McCanns' use of famous people angers police

by Guest 01.01.12 19:41

McCanns' use of famous people angers police

By Caroline Gammell in Praia da Luz

3:52PM BST 18 Sep 2007

Portuguese police are “fed up” with Kate and Gerry McCann’s attempts to involve high profile figures in their daughter’s disappearance and believe it may jeopardize their investigation.

The four-year-old’s parents have enlisted the aid of celebrities and senior politicians to publicise missing Madeleine and protest their innocence.

On Tuesday the couple said they would make a direct approach to prime minister Gordon Brown to lay out their defence.

But a senior Portuguese officer, who refused to be named, said their actions were nothing more than “constant interruptions and distractions”.

“It is amazing to me that people in high positions are getting involved. I can’t think of any case in Portugal where this has happened.

“Doesn’t Gordon Brown have a job to do? Why is he getting involved in a police investigation? We have a job to do and need space in which to do it. This pressure from politicians is not helping the case.”

The officer said the McCanns were innocent until proven guilty and did not need to involve so many well known figures.

“The investigation should be based on the facts in the case not on who can influence who,” he added.

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by jd 02.01.12 15:00

The McCanns Mark 1000 Days
By James Murray and Tracey Kandohla

Defiant
Kate and Gerry McCann will mark the 1,000th day since their daughter
disappeared with a celebrity packed £150-a-head fundraising dinner and
auction at a top London venue.

Tycoon Sir Richard Branson and
their businessman backer Brian Kennedy will join stars at Kensington
Roof Gardens in west London on January 27.

Radio Five’s Nicky Campbell and children’s author JK Rowling have also been invited.

The
event for 180 supporters comes in the middle of the couple’s tense
court battle against their tormentor, former police chief Goncalo
Amaral, in Lisbon and gives them a night of light relief after weeks of
stress.

Kate, 41, said yesterday: “We will raise money for Madeleine’s Fund and the ongoing search for her.

“If our circumstances remain unchanged, this day will sadly mark 1,000 days since Madeleine was taken from us.”

Money
will be raised through ticket sales and a charity auction. Half the
profits, expected to exceed £100,000, will go to Madeleine’s Fund,
which currently stands at about £400,000, with the other half split
between two other charities.

Kate explained: “Madeleine’s Fund
is not depleted but we are aware, given the uncertainty of our
situation, that we need to plan ahead to continue the search to find
her.”

Kate said: “Fifty per cent of the profits from the event
will be split between two charities, Missing People and Missing
Children Europe.

“These two charities are among many others who
work incredibly hard despite limited funding to help missing and
exploited children.”

A close friend of the McCanns, who live in
Rothley, Leicestershire, said: “Kate and Gerry are hoping to raise as
much money as possible to help them and two other charities.

“The
guests are people who have pledged their support to help find
Madeleine, including celebrities and wealthy business people.”

The
friend added: “The event doesn’t indicate that the fund is in crisis
but money does need to come in.” Madeleine vanished from her parents’
holiday flat in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007, just days before
her fourth birthday.

The Portugese police have shelved the case,
leaving the McCanns effectively on their own and needing a flow of cash
to finance the hunt for leads into their daughter’s disappearance,
though there is a certain amount of support from Leicestershire Police.

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12th May 2007, Madeleine's anniversary mass, 9 days after the alleged kidnapping

by jd 07.01.12 23:11

Gerry McCann, speaking on June 3rd, 2007: "Later this year (...)"
LET'S HOLD A MADELEINE DAY FOR THE WHOLE WORLD

ROCK legend Sir Elton John is being lined up to front a global pop concert, to carry the message of missing Madeleine McCann’s plight to every corner of the earth.
It is hoped the singer will headline a huge series of worldwide events to mark a special Madeleine Day that her distraught parents are planning in the effort to find the vanished four-year-old. Sir Elton’s popular appeal is guaranteed to attract a swarm of other film and music superstars keen to offer support to parents Gerry and Kate McCann.

The couple, having promised not to return home until they are reunited with Madeleine, are now planning a series of visits to European and North African cities, to distribute posters and widen the appeal for information.

