Re: Martin Brunt Confronts Twitter "Troll"

by Guest 05.10.14 22:36

Press Review on Sky News. Shows several "newspapers" have front page articles about the death of the internet troll. Disgusting and disrespectful.

by stillsloppingout 05.10.14 22:38

This whole turn of events is bigger than just another McCann story .
It is the first if i am not mistaken, adult death as a result of being accused and fronted because of online" trolling ' .

This subjective terminology , [ she wasn't really a troll in the literal sense , a troll writes knowingly clear bollocks , to instil anger , upset or conflict onto a debating site . She was just expressing opinions on a forum .

Because she is the first adult death associated with being fronted by the media , the whole freedom of expression agenda has now to be discussed , this case and turn of events will open countless debates . also as she is now a martyr in many peoples eyes ,to freedom of expression, her views posts, beliefs and why she arrives at them will be scrutinised , more people will read the Police files .

as PM stated this is now a game changer . the gloves are off .

I await with interest SY trying to pull the wool over our eyes again .

ps considering there biggest rival has scored an own goal the BBC 's silence is deafening . they dare not offend there masters .

by frost 05.10.14 22:42

Sky news press review

Metro reports that a so called twitter troll whos errrr (pause) shown on national television for targetting the parents of Madeleine McCann has been found dead in a hotel room

Daily mirror says that Brenda Leyland was exposed after flooding the couple with messages about their missing daughter .

yes there really was a long errr and pause before he said on national television , they couldn't even say was shown on sky news what a cop out .

I hope someone managed to record it and puts the video online it was cringeworthy to listen to .

by sallypelt 05.10.14 22:43

BBC basically reporting that Martin Brunt was wrong to do what he did and should have been left to the police and legal system

by Silverspeed 05.10.14 22:44

Madeleine McCann ‘Troll’ Brenda Leyland Is Dead
by Anorak | 5th, October 2014

SAD news. The woman monstered by the media and on twitter, Brenda Leyland, is dead.
Leyland, who led the news cycle as a Madeleine McCann “troll” had allegedly posted online unpleasant comments about the missing child’s innocent parents.
The 63-year-old was found dead in a Enderby, Leicestershire, hotel room. She had left her home a few days earlier.
A Leicestershire Police spokeswoman says:

“Police were called at 1.42pm on Saturday 4 October to reports of a body of a woman in a hotel room in Smith Way, Grove Park. Officers have attended the scene and a file is being prepared for the coroner.’Identification of the deceased is a matter of the coroner. The death is not being treateed as suspicious.”

What killed her? We don’t know.
It is a sickness that the story of an innocent missing child who vanished split into pro and anti-McCann factions. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves.
It is wrong that a woman who posted unpleasant messages should lead the national news cycle, be trapped in the media glare with no protection. The police and media are biased. They use the tweeter swho says the ‘wrong things’ to champion their own morals. Mrs Leyland never stood a chance.
It is sad that a woman was “unmasked” on the national news as someone who might have tweeted an offensive thought. Her right to free speech was questioned before police had ever investigated her words for any criminality.
Who made that story so prominent? And why?
Please don’t write in about the McCanns or their missing daughter. We’re not experts. Leave it to the police. We’re interested in freedom of expression and how police and media use a story for their own ends.

All very sad. It should never have come to this. sad

by margaret 05.10.14 22:47

admin wrote:
Ladyinred wrote:Anyone believe, as I do, that Summers and Swann were connected to this dossier that was forwarded to the police?
Apparently it was Jayelles from the Stop the Myths forum.

The irony! She is the worst one on twitter.

by Okeydokey 05.10.14 22:48

juliet wrote:This whole terrible story is as strange as that of Jacinta, the nurse allegedly driven to kill herself because she answered the phone to someone pretending to be the Queen. Things seem to have taken a very dark turn. I hope the inquest is properly conducted.
ucted.

I doubt it will be. The Police have already said the poor lady's death was "not suspicious", therefore completely clearing Sky News of any responsibility, without any examination of the evidence. Surely they have to at least interview Brunt to find out what he said to her off camera.

by waiting for justice 05.10.14 22:51

Okeydokey wrote:
juliet wrote:This whole terrible story is as strange as that of Jacinta, the nurse allegedly driven to kill herself because she answered the phone to someone pretending to be the Queen. Things seem to have taken a very dark turn. I hope the inquest is properly conducted.
ucted.

I doubt it will be. The Police have already said the poor lady's death was "not suspicious", therefore completely clearing Sky News of any responsibility, without any examination of the evidence. Surely they have to at least interview Brunt to find out what he said to her off camera.

