Madeleine McCann: Robert Murat Wins Damages
MADDIE WATCH - Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
ROBERT Murat, the one-eyed, “oddball“, “weirdo“, “bouncy castle” fetishist, fingered by the Sunday Mirror’s Lori Campbell, has settled a claim for damages with a number of British newspapers over allegations of his involvement in the Madeleine McCann inquiry.
Mr Murat will be in the High Court in London on Thursday to receive apologies from the newspapers.
Did he get £1million? Did they all apologise?
The Sun’s Julie Moult considers the evidence. And delivers a piece entitled “stories of a fantasist”. “He always seemed so eager to get involved in the police investigation,” says the Sun’s woman–on-the-scene. “Robert claimed he had a daughter just like Madeleine and said he felt compelled to do anything he could. But to me he seemed like classic fantasist.”
The settlement is with eight UK national newspapers, with damages totalling between £250,000 and £500,000, according to Sky News.
The Mail’s Neil Sears also spots Murat. In “My encounters with a man ‘who just wanted to help’”, Sears tells Mail readers, “There was something more to the friendly expat who called himself ‘Rob’ than met the eye.”
The Sunday Mirror’s Lori Cambell who alerted police to Murat’s behaviour, she saw as “creepy”. She todl the police. But why did she tell the world?
Paul Titcombe had worked with Murat, and the Sun duly noted:
“Paul also suspected Murat had an unhealthy interest in children,” notes the Sun. Interesting. But, sadly, the Sun does not enlarge on this. The usually loquacious Titcombe is not quoted. Examples are not cited.
And:
The Sun hears from Murat’s former work colleague Ji Stanton. Says he: “If he didn’t take his medication, he could be very Jekyll and Hyde. People did see him as creepy.”
The Express topped the lot by comparing an innocent Murat to Soham killer Ian Huntley.
“Kidnapping has weird echoes of Soham case,” says the Express’s front page. “MADDY SUSPECT BEHAVED JUST LIKE HUNTLEY.”
Tuck Price defended Murat when they pointed the finger, and Kate McCann wondered, before the tabloids cleared him. Berore he killed himself. Before he became another Michael Cook. Jenny Murat remained steadfast. We watched his girlfriend.
Max Clifford. Calling Max Clifford…
July 15th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
1st?
July 15th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
This is huge. Trial by media. He deserves every penny.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
He certainly does
July 15th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Anorak…. I agree he does deserve it. But I also agree that the McCanns deserved theirs.
Character assasination for the hell of it a media past-time nowadays with the teeniest apology printed long after the event.
I hope it makes them think twice……….
July 15th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Anorak, there are strange psychological forces at work too. In the early days of the Soham case there were reports of a mysterious white van being spotted nearby. Echoes of the Sarah Payne case, Whiting in his white van.
Then in the Maddy case the media identified a man allegedly hanging around the press near the scene of the crime, fishing for info, a single man who lived nearby. Echoes of Huntley.
So there seems to be a need to fit the “facts” of the latest big “abduction” media story with the last one. And many readers follow like sheep.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
“I hope it makes them think twice……….”
Dream on. The media have made an absolute killing out of this circus of incompetence, egocentricity and manipulation .
The payouts are, I suspect, only a small percentage of revenue.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
From previous thread:
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71
chenier Says:
July 15th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
63
Abraham Zapruder Says:
July 15th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
All looking good for the PJ, in 14 months they make no arrests, but name three suspects all of whom end up getting huge libel awards.
Nice work
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I’m having some difficulties in grasping the logic which supports your claim that the PJ are responsible for the antics of Lori Campbell, Uncle Tom Cobley and all the other journos who make up the tabloid press in this country.
I would suggest, however, that unless you too hunger for the thrill of the High Court and Justice Eadie’s magisterial, though never unapproachable, consideration, you might like to bear in mind that our libel courts would regard the PJ as being just as worthy of justice as any other individual/s.
Or, to put it bluntly, stop talking such crap; surely you must be able to think of something even marginally more interesting to say…
____________
Calm down, Chenier, you can’t seriously be suggesting my post was libellous.
Skylarks build their nests on the ground, there’s another libellous comment for you.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
7
Abraham Zapruder Says:
July 15th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
Calm down, Chenier, you can’t seriously be suggesting my post was libellous.
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No, but it was indisputably boring…
July 15th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
….the media identified a man…..
Well, having read Carmen’s observations on who owns what in PDL, that’s rather like saying ‘the media identified a woman’ named Elizabeth living in a very big house at the end of the Mall…
July 15th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Let’s go back to some comments made a while back.
I hope the bullsh!tter John Marsden likes the taste of humble pie.
http://www.anorak.co.uk/madeleine-mccann/173379.html?cp=all#comments
12
john marsden Says:
May 17th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
to my mind this is the guy who kidnapped Madeline. I believe this has echoes of Soham and the Monster Huntley. Murat’s behaviour is identical, Huntley brought suspicion on himself by ‘meddling’ with the investigation in a seemingly ‘helpful’ way, just like this guy Murat. This seems to be a common pattern with paedo’s.
Wouldn’t surprise me if he(Murat)and the Russian guy (the web expert), were involved in some kiddie porn ring probably incorporating Murat’s fiancee and her ex-husband and that they are a ring of paedophiles who have multiple images of children on computers etc for their own sick gratification or to sell on the web.
If so they should hang in public.