Sir Elton has played an emotional DVD of Madeline at his concerts, but now believes a larger effort would do more to raise awareness of her predicament.
Gerry McCann, 38, said: “One of the ideas is maybe getting all the people who have publicly supported us to come together. I don’t just mean from the UK but from different parts of the world. We want a big event to raise awareness that she is still missing. “We would look at high-profile people who have already pledged support. It will be some sort of focus around an anniversary, to tell people thatMadeleine ’s still missing. I think it would be later this year, once media attention has dropped, to bring it back up, hopefully, for a short period.

“It wouldn’t be a one-year anniversary, it will be sooner than that. What we’re doing at the minute has its role but doing that down the line in a few months won’t have anything like the same impact. We might have a sporting event, something arts, something music. "We’ve had backing from sporting people up to now. We have had backing from certain musical celebrities as well. We’ve got some other musical contacts that we are exploring, who are happy to offer support. “We’re not saying it would necessarily be one big concert, it might be that on a certain day they are playing her DVD.
“What we want at the current time is maximum message out there now, about her disappearance but then just events to bring it back up occasionally just to remind people, if she’s not found.”

A month after the sleeping Madeleine was snatched from her bed, Gerry and Kate McCann have betrayed the first signs that their hopes of finding her alive are starting to fade.
The couple confessed that they are haunted by the harrowing thought of her being held captive by a pervert. Still desperately clinging toMadeleine ’s pink Cuddle Cat, 38-year-old Kate said: “We don’t know where she is. We’d like to think she’s still in Portugal, she might still be in Portugal.

“But we know there’s a possibility she’s gone over the border – or several borders. We know there are bad people out there, but we know there are also a lot of sad people. We hope it’s the latter.”
Gerry added: “Of course we believe Madeleine is still alive but you would be incredible if you hadn’t considered the worst scenario, that she’s dead.
“Kate and I discuss it – not a lot, but we talk about hope, and that while there’s some we will not give up. At the minute, there’s loads of hope.”

PS - Don't look for this story, on the Daily Express site. It was deleted, long ago...

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A few things strike me here. firstly, where do they get off talking about all the high profile celebs like they are their best friends. More importantly though, after only a month they are thinking as if they know she is never coming back, this is only 4 weeks later and the whole world is searching for her which do not come a bigger search than this. And in the UK the story was virtually 24/7 so a parent would at least be hoping Maddie might be found tomorrow instead of trying to create a Madeline day later on the year!!! They obviously can see a "window of opportunity"

They do seem very big on anniversary dates. "It won't be a one year anniversary"...why the hell are they even thinking about this after only 4 weeks!!!!!!!!

Some of the comments are interesting. "As soon as Gerry started using phrases like 'pan-European' it became obvious that he had been primed and groomed by Public Relation teams familiar with fashionable political speak and diplomatic functions. This was not a phrase that an ordinary man would use - but a diplomat or politician (an ordinary member of the public would use a phrase like 'Europe-Wide', 'all across Europe' or even - erroneously -'international'). " (I would say that by saying "small window of opportunity" at every possible given moment smacks of PR primed and groomed too)

"Many people have already pointed out (and quite rightly) that Gerry's blogs were unlikely to have been written by Gerry himself - but by a PR team. I remember counting several American spellings of words (the noun 'licenSe' was one. This is the American spelling as British Driver will know. In the UK we spell it 'licenCe')." "The Americanisms suggest it might have been those in Washington - either the National Centre For Missing and Exploited Children or their contacts within iJet and Psy Tel."

Maybe this explains why after just 6 days gerry was as happy & joking as this:

And 3 days later, happy as this
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INSTEAD OF USING ALL YOUR TIME ORGANISING POP CONCERTS & MADELEINE DAYS FOR LATER IN THE YEAR, MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN USING YOUR EFFORTS TO SEARCH FOR YOUR DAUGHTER INSTEAD!!!!

by **tigger** 08.01.12 8:58

Gerry McCann, speaking on June 3rd, 2007: "Later this year (...)"
LET'S HOLD A MADELEINE DAY FOR THE WHOLE WORLD

How have the mighty fallen!

Any statement like that is now impossible and has been for a long time. That's why I've said that they are in their own hell already, it all went wrong in August 07 and never went right again.

