Media Mayhem - MCCANN MEDIA NONSENSE OF THE DAY

Madeleine McCann: Anguished parents at mercy of a Portuguese police circus

AS DAWN broke on May 4, Kate and Gerry McCann emerged from the Paynes' holiday apartment, where they had tried to rest for a few hours, leaving their other children, Sean and Amelie, with David and Fiona as they resumed their search for Madeleine.

PUBLISHED: 08:16, Sun, Apr 30, 2017 | UPDATED: 10:06, Sun, Apr 30, 2017

Apartment 5a had finally been sealed off by Portuguese police who had been woefully slow to react to the scale of the crime that they were charged with solving.

Holding hands and clutching on to each other in a state of shock, disbelief mingling with fear and panic, they walked down to the beach, desperately hoping that they would catch sight of the daughter they had struggled so hard to have, eventually succeeding through IVF.

Forlornly they called out her name and checked scrubland, desperately hoping she had fallen asleep under a bush after wandering off in the darkness. At one point Kate opened a large waste bin and prayed: "Please don't let her be in here!" After the sun rose, the dreadful reality of the situation dawned on them. Their lives would never be the same again.

Bruises began to appear on Kate's hands and arms where she had banged the wall in frustration and despair after discovering that Madeleine was missing. "Minutes seemed like hours," Kate recalled in notes. "Nobody around. Why not? Desperate! Outside of the apartments masses of people were asking questions about that night and for descriptions of Madeleine. Long day."

It was about to get longer. As there was no police station in Luz (a scandalous deficiency that still exists) Kate, Gerry and their friends had to be taken to the nearest big town, Portimao, to give their state-statements.

Even though the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) knew they were dealing with potentially the biggest case they had handled, the process of evidence gathering was staggeringly slow and more like something from the 19th century.

Astonishingly, none of the interviews were video recorded and questioning was done through interpreters, making it even more cumbersome and slow as every question and response had to be written down. Kate was asked if it was her first trip to Portugal and responded, unsurprisingly: "Yes, never again."

Even at this point the PJ did not have the brains to take Madeleine's Cuddle Cat from them, although the toy almost certainly contained DNA from her abductor. When they returned to Luz they noticed a vast gathering of journalists and realised they would have to face a new ordeal before the glare of the cameras.

Stony-faced Gerry prepared a short statement saying: ''Words cannot describe the anguish and despair we are feeling as parents of our beautiful daughter.

"We request anyone with any information relating to Madeleine's disappearance should please contact Portuguese police to help us get her back safely."

Kate, looking pale and broken, appealed to the kidnapper: ''Please, if you have Madeleine, please let her come home to Mummy, Daddy, brother and sister."

The couple made a flurry of calls to relativ" tives and friends back in Britain and Kate's Mother Susan and father Brian quickly arranged to fly out to support them.

Instead of flooding the small town with officers to make house-to-house inquiries, the PJ put a handful of detectives on the case and were offered three liaison officers from Leicestershire police, who quickly returned to Britain without making any significant impact on the investigation.

Soon a grim milestone was reached, Madeleine's fourth birthday on May 12, poignantly marked by the release of 40 pink balloons in Leicestershire.

The first balloon to float into the sunny skies bore 10 words from Kate and Gerry: "Mummy and Daddy, Sean and Amelie will see you soon xx" Back in Luz, time dragged and tensions increased along with the temperatures in the late spring. Just as it appeared that the investigation was going nowhere, in mid-May the police suddenly turned their at-attention to Robert Murat, whose Portuguese father had married a British woman, giving him dual nationality.

At the time he was living with his elderly mother, Jenny, at their villa, Casa Liliana, only a couple of hundred yards from apartment 5a.

In one of the greatest blunders of the case, police arrested him after hearing vague suspicions from a British journalist who was nowhere near Luz at the time Madeleine vanished.