Seems to close for comfort this. The Russian computer web-designer expert. Murat’s business interests (maybe child porn). Perverted sexual deviances with his girlfriend and her ex.
Murat ddoesn’t sound like the ‘innocent’ bystander to me.
I hope to God Whatever has happened Maddy is still alive, but if my hunch is true, I doubt it.
Funnily enough whilst writing this, so sensitive a guy am I, that I feel physically sick.
MODS AND ADMIN
Tell you what ChrisB, let’s go forward rather than go back………over a year since you had something to say and here you are, straight out the woodwork with the breaking news……interesting.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Over a year, eh?
That’s an impressively long time to hold a grudge, but then revenge is a dish best served cold…
July 15th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
……… screech …. bump ….. third thread for the day! (Thanks Carmen)
July 15th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
“Mr Murat will be in the High Court in London on Thursday to receive apologies from the newspapers.”
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The wording of the apologies could be quite interesting. A simple “we printed wrong information” or “we apologise for digging into Robert Murat’s character, physical appearance, etc. etc” - they pulled this guy apart hair by hair - the apologies should reflect that they are sorry for doing exactly this!
July 15th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
So, Murat’s lawyers included Sky television in their writ blizzard, but Brunt makes no mention of this.
Wonder what the deal on that is?
And, in addition to our own dear Anorak, a word also of appreciation for Matthew Parris, castigated by the blogger criminals fear- well, at least that’s what the blogger says- who wrote an article on the media’s obsessional attempts to get Murat lynched…
July 15th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Chenier
Is that shirt still ironed??
Fancy another trip out on Thursday???
PLEASE - bats eyelashes….
July 15th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
First news regarding Mr Murat’s claims against Libel :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7344986.stm
“”"”In a statement, the solicitors, who are specialists in media litigation, said
they were taking action against Sky, the Sun, the Daily Express, the Sunday
Express, the Daily Star and the Daily Mail.
They also listed the Evening Standard, the Metro, the Daily Mirror, the
Sunday Mirror, the News of the World and the Scotsman.”"”
July 15th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
14…chenier
Maybe BBC News will cover that aspect of it all.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
BBC News reporter, who says that he speaks to Mr Murat regularly, saying
that the Murat Camp did not wish the “news” to be broken today and are
disappointed that it had been.
Who leaked ?
July 15th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Remember Roy Greenslade foaming at the mouth about the McCann case?
‘The deal was negotiated without any court hearing having taken place, and the fact that the papers capitulated without a fight suggests that their legal advisers told them they had no chance of winning if the case went to trial.’
It should be interesting to see if he bothers to mention the Murat settlement, much less admit that his comment must, in all fairness, apply to Murat also…
July 15th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
<<>>
Yes mods, it is interesting.
I used to lurk on this site quite often - going back to about 1999, IIRC. But I stopped following the Marsden comment I quoted above. Got heartily sick of self-appointed armchair experts passing summary judgement on others without knowing anything of substance about the matter in hand, other than what the tabs had spoon-fed them. Exactly a la Barry George.
Sorry if you consider it old-hat, but it’s exactly these kind of comments which obscure the truth & plant false ideas in people’s minds. It’s not like the subject being discussed was trivial - they were serious accusations, along with a load of confabulating rubbish about paedophilia, child pr0n, deviancy, etc. There’s nothing wrong in my reminding others.
<<>>
Yes, chenier - but it’s not grudge-holding. It’s just a sense that people should shut up about things they don’t know anything about, rather than accusing someone of murder, based on zero information, immediately after the event. Not that unreasonable, surely?
July 15th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
19…chenier
As he was close by when Clarence was trumpeting near the Court steps, I agree
that he should show his non-bias.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
The BBC piece is interesting too….
In April Mr Murat’s lawyers, Simons Muirhead & Burton, said they were pursuing 11 leading British newspapers and Sky TV over allegedly libellous stories.
On Tuesday a spokeswoman for Mr Murat said the settlement and written apology had been agreed with the 11 newspapers.
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Agreed with the 11 newspapers…..but what about Sky?
Sky’s dedicated blog is still on the missing list too.
The fat lady must have a sore throat!
July 15th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
20…ChrisB
Just for interests sake….what were your replies, at the time, to the Marsden post ?
July 15th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Anorak, you scheming swine!
Yesterday you ran on the Guardian ranting at Desmond.
Greenslade in the Guardian ranting at Desmond, blaming the entire libel debacle on
‘ A rogue proprietor and his rogue editors’
and today Greenslade will have to admit that it wasn’t just one rogue proprietor and his rogue editors but the systematic corruption of the press here.
Anorak, when did you know that Greenslade would be served a large helping of humble pie?
Please?
July 15th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
22…Carmen
Thursday will be an interesting day.
British Open starts at Royal Birkdale too.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
25
Matt. Says:
July 15th, 2008 at 2:40 pm e
Is the fat lady a golfer then?
July 15th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
25
Matt. Says:
July 15th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
22…Carmen
Thursday will be an interesting day.
British Open starts at Royal Birkdale too.
ahhh to think I could have been playing in that too….. why oh why did I meet women eh
July 15th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
24…chenier
Sometimes life is just soooooo sweet.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
26…Carmen
Who knows what talents are hidden beneath her folds.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
20
ChrisB Says:
July 15th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
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Oh, it wasn’t a criticism.
Some things are worth bearing grudges over…