But such a revealing statement, hard to top that with anything except 'I am God'. A superiority complex rarely seen.

by bobbin 08.01.12 10:22

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Re video ‘Gerry McCann
is happy. By Impartial69’

I’m inept when it comes to capturing
photos but can anyone capture a screen shot of the blue chair in the above
video of Gerry McCann laughing and transpose it to the Madeleine thread [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The discussions of the
blue eye makeup (Lolita) photo of Madeleine have left some question as to
whether the blue in the background is a chair or a T shirt.

Here, the blue looks
very similar and it looks like a chair to me, and these chairs are apparently
common in Spain and Portugal.

Some confusion was
expressed as to whether the photo was taken at her grandma’s (Eileen’s) home
(in the UK?) I think.

I have never seen this
colour for plastic chairs before. I've only ever seen cream, white, brown or green,
and certainly have never seen this blue colour either in the UK, east of
France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria or Italy.

So the questions are,
where was this video taken? And is this a chair?

by Nina 08.01.12 11:01

bobbin wrote:[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Re video ‘Gerry McCann
is happy. By Impartial69’

I’m inept when it comes to capturing
photos but can anyone capture a screen shot of the blue chair in the above
video of Gerry McCann laughing and transpose it to the Madeleine thread [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The discussions of the
blue eye makeup (Lolita) photo of Madeleine have left some question as to
whether the blue in the background is a chair or a T shirt.

Here, the blue looks
very similar and it looks like a chair to me, and these chairs are apparently
common in Spain and Portugal.

Some confusion was
expressed as to whether the photo was taken at her grandma’s (Eileen’s) home
(in the UK?) I think.

I have never seen this
colour for plastic chairs before. I've only ever seen cream, white, brown or green,
and certainly have never seen this blue colour either in the UK, east of
France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria or Italy.

So the questions are,
where was this video taken? And is this a chair?

Hi Bobbin. I pmd jd last night because I noticed the blue item as being the same blue as the object in the eye shadow photograph. I have not got a clue how to put a photo on let alone the two side by side but it is the same blue imo, so as we know the laughing Gerry photo was taken in PdL then if it is the same object it would mean that the eye shadow picture was also taken in PdL. Unless of course it is something the McCanns take around with them [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

by monkey mind 08.01.12 12:54

tigger wrote:Gerry McCann, speaking on June 3rd, 2007: "Later this year (...)"
LET'S HOLD A MADELEINE DAY FOR THE WHOLE WORLD

How have the mighty fallen!

Any statement like that is now impossible and has been for a long time. That's why I've said that they are in their own hell already, it all went wrong in August 07 and never went right again.

But such a revealing statement, hard to top that with anything except 'I am God'. A superiority complex rarely seen.

Tigger, I think that's a very insightful and accurate description. It's a stunning thing to say isn't it.

by **Jill Havern** 08.01.12 13:00

monkey mind wrote:
tigger wrote:Gerry McCann, speaking on June 3rd, 2007: "Later this year (...)"
LET'S HOLD A MADELEINE DAY FOR THE WHOLE WORLD

How have the mighty fallen!

Any statement like that is now impossible and has been for a long time. That's why I've said that they are in their own hell already, it all went wrong in August 07 and never went right again.

But such a revealing statement, hard to top that with anything except 'I am God'. A superiority complex rarely seen.
Tigger, I think that's a very insightful and accurate description. It's a stunning thing to say isn't it.

Did Gerry actually say "Let's hold a Madeleine day for the whole world"? - or was that the headline the Daily Express made up for their article?

by Liz Eagles 08.01.12 14:14

I see no evidence of any celebrity openly endorsing the Mc's plight anymore. There maybe the 'positive' media massaging of the case but I see no evidence of one single celebrity openly standing up for them. Correct me if I'm wrong.

by Smokeandmirrors 08.01.12 16:37

The planning of events quite far into the future really inflamed me at the time. I can remember thinking that those were not the words of a man who thought his child was findable. Although I doubted the abduction line from the start, I still had an open mind and remember thinking that if someone DID have Madeleine, by publicly implying that Gerry and Kate were not expecting her back any time soon, it was almost like a green light to keep her. Imagine some sicko was on the brink of handing her over (hypothetically) then hearing that the father was planning events without his daughter back, well it sort of takes the desperation out of the situation, sort of "oh well, she's going to be gone for ages, let's throw a party". It was odd and very damaging to their reputation, the Mirror Forum had a field day with it. In reality, one would NOT plan ANYTHING in case that was the day she was found. Like when they went to the Pope. If you genuinely thought your child could turn up at any moment in another country, most likely Portugal, it would be bloody inconvenient to find yourself in Italy. And Madeleine potentially being held by yet more strangers in another county with parents nowhere to be seen. Ridiculous.

