Madeleine McCann: Ben Needham Is Missing, Operation Predator And Maddie’s Cops
MADDYWATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann.
DAILY EXPRESS front page: “McCanns warn: We’ll sue over claims we drugged our children”
Page 7: “Madeleine parents: We have never sedated our children” – The “slurs” are “outrageous” and “hurtful”.
The theory that they sedated all of their children is a “wild theory”. It appears in Portuguese newspaper 24 Horas, a source for “some of the more outlandish reporting”. The Express reproduces the outlandish reporting for its readers to digest and marvel at
“Grim hunt for images as child-porn ring is smashed” – Operation Predator is a clamp down on child porn in Portugal. A friend of the McCanns says: “This shows the scale of the problem in Portugal and appears to show that the Portuguese police seem to be looking in the right direction. It may provide vital leads”
But the raids were not directly connected with the Madeleine case. Operation Predator was six months in the planning
THE SUN front page: “Maddie: cop raid on pervs”
Page 7: “McCANNS’ DELIGHT AT PAEDO SWOOP” – Kate and Gerry McCann are “encouraged” that 300 Portuguese police “smashed” a 80-strong paedophile ring
“’FIND OUR KIDS TV’” – Kate and Gerry have backed a TV channel that features the 150,000 UK children that go missing each year. Pictures of missing children will be shown at GP surgeries, shopping malls and hospitals
Page 37: “MISSING BEN AGONY – We were too working class to get help like Maddie’s family” – The mother of Ben Needham, who disappeared 16 years ago on the Greek island of Kos – sees haves and have nots
“I was 19,” says Kerry Grist. “Just an ordinary girl from a council estate and people thought, ‘She will just go away in a few months, have another child and forget about it…I don’t think people thought Ben was important enough.” Or the media didn’t…
Kate McCann is a doctor. Gerry McCann is a heart specialist. Both Madeleine and Ben are blonde
DAILY MAIL page 5: “Huge porn swoop offers hope of a Maddie clue”
“Could Ben still be alive?” – Ben Needham disappeared from near his grandparents’ farm house
Says Mrs Grist, Ben’s mum: “Madeleine’s parents are middle class people with important jobs and seemed to have had a publicity machine behind them straight away”
DAILY MIRROR page 15: “WHY STAY IF SHE HAD SOMETHING TO HIDE?”
A pal of Kate McCann says: “She could not tear herself away [from Portugal]. What mother could leave the place where her daughter vanished? …If she had something to hide why would she hang around in Praia da Luz waiting for the police to come knocking on the door?”
We don’t know. Why?
DAILY STAR front page: “MADDIE POLICE ARREST 80 PAEDOS”
Madeleine McCann does not have her own police force – not yet. But the police working on one case are Portuguese, like the police in her case. It’s an “EXCLUSIVE”
Page 7: “MADDIE COPS RAID PAEDOS” – The Star sees Gerry McCann leaving his home in a car. “STRAIN” reads the caption
DAILY TELEGRAPH page 17: “Madeleine police turn spotlight back on paedophiles”
“Missing children TV hopes to jog patients’ memories” – Ben Needham is missing. Xiao Xiao is missing. Lee Thomas Wedge is missing. Leanna Petrenko is missing. Abigaile Sommerville is missing. Andrew Paul Gosden is missing
THE INDEPENDENT page 24: “Mother in plea to missing son” – Ben Needham is missing
THE TIMES page 11: “Madeleine police return to kidnap theory”
German and Dutch police are believed to have been asked to trace and interview guests staying at the Ocean Club when Madeleine went missing
THE GUARDIAN: No Madeleine news today
October 11th, 2007 at 8:50 am
Am I first?
October 11th, 2007 at 8:54 am
Conclusion from the laboratories in Portugal and England
The children were given tranquilizers
See http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53176&page=5 , the last posting.
October 11th, 2007 at 8:55 am
This is worth reading on Ben Needham:
QUOTE: “Unfortunately, airports and docks were only informed of Ben’s disappearance 3 days later. Initially the police suspected that Stephen had taken Ben on his moped and there had been an accident in which the boy had been killed and Stephen had buried the body. However Stephen insisted that he had left his parents’ farmhouse on his own and I understand that there is no forensic evidence to support the police’s suspicions”. UNQUOTE
http://www.mheap.com/sceptical7.html
October 11th, 2007 at 8:56 am
Am I second!
October 11th, 2007 at 8:56 am
Gerry’s Blog updated. Don’t think its written by him though.
October 11th, 2007 at 8:58 am
Well, its a good thing that there is focus once again on Ben Needham. The media villified his mother at the time, saying she had “let” him be taken by not watching him closely enough, and yet…….the Mc’s left their children and everyone is supposed to feel sorry for them! The power of money!
I still do not believe that some paedophile “happened” to be passing by, trying doors to see which ones were left unlocked, and got lucky - surely such a “lucky” person would have won the Euromillions by now?
I don’t know if the Mc’s killed Madeleine, but I should think even if they did, it would be normal to want to stay nearby her body - in Columbo the murderer often returns to the scene of the crime, and that crazy SA guy with the DNA machine said he traced the DNA to the beach - didn’t the Mc’s go jogging on the beach every day??
October 11th, 2007 at 9:00 am
Class war again?
If the Needhams had been middle class, perhaps they would have been made suspects?
October 11th, 2007 at 9:02 am
2 Carina
Well, it will be interesting to see the Mccann’s sue the British and Portuguese Governments as aren’t these labs were the testing took place run by the governments? Or are they private?
Also, if the POLICE say that the Mc’s gave the children tranquilisers, does that mean they will sue the police?
Interesting!
October 11th, 2007 at 9:04 am
7 Pete
An interesting point you raise Pete.
Is it better to be classed as a “typical” ignorant working class “bad” mother who will “move on” and have more kids, maybe by different fathers, or is it better to be a suspect? Hmm……
October 11th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Note it is the working class who think the McCanns are middle class.
The middle class aren’t so sure.