Madeleine McCann: When Waiters Attack, Kate McCann Childcare Inc. And Feudal Powers
MADDY WATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
DAILY EXPRESS front page: “MADELEINE – ‘McCANNS OR A FRIEND MUST BE TO BLAME’. Tapas bar waiter’s astonishing attack”
Jose Batista served the McCanns and party on that night Madeleine disappeared. “I did not think she had been taken by an abductor,” says he. “I told them [the police] it had to be one of the family or a friend. It had to be someone close”
Mr Batista is a “crucial eyewitness”
Page 4: “Nanny would have cost just £10” – Batista is standing with his “partner” Maria Fernandes, who also works at the Ocean Club complex. She does not speak. She smiles for the camera. Why is she there? They are holding hands. He says the Tapas 9 did check on their children regularly: “I know that because I often took food to the table and found one of them not there. I would take it back to the table to heat it up. But it was always the men who went to check never the women.” Apart from the time Kate McCann went to check. So not always the men. Jose thought that strange. Why?
Says he: “They left heir children alone. If I had been in that position I certainly wouldn’t have done that.” Maria smiles
“Kate may be a child carer after ruling out GP work” – But would she make living at it?
THE SUN front page: “MADDIE EXCLUSIVE: WHAT WAITERS SAW. Kate left kids alone 3 hours a night”
It’s Jose Baptista, not to be confused with the Express’s Jose Batista, even if this waiter does look very similar and is seen holding hands with his “wife”, also called Maria
Pages 4 and 5: “The men normally checked on kids..Kate only went that one night”
Kate and Gerry are “doctors”. Says Jose: “They left their children alone for up to three hours every night.” Apart from when they all went out as family, with the “cranky” children
Maria speaks: “I definitely remember Madeleine. She was like a little angel, very quiet and good as gold. Just a lovely little blonde girl.” Blonde, you say?
“CAREER PLANS STILL ON HOLD”
DAILY STAR page 7: “holiday waiter describes horror night girl vanished – MADDIE: ‘ONLY PARENTS OR PALS COULD HAVE DONE IT’” – Jose Batista says…
“Kate wants job in child care”
DAILY MAIL front page: “I want to work in child care says Maddie’s mother”
Page 7: “Kate McCann ‘wants a job in child welfare’” – So it is “claimed”. So she ahs “told friends”
“FRIENDS ‘SHARED EIGHT BOTTLES OF WINE A NIGHT’” – Says Jose Baptista. Yes, eight bottles between nine Britons. On holiday. In the sun. Indeed, is that all?
DAILY TELEGRAPH page 9: “Madeleine’s mother ‘to as GP for a child welfare job’”
“One possibility is that she will set up a charity to raise awareness of the extent of child abductions across Europe, and help parents and children who suffer such an ordeal”
Fernando Jose Pinto Montiero, Portugal’s attorney general, says the country’s Ministerio Publico, likened to the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service, is a “feudal power”
THE INDEPENDENT, THE GUARDIAN, THE TIMES and DAILY MIRROR: No Madeleine news today
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:05 am
Morning all! Where has anorak been?
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:10 am
McCanns/child care should never be in the same sentence… unless it’s a jail sentence
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:10 am
Looks like the PJ are closing in fast,lets hear it from the apologists and PJ knockers,child neglect can lead to serious consequences.
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:12 am
Now I know how a junky feels when he cant get a fix!
Anorak - Why dont you announce when you are doing maintenence on the site in advance?
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:12 am
this is more like it, get the crowd going
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:13 am
the vatican visit ( never saw this before dont laugh)
“Mrs McCann added: “It was very emotional but it was a very positive experience really. It has been very helpful to us. He was very kind. He said he would pray for us and our family and continue to have faith in us.”
During the ceremony a butterfly had landed on the ribbons in her hair. It flew away and then returned minutes later to her lapel. She said: “It was strange but lovely. It was like a small sign of hope.”
The couple said that they had mixed emotions about visiting the Vatican because the occasion was tinged by sadness.
Mr McCann said: “In other circumstances it would be the highlight for any Catholic to meet the Pope. But it is tainted by the marked realisation that our daughter is still missing.”
He said the most difficult aspect of the abduction was not knowing where she was.
Mrs McCann said: “The first 72 hours really were the worst time for both of us. It was hard to get away from the dark places. But as time goes on the support we have had, and the prayers, really do give us strength and hope. We are stronger and more positive.”