I may be wrong but when they say not suspicious don't they mean she hasn't been murdered etc? I.e they know the cause and nobody else is involved directly to pursue etc.

by Guest 05.10.14 22:52

Okeydokey wrote:
juliet wrote:This whole terrible story is as strange as that of Jacinta, the nurse allegedly driven to kill herself because she answered the phone to someone pretending to be the Queen. Things seem to have taken a very dark turn. I hope the inquest is properly conducted.
ucted.

I doubt it will be. The Police have already said the poor lady's death was "not suspicious", therefore completely clearing Sky News of any responsibility, without any examination of the evidence. Surely they have to at least interview Brunt to find out what he said to her off camera.

They said Peaches Geldof's death wasn't suspicious at the time...

by **Tony Bennett** 05.10.14 22:52

QUOTE:

"Nothing will be done to ensure that in future reporters and editors try harder to get things right. And so the same people will do something similar, soon, to some other unfortunate family – who will probably not have our hard-earned experience of dealing with these things and who will probably never succeed in getting a correction or an apology."

UNQUOTE

- Gerry Mcann, article in the Guardian, 2 October 2014.

by Guest 05.10.14 22:53

Not just Brunt.

There was a lead up to all this as evidenced by pictures of her in different clothes and different hair condition (a different day?)

Who were they?

I'm sure the Police will investigate.

by Guest 05.10.14 22:55

Sky News might need an advisor in Crisis Management.

Perhaps Jim Gamble, Chief Executive of Ineqe, can help.

by Liz Eagles 05.10.14 22:55

This is the body copy from the Sky News Report

A woman who abused the parents of Madeleine McCann on social media is believed to have been found dead in a Leicestershire hotel.

Brenda Leyland was featured in a Sky News report on internet abuse earlier this week.

A spokesman for Leicestershire police said: "Police were called at 1.42pm on Saturday 4 October to a report of a body of a woman in a hotel room in Smith Way, Grove Park, Leicester.

"Officers attended the scene, and a file is being prepared for the coroner.

"Identification of the deceased is a matter for the coroner, and the death is not being treated as suspicious."

.............................................................................................

'was featured in a Sky News report on internet abuse earlier this week'.

Remember this minimising. 104 words.

As I remember it was an entire day of showing Brenda Leyland being doorstepped and discussed. It was lavishly advertised showing the times of each screening.

...........................................................................................

Remember also that Sky News is as I write this post doing the paper review and has completely failed to discuss the headlines of newspapers showing the death of Brenda Leyland - the presenter stumbled over reading out these headlines. The headline on the front page of the Daily Mirror has been smudged (I kid you not) whilst the papers are being scrolled through.

Remember this.

by Guest 05.10.14 22:59

Sky:

A woman who abused the parents of Madeleine McCann on social media is believed to have been found dead in a Leicestershire hotel.

Really?

Is that a fact?

What is the definition of "abuse" being used here and who is the judge?

by Woofer 05.10.14 22:59

Tony Bennett wrote: QUOTE:

"Nothing will be done to ensure that in future reporters and editors try harder to get things right. And so the same people will do something similar, soon, to some other unfortunate family – who will probably not have our hard-earned experience of dealing with these things and who will probably never succeed in getting a correction or an apology."

UNQUOTE

- Gerry Mcann, article in the Guardian, 2 October 2014.

This does score points to the Hacked Off campaign - `see what these awful journos do to people`

by juliet 05.10.14 23:12

I am utterly disgusted by Brunt, Sky News and the UK press like the Mirror - lying about this poor dead woman beina "troll" or "abuser" or sending "vile" messages. If only when Brunt doorstepped her she had said "Yes everyone needs to know about the Gaspar statement" or "Why did they lie about the shutters?" or any of the million questions the UK press is refusing to ask. No doubt she said all that later...in the interview in her house.
and it was suppressed. And then she died.

by Guest 05.10.14 23:17

juliet wrote:No doubt she said all that later...in the interview in her house.
and it was suppressed. And then she died.

The interview in her house?

Was she doorstepped again later?

I think Sky should show this interview.

I'm sure the Police will look at it as part of their investigation to make sure she wasn't threatened or intimidated by Brunt.

by waiting for justice 05.10.14 23:17

Wow, just looked again at the front pages as the Mirror wasn't on the Sky News app when I looked earlier.
I find it in slightly bad taste that they're still branding her the Troll even in death.