by jd 08.01.12 17:17

Smokeandmirrors wrote:The planning of events quite far into the future really inflamed me at the time. I can remember thinking that those were not the words of a man who thought his child was findable. Although I doubted the abduction line from the start, I still had an open mind and remember thinking that if someone DID have Madeleine, by publicly implying that Gerry and Kate were not expecting her back any time soon, it was almost like a green light to keep her. Imagine some sicko was on the brink of handing her over (hypothetically) then hearing that the father was planning events without his daughter back, well it sort of takes the desperation out of the situation, sort of "oh well, she's going to be gone for ages, let's throw a party". It was odd and very damaging to their reputation, the Mirror Forum had a field day with it. In reality, one would NOT plan ANYTHING in case that was the day she was found. Like when they went to the Pope. If you genuinely thought your child could turn up at any moment in another country, most likely Portugal, it would be bloody inconvenient to find yourself in Italy. And Madeleine potentially being held by yet more strangers in another county with parents nowhere to be seen. Ridiculous.

Never the words, actions or thoughts of any parent who thought his child was findable. Then no parent would be laughing their heads off just a handful of days after she was taken

by anil39200 08.01.12 17:18

aquila wrote:I see no evidence of any celebrity openly endorsing the Mc's plight anymore. There maybe the 'positive' media massaging of the case but I see no evidence of one single celebrity openly standing up for them. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Fiona Phillips in the Mirror recently (if you can call this person a celebrity) referred to Dr G as having a good sense of humour and the two of them as being welcoming. Pity they did not seem to share this sense of humour with their children left alone night after night whilst being so into their friends, honestly which normal 40 year old uses such americanisms in their speech and writing? Or welcoming a reconstruction by the PJ to find their lost child. The lovely lady seems to be prepetuating their celeb staus and there is always Nina Myskow????? winkwink

by **tigger** 08.01.12 18:14

I think they're quite adept at name-dropping. Nothing a celebrity can do about that. I haven't the energy to go through all the old stuff, but I get the impression the celebrities dropped the McCanns pretty smartly after 9/07.
The list of celebrities who no longer champion their cause (as far as I know)

Richard Branson - who put up a reward, didn't give them any money (how annoying!)
Sir Philip Green, who lent them his plane, probably promised money - did he give any?
J.K. Rowling, who helped with spreading the word via her last book, last heard of gave KM the name of her agent (whom she has since sacked) - was quick to remove all doubt re her help in writing the bewk
The Beckhams - never heard of again after the initial TM press-gang got him to hold up a poster
Gordon Brown - never heard of again
Elton John - surely he'd make headlines if he said anything about Maddie?
Robbie Williams - t shirt photo opportunities.

I have a nasty feeling that no actual money - or very little came from the above, just their names - which would generate lotsofmoney from children and pensioners.

Since then TM is reduced to finding ways to get into the papers by hook or by crook - the golden days were short.

by anil39200 08.01.12 18:20

it is interesting how the big names have dropped off the list of supporters isnt it, though I suspect, and this is me being cynical, that it is the 2current favourite cause syndrome, commonly known as jumping on the bandwagon , which many celebs use through their agents to align themselves with a cause to keep them in the public eye and then "move on" to paraphrase one of the doctors.

but you are right, there are not that many who are publicly supporting them now.

by jd 08.01.12 23:42

Though the big celebrity names worry about their image and name in the media, this is after all their income. I do believe they initially agreed to help because they genuinely felt this was a 3 year old girl who had been abducted. But since this initial period, they have come to realise all is not what it seems and their name is being used in a scam. They have all pulled away except for idiots like Antonella Lazzeri, who is a nothing and sees this as a career opportunity (its laughable I know!), powers of the governments, and other snakes who think because they have money they are in some way a superior race of human being than the rest of society. We must fight to stop these rats.

The only ones remaining who seem to be supporting this scam are the 'B' celebs, or really they are are 'Z' list, the ones really desperate for the attention because they know they are not very good...the big brother types. No real celeb is supporting them now and there is a reason why