The Vatican evidently considered the meeting important. Father Frederico Lombardi, the Pope’s spokesman, said that the couple were fervent Catholics. Father Guido Todeschini, who heads the Telepace televi-sion network, which films the Pope’s audiences, said: “The Vatican hoped the meeting would be of comfort to the family. Not just the Pope but the whole church is praying for the return of Madeleine.”
The McCanns then returned to Portugal to their two-year old twins, Sean and Amelie. They have no plans to return to Britain, but instead will visit Madrid, Berlin and Amsterdam to issue yet more pictures and appeals for information. “
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:16 am
The server in California crashed… Mel Gibson says Jews to blame
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:17 am
“During the ceremony a butterfly had landed on the ribbons in her hair. It flew away and then returned minutes later to her lapel. She said: “It was strange but lovely. It was like a small sign of hope.”
I called her Kate of Assissi as a joke once lol
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:18 am
it was Will, he was cremating his piglets again
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:18 am
anorak
wasnt that what jack the ripper wrote on the wall ?
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:20 am
“He said the most difficult aspect of the abduction was not knowing where she was”
What a F****** retarded comment!
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:23 am
Brandonflours, morning-interesting read.Visit tainted? Tainted?Just tainted? I really can’t understand the Mcs, Clarence, the family. They never think before letting their mouths runs away with them. And then there’s Gerrys random blogs!!!! The first 72 hours were really the worst? More of the same!!!
McCann said: “In other circumstances it would be the highlight for any Catholic to meet the Pope. But it is tainted by the marked realisation that our daughter is still missing.”
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:23 am
this is quite interesting
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article1865968.ece
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:24 am
11
Andrew Say
“He said the most difficult aspect of the abduction was not knowing where she was”
That statement is true, it is the most difficult aspect for the PJ!
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:24 am
My Son has a heart defect, the last guy in the world I would want to “treat” him is McCann. He won’t be allowed back. I wonder if the bookmakers will give me odds on it?
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:29 am
Matty
Andrew
I think they’re FUCKING BONKERS!
They must be, if it werent for that poor childs/siblings fate
it is hillarious
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:31 am
True brandon! Damn, real life calls.. got to go. Will be back soon though! Love and peace guys x x
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:31 am
Moniker, incase you are still in need of the two newspaper articles you asked for, I copied and pasted them here:
http://www.anorak.co.uk/madeleine-mccann/177077.html?cp=2
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:32 am
how many times will he hear
” Can I have a second opinion?”
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:32 am
Going back to the James Whale show last night, Clarence would not comment directly on what the ex SAS were doing, but said they were not operational on the ground in Portugal because that would be illegal, but could not go into activities in other countries for obvious reasons.
Are the obvious reasons that they are not looking in other countries?
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:33 am
Something has been on my mind for a bit, first of all, with the evidence we have today, the inconclusive results of the DNA, the witness statements (at this time) being different….would you convict the McCanns? And I know we aren’t a jury, thankfully, and that it would depend on more things (how the evidence was presented, etc.).
But I was just curious. I know that I couldn’t at this point.
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:34 am
19
brandon flours
how many times will he hear
” Can I have a second opinion?”
OR - I will take my chances with the heart attack!
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:34 am
Well ya know I gotta take my hat of again to Mr.Soothsayer,it appears to be panning out the way he said it would,his phone tap and the preist angle seems to be right on the money.The fact that other people are on here now claiming to have predicted this also says it all,immatation is the greatest form of flattery isn’t that right Mr.Bennet.In case any one is unsure of what the position is now,the Portuguese chief of police has stated quite clearly,that he has a good idea of what happend and he knows who killed Madeleine,so lets quit the charade of looking for a living Madeleine and concentrate on nailin the guilty.
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:36 am
635 (the thread from the 21st, I hope you don’t mind my posting it again here, Stig, just thought it would be better as you may not check that one due to the new one and I wanted you to see my response-as you probably/may disagree with it, etc.)
Stig: “There are logical problems also. Kate trained as an anaesthetist. This might sound silly but I think an anaesthetist would be one of the least likely of people to ever sedate their child for the sake of convenience. Even if they were to, such a person is also LEAST likely to use a strong sedative or get the dosage that wrong. ”
Anesthesiologists are four times more times more likely to become addicted to such things (which involves using the drugs in a risky manner). So claiming that such people, due to their training, would understand the risks and wouldn’t ever misuse such things, doesn’t always add up. That doesn’t mean Kate is addicted, I don’t believe that at this point in time, and it doesn’t prove they sedated any of their children either.
http://www.health24.com/news/Addiction_Substance_abuse/1-887,29858.asp
(there are many other articles about this problem among that specialty, including doctors that actively medicate themselves while the surgery is taking place)
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:39 am
Who, in their right mind, is going to employ Kate McCann in Child Care ???? That would be a bit like getting Crippen in to look after your sick old Mum or Myra Hindley in to be the baby-sitter….