I really hope some good can come of this tragic event but like others have said, I fear now it will play into the hands of GM after his recent words on the Leveson enquiry who let's face it is an avid supporter because he doesn't want anything negative surfacing that may show TM in a bad light.

by Brian Griffin 05.10.14 23:18

juliet wrote:And then she died.

No, and then she was driven to kill herself to escape the prolonged campaign of abuse that surely awaited her, you know, abuse of a truly 'vile' nature carried out by people who are supposedly attacking her for making vile comments. Interesting that. But she must have known it was coming. Look at the disproportionate amount of abuse that lady off 'Great British Bake Off' received for taking an ice-cream out of a freezer. This was going to be really, really nasty. Sky News needs to be held responsible for this.

In my opinion.

by **Tony Bennett** 05.10.14 23:25

BlueBag wrote:THE QUESTION STILL REMAINS:

Q) HOW DID MARTIN BRUNT "TRACK HER DOWN"?

(Sorry for the capitals. It's an important question).

This question will no doubt be asked of Martin Brunt at the forthcoming Leicestershire Coroner's Inquest.

Probably by the Coroner her/himself.

Brunt will doubtless be a witness and it is very possible that her family will pay to be represented at the Inquest. (The public might even wish to donate to the family so that they can be legally represented)

If so, Brunt is likley to face some very intense cross-examination.

Other relevant witnesses might be all those at SKYNews who planned, ordered and/or sanctioned this hounding by the most powerful news organisation in the world.

Coroner's Inquests are heard in public

by juliet 05.10.14 23:32

I understood Brunt later went to her house and she explained why she challenged the McCanns. This was not broadcast as the McCa ns and Amy Tierney and David Payne and John Hill etc are innocent of any (preplanned) wrongdoing.

by Brian Griffin 05.10.14 23:33

Nothing will happen to most of them. I think Brunt may be sacrificed as the patsy.

In my opinion.

by lufc50337 05.10.14 23:35

Somehow we need to make sure that the truth about Brenda comes out that she wasn't a troll or an abuser just a disbeliever which she had every right to be

by **Tony Bennett** 05.10.14 23:40

I had a big lump in my throat and a tear in my eye when I flicked through Brenda Leyland's tweets and found this one:

#McCann Tony Bennett and Amaral 2 of the bravest men, outspoken for the truth to be shouted out

It was about a year ago.

Thank you very much for that Brenda, I'm so sorry I never saw that tweet and never was able to thank you

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ETA: BBC's take on the story tonight:

5 October 2014 Last updated at 22:51

McCann 'Twitter troll' found dead in hotel

Martin Brunt Confronts Twitter "Troll" - Page 23 _78029085_77987536

Martin Brunt Confronts Twitter "Troll" - Page 23 _78029085_77987536

Gerry and Kate McCann have been subjected to a sustained hate campaign by internet "trolls"

A 63-year-old woman who was allegedly part of an internet hate campaign against the family of Madeleine McCann has been found dead in a hotel.

Brenda Leyland, from Burton Overy, Leicestershire, was accused of being one of the so-called "trolls" directing abusive messages at the McCanns.

Her body was found days after she was confronted outside her home by a Sky News reporter.

Madeleine McCann disappeared while on holiday In Portugal in 2007.

Mrs Leyland was confronted by the reporter who put to her she had posted messages attacking the family on Twitter via the handle @sweepyface.

She replied: "I'm entitled to do that."

A spokesman for Leicestershire Police said: "Police were called at 13:42 on Saturday 4 October to reports of a body of a woman in a hotel room in Smith Way, Grove Park [in Leicester].

"Officers have attended the scene and a file is being prepared for the coroner. The death is not being treated as suspicious."

A statement released by the Marriott Hotel in Leicester read: "We are very sad to confirm the death of a guest at the Leicester Marriott Hotel and our thoughts go out to the family and friends of the deceased.

"As this is a police matter and an investigation is under way we are unable to comment further and any queries should be directed at the police."

On Friday, Madeleine's father, Gerry McCann, told the BBC: "Clearly something needs to be done about the abuse on the internet.

"I think we probably need more people charged."

He described how he and his wife Kate, who live in Rothley Leicestershire with their nine-year-old twins, do not read posts about them on the internet because it was too "upsetting".

His interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme followed the news that police were reviewing a dossier of abusive messages about the family on social media.

by juliet 05.10.14 23:43

Sky news has just dismissed the "troll" who "flooded the McCanns with messages" (Express?) as if her death is nothing to do with them. So a concerted attack on this poor woman who did no more than express utter scepticism of the McCanns. Can someone please confirm it is not our own Tigger who is the victim of this horror?