In fact, Mr Murat had given up a lot of his time to act as a police interpreter because he wanted the kidnapper caught. His mother even set up a stall at the Ocean Club where she encouraged people to come forward with information. She herself had noticed a woman acting suspiciously outside apartment 5a on May 3 but could not get people to listen to her.

The attention on Mr Murat was a huge distraction, which held up proper investigations. At one stage Jane Tanner was asked to sit in a police van as Mr Murat was asked to walk across the crossroads outside apartment 5a.

Even when she said the man she had seen on the night was not Mr Murat, he still kept the status of arguido (formal suspect) and it would take months before he was finally cleared of any involvement.

As Scotland Yard detectives discovered fairly quickly years later, the sighting by Jane Tanner was a red herring. The man she had seen was just another holidaymaker, whom the Yard identified through basic police work, a feat that defeated the PJ.

All the weeks and months spent investigating the wrong people allowed the real kidnapper to more easily cover his tracks.

Having Murat wrongly put in the frame must have seemed like manna from heaven for the evil monster responsible. Having blundered and wasted time on Murat, the PJ in desperation began to turn their attentions to the McCanns as the spring rolled into summer.

As they had still not amassed any Adifficult s they hard evidence due to poor forensic work, non-existenthouse-to-house inquiries and difficult liaisons with Leicestershire police, they gave far too muchcredence to two British dogs trained to sniff cadavers and blood. The animals were alert in the apartment but this did not amount to anything like solid evidence and the PJ was told not to rely on it.

Blood from the meat is found over floors Blood from meat is found over the floors and surfaces in most holiday apartments. Minute samples of blood from children with cuts and grazes can also be found by exceptionally well-trained dogs.

Fluid that was said to contain elements of Madeleine's DNA was found in a car hired by the family but it could easily have come from her siblings, who were still in nappies.

Having learned nothing or very little from the mistakes in making Murat a suspect, the desperate PJ, fuelled by the wild theorising of police chief Goncalo Amaral, who was in charge of co-ordinating the investigation, focused all their attention on the McCanns.

This would have come as even more welcome news to the real kidnapper, who must have relished the idea that with the PJ fixated on the McCanns he, and possibly others working with him, would have substantially more chance of evading capture and the rule of law.

Rarely in the history of criminal investigations in the past 50 years have so many gross errors of judgment been made in such a short space of time and in such a major inquiry. Hardly surprisingly, with all the nonsense going on, the McCanns felt disappointed and disillusioned with the response from Portuguese law enforcement and sensed they would have to rely more heavily on private investigations.

As doctors (Kate was a GP and had trained as an anaesthetist while Gerry is now a respected heart specialist) they knew little of the work of private detectives and the scope of what they could do in such a complex, international investigation.

With hindsight they should have sought out a retired senior officer from the PJ, but instead they employed Metoda 3, a Spainbased detective agency that had gained a reputation for getting results.

So while Kate and Gerry were named as arguidos they were actually having to rely on a small team of private investigators with no legal authority in Portugal to try to find their daughter.

Not surprisingly Metodo 3 did not succeed, although they will argue that they did a lot of sound work which has benefited the Scotland Yard inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance. The final show of the circus came at the end of August 2007 when the McCanns and their very young children were effectively driven out of Portugal by a ravenous media fed by leaks from senior Portuguese detectives.

In scenes unrivalled anywhere else in the world, the PJ drip-fed half-baked theories to an unquestioning group of journalists who rarely bothered to knock on doors in Luz and ask tough questions.

On Friday, September 7, 2007, Kate was driven to a police station by her public relations representative at the time, Justine McGuinness.

Gerry's sister Philomena McCann gave a TV interview detailing a line of the questioning. She said: "They were saying, 'Tell us what you did with her? and Kate was like, 'You must be insane to think we'd put ourselves through this'.

"They tried to get Kate to confess to having accidentally killed Madeleine by offering her a deal through her lawyer. 'If you say you killed Madeleine by accident and hit her and then disposed of the body, we can guarantee you a two-year sentence or even less. You may even get off earlier because people feel sorry for you. It was an accident'."