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:39 am
Good morning everyone. I thought Anorak had been sabotaged.
(21) Wanderer. We don’t know what evidence the PJ has actually got.
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:39 am
What inconclusive DNA would that be Wanderer,the DNA that the PJ think is pretty conclusive,or do you believe everything you read in the English press,very unadvisable.
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:42 am
This was intersting for all of us who wondered why everyone got involved…………
“How have they managed to captivate the world’s media? Who is the brains behind their campaign? Does it improve the chances of finding Madeleine or hinder the police investigation? And is it good for the McCanns themselves?
IN the dark hours following Madeleine’s disappearance on the night of May 3 the McCanns searched the streets of Praia da Luz until 4.30am. Later that morning Kate called a family friend, Jill Renwick, who had worked with her and Gerry at a Glasgow hospital.
“At that point she was crying out for help,” said Jill. “She was desperate. I didn’t know what else to do so I picked up the phone and called GMTV. It was a random thing to do.”
So began one of the biggest missing person appeals in history. As hundreds of journalists began to flood into Praia da Luz, the McCanns realised the media had a key role to play.
Within two days after Madeleine’s disappearance, the holiday firm Mark Warner had sent a crisis management team to Portugal. It included Alex Woolfall from Bell Pottinger, the public relations company. Woolfall, who has 20 years experience in PR, spent the next two weeks advising the family on how to keep the media interested.
“From the outset the experience I had was two people in utter desperation,” he said. “They feared that it would be a one-day story, a girl taken from a resort and that’s the end of it. They were aware that there were journalists outside, and that if they could get pictures to them it would increase the likelihood of them finding their little girl.”
The McCanns were faced with what they have described as an “information void”. The Portuguese police refused to release even the most basic of details about Madeleine’s disappearance, including the clothes she was wearing.
“The reason [the McCanns] ended up doing more than they would have done if this had happened in the UK is because there was a news vacuum,” said Woolfall. “They knew that the pressure was on them in the absence of any new information coming from police.”
Every morning, Woolfall and the McCanns worked on a strategy for the day after they had brainstormed ideas overnight with a close circle of friends in Britain. They then organised a series of carefully scheduled statements, interviews and photo-opportunities.
Back in the UK, the McCanns relied heavily on their family and friends, asking them to help in any way they could. Within days thousands of e-mails had been sent.
“They are a middle-class family who knows someone, who knows someone, who might know someone important,” said Woolfall. “They were trying to push every lever.”
One early idea from the family was for Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United’s Portuguese winger, to make an appeal. Gerry called a friend who had contacts in the football world, and word reached Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager.
“The quote that came back from him was ‘the boy will do it’,” said a source close to the family. Other football stars, including David Beckham, soon followed suit.
Family and friends took direct action. Jill Renwick approached Gordon Brown’s brother, John, who lives in her street in Glasgow.
Soon the chancellor contacted the McCanns and promised to help them “in any way he could”. It is thought pressure from Brown helped force Portuguese police to release details of a potential suspect seen by friends of the McCanns. He is also understood to have been instrumental in putting the request for the Harry Potter bookmarks to J K Rowling, the author.
When Woolfall left Portugal his role was later assumed by Clarence Mitchell, a former BBC journalist who works for the Cabinet Office but was seconded to the Foreign Office because of his experience of working in television.
Under Mitchell, the campaign stepped up a gear, with the papal visit and European tour. The meeting with the Pope was not instigated by the McCanns. It arose from a combination of the Catholic authorities in London and a media request to the Vatican. The European tour, however, was very much their plan.
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:42 am
Also, people in seemingly full support of the McCanns claim that they do show grief, while people seemingly without favor for the McCanns, disagree. This does bring up the question of how you can’t always judge people accurately (which I think most have acknowledged). So is support of “suspicious” people (in their behavior and actions) at the start of the investigation, really any better than people believing the Tapas 9 are acting “suspicious” now? As both sets of people were at the scene of the crime?
I suppose we’re left with our personal beliefs and cherry-picked, ‘leaked’ evidence from the police and the McCanns, yet again then. Hopefully the quote from one police officer claiming that they had a strong theory for what happened to Madeleine that night pans out, as well as produces accurate evidence.
October 23rd, 2007 at 8:42 am
23 Columbo
Good points!