felt was the right thing”
PR crisis averted. Now to find Madeleine…
TELEGRAPH, GUARDIAN & INDEPENDENT: No Madeleine news today
Posted: 6th, October 2007 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (656) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
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October 14th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Funnily enough, friend of mine in USA said the very same thing and she hasn’t heard as much about the story as we have.
Like the new car launch thingy !! must get one next time I have rubbish/bodies/dirty nappies to get rid of !!
October 13th, 2007 at 11:24 pm
dont think we will ever know what occured but i think they are as guil;ty as sin.have you heard that renault are launching a new car with an extra large boot……. its called a renault mccann.
October 8th, 2007 at 7:45 am
Agreed on all counts, makes you wonder if we will ever know what happened….
October 7th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
ANN…..No we dont and I for one hope they hav’nt, However I cant seem to get it out of my mind that whatever the outcome, they did help play a part in madeleines dissapearance, Things just dont add up in the whole of this case, if what we read is true?, and at the moment there is no firm evidence in support of them, as yet!…. only a PR rep..
October 7th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
ned
Aah ! with you now but must confess, the Colin Mcrae comparison is hardly the same, if that were the case then anyone who has a car crash, train crash, plane crash or whatever kind of accident - and I do stress the word accident - could be held culpable but that would only stick if said idiot who took kids out in a aforesaid car/train/plane did so whilst drunk or something. In the McCanns case they deliberately, knowingly and selfishly left the kiddies on their own whilst they went out to enjoy themselves, not once apparently, but every night so they were negligent and contributory to Madeleine’s disappearance in the worst possible way and I don’t think anybody disagrees withthat. I don’t think they killed her, for what it’s worth, I think that is just mad speculation but then none of us really knows, do we ??
October 7th, 2007 at 8:41 pm
ANN….someone on a earlier blog further up the page,saying we are all guilty of some form of neglect on our kids it sickens me to hear these defences comparing to everyday life, ie. croosing roads, taking kids out in a car, turning your back on your kids for one minute,that kind of stuff, Im sorry, I dont hate the mccanns but what they did was unreal in my opinion it wasnt an accident, or in gerry’s words “A MISTAKE” taking a wrong turn at traffic lights is a mistake, not deliberately leaving your kids to fend for themselves in an unlocked appartment while you go drink and make merry, sorry if Ioffend anyone but it is the truth of the matter….there was some comparison to colin mcrae taking two children in his helicopter, sorry cant find it but the blog numbers are not to be seen.but its their thats what prompted me to say it………
October 7th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
ned
What…..????? Where did Colin McRea figure in all this ?
October 7th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
colin mcrea should be charged with child abuse then? is that what your saying?…..
October 7th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Andrew
Well the “irony” is that it backfired big-time as the subject matter is way too sensitive for a stunt like that, and if the McCanns were willing parties to it then they are more stupid than any of us give them credit ( or discredit ) for.
October 7th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Could someone enlighten me please: How can anyone equate taking your kids out in a car or holiday on a plane,or turning your back for one minute, to planning to go out for the evening and deliberately leave your kid tucked up in bed? the mind boggles………..IDIOTIC……
October 7th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
It’s irony dear.
October 7th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
Funny joke …not !!, why use the Lottery logo ? it has obviously confused people to the point that they think the Lottery Fund has now donated a “million quid” to the fund !! Given that most posters on here are anti the McCrims because of the things they have done which ARE provable, that can only put backs further up and not only seems a tad tasteless but a bit pointless and juvenile as well. Looks like the McCrims have come up with the jackpot by losing their daughter !! or perhaps I am the only one who feels that way but it’s all a bit squirmy…..
October 7th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
The cheque reads “million quid” it’s reference to the fund, it’s using the fund total as the figure.
it’s a “joke” that’s all
October 7th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
noseycow
Well I have watched the video, there sems to be an awful lot of previously unseen smiling and laughing gouing on there and I agree, it looks as if the National Lottery handed over a cheque for over a million so what was all that about ?? I hadn’t seen or heard of that before and it would make the Madeleine Fund considerably more than what it currently stands at so where is it ? where has it gone ? or what was it spent on ?
October 7th, 2007 at 10:28 am
morning all !!
to change the subject slightly someone posted this video yesterday. Can you watch it and tell me confirm that the McC’s were accepting a cheque from the national Lottery of >£1mill?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZGMHShn0ZE&NR=1
If this is the case - can someone explain why they got this money? and can someone explain where it went? as I don’t remember the fund being bosted suddenly by another million. No wonder they’re smiling!!
October 7th, 2007 at 9:53 am
(Where are the post numbers?) - Roger Says:
October 6th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
Peter O
I think we are justified. they have shown little sign of repentance or remorse over this matter; but simply they have made e xcuses. If it was you or me I am sure we would be blaming ourselves to everybody.
Edit….. And there is a public interest element in deterring others from doing it.
I think the practice is in fact not illegal and is unregulated. And these are reasons for going on so much about it.
++++++++++++++++
REPLY - Roger, I’m probably closer to you and many others in terms of my feelings about this aspect of the case. I was just trying to make the point to The Real Stig that even if you placed the most generous interpretation possible on events of May 3rd the response/attitude of the McCann’s since is largely what wrankles with many.
Had they themselves dropped out of the limelight, by all means keep Madeleine in the limelight, then I doubt it this aspect of the case would have been receiving so much debate. i.e. They/we/the general public would understand that they were paying a high price (Madeleine’s disappearance) for a baby sitting decision that a significant number of people would never have taken in the first place. There is no real public/society interest served by further pursuing grieving parents in this scenario I would suggest. In fact, and assuming the most generous abduction scenario possible, if a negligence case was ever brought to court, I for one would hope that any sentence would be wholly suspended. i.e. All you need to do is lay down a marker for others (the parents are already suffering enough) that whatever the McCann’s/their supporters may think, their choice of baby sitting service for children of that age is not acceptable.
Instead, one of the family went from grieving parent to world wide spokesperson on child issues in what seemed like less than a heartbeat. Now that really does take some chutzpah in my book!
I’m also not a supporter of the “take the twins away” faction - again, based on the most generous interpretation of the abduction scenario. I was utterly shocked when details emerged of their baby sitting service. I couldn’t believe that any parent would think it acceptable to leave two two year olds and a three year old alone in an unlocked apartment. From comments here and elsewhere it appears that what the McCann’s did was more widespread than I might ever have thought. So, I don’t agree with their baby sitting service, but that on its own does not make them negligent parents. As others who work in the child protection arena have attested to, far worse things happen that go unpunished.
I do agree that once you start getting in to other scenarios, like this being their regular baby sitting service night after night which would open up the possibility of a planned rather than a chance abduction, and some of the other allegations being made (no charges yet), then yes it does become difficult to be so understanding of the McCann’s plight.
October 7th, 2007 at 9:37 am
susannah,
the answer to your mil quid question is yes - if madeleine was on the bed.
anyone think it was strange of gerry to remark madeleine is “near perfect”?
October 7th, 2007 at 9:31 am
633 judge dread
Morning. Danie Krugel has a rather dubious record and opinions of him I have found suggest his methods are likely fraudulent. If you do a google search on him you will see what I mean.
October 7th, 2007 at 9:28 am
635 judge
new thread
October 7th, 2007 at 9:25 am
I think the link posted in 595 to the fotos surely puts another hole in the McCanns story telling exploits.
October 7th, 2007 at 9:24 am
616 susannah
No, they wouldn’t. Burglary and theft are not that uncommon so most people would perceive the risk as high.
But having a child taken from your room by an abductor while on holiday is extremely uncommon, so it is not something a lot of people would think likely. Of course, everyone is going to be thinking differently about that risk now. Hindsight is wonderful, but useless.
What happened to the McCanns is so rare and unusual, I can only think of the case in the UK of the girl taken from her bath as something comparable. I doubt anything like this happens even once a decade.
October 7th, 2007 at 9:24 am
Peck
There were quite a few references to the fact that the twins did not wake up and you would have thought they would have done that easily with all the screaming and shouting Madeleine’s name and the searching that was going on. Various newspapers carried it and also TV newscasts.
When we saw the McCanns arrive back here and they were being interviewed outside their house, Gerry had Sean on his shoulder and he was completely spaced out or even asleep, and Amelie was blinking and stretching her face and screwing it up as if trying to “surface” which one would have thought was completely at odds with the situation they were in.
October 7th, 2007 at 9:20 am
there’s a new thread folks and i got the first 3…
October 7th, 2007 at 9:16 am
Is Clarence is on leave??
Or has David Cameroon hired him to increase the Tory PR spin exponentially now that there is a feelgood factor amongst the Tory grandees?
Anyway, it leaves the door open for Justine to return although her expenses may still be questioned.
October 7th, 2007 at 9:14 am
Ann…
Good thinking… I believe I will look for references to the twins sleeping at the time of discovery that M was missing.
Susannah, volleyball is for the tall types, I am a lower centre of gravity.
But, I could be swayed to watching Beach volleyball.
October 7th, 2007 at 9:08 am
PS. Any sign of Will.
I hope the pigs did not get nasty.
Very worrying him doing experiments with acid.
Someone posted on crimeblog the possibility that
Madeleine’s body could be in England. Private jets or at least
not regular check ins.
When was the first trip Gerry made back home?
Any dates?
I think that was the time he lost his wallet.
October 7th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Peck - Ummmm. Never watch rugby.
Volleyball is my sport.
‘Strange but true.
Do you think Clarence is on leave?
October 7th, 2007 at 9:00 am
Dang Ade you beat me to it