Kate emerged from the police station looking hurt and betrayed, utterly incredulous at what was being suggested to her by people in whom she had previously placed some trust.

Staying on in Portugal was not an option as the PJ had created such a toxic environment, one that infuriated the entirely innocent couple.

So on Saturday, September 9, with the media circus in full flow, they left their rented apartment and made their way to the airport, their every move captured on live TV and broadcast to an audience of millions around the world. It was 129 days after Madeleine vanished that they set foot on British soil, Gerry holding his blond-haired son Sean in his arms as they descended the steps from the aircraft at East Midlands airport.

On the easyJet flight 6552 home Kate hugged her twins close to her, crying silently at times, the pain too much to bear. On the tarmac Gerry read a statement, subdued and clearly angered by their treatment. "As parents we cannot give up on our daughter until we know what has happened. We have to keep doing everything we can to find her.

"We played no part in the disappearance of our lovely daughter Madeleine." As the sentence tumbled out, he paused momentarily, apparently on the verge of tears. He said he was heartbroken and it showed in his every feature.

Even the twins looked sad. Little Amelie, her head pressed tightly into her mother's shoulder, looked weary, confused and distressed. All she wanted to do was see her sister again.

With the McCanns back at their home in Rothley, which was festooned with yellow ribbons, the outrageous leaks from the Portuguese police to the sycophantic media were endless and derogatory.

Even with Amaral removed from the case, the McCanns would not be rid of the man they blame for so many of the mistakes in the deeply flawed PJ investigation. He would go on to write a book, which led him to get sucked into long and draining civil legal actions.

The couple also employed an American private detective firm, which cost a fortune and did not produce a breakthrough.

One of their better decisions was to eventually hire former Cheshire and Royal Ulster Constabulary detective David Edgar, who organised a lot of the gathered information well and pursued meaningful inquiries.

He put a lot of the material on to a computer software programme similar to HOLMES, the system used by British police forces for major inquiries.

When he passed over all his files to the Yard in 2011 they were in a semblance of good order and greatly helped officers who put most of the material into a HOLMES computer… something that should have been done within days of Madeleine going missing.

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/798361/Madeleine-McCann-parents-Portugal-police-search

Lifestyle? Yeh, I guess that sums it up. The Express Group, this is the press organ the McCanns managed to screw for a cool £500,000+ (yes, that's in excess of half a million quid) for libel. Out of court settlement of course!

Methinks the establishment is taking the pee out of us mere mortals - question is why they are prolonging the agony. What's it really all about? .

"Blood from the meat is found over floors . Blood from meat is found over the floors and surfaces in most holiday apartments " 


Really , seriously ? Of course we all spill blood from meat all over the floors when we go on holiday don't we ? Especially behind the sofa in the lounge !!!

British " journalism " once again at its very finest !

"Blood from the meat is found over floors . Blood from meat is found over the floors and surfaces in most holiday apartments " 


They do on the Annual Hull Abattoir and Slaughterhouse Members Convention...

As old 'Enry Cooper used to say "Splash it all over".

I think you can still get Brut 33, perhaps it should have been sprayed in the Renault boot, could of saved leaving the hatchback open all night

Its hard to believe that was published in 2017! So, Murat was made a suspect on a police whim despite Jane "telling them the man she had seen was not him" !!! Did this reporter miss the bit where Jane positively identified the abductor that day from her viewing point in the van? Did he miss the bit where three of the Tapas 9 swore they'd seen him hanging around 5A? Kate was offered a plea-bargain - even though that's no possible? Is there to be no penalty for misinformation and libel? I sincerely hope the Portuguese are aware of the rubbish being spouted about them and their police force. I can only hope it gives them the determination to continue with this case to the bitter end.

"One of their better descisions was to hire Dave Edgar " - he of the " lawless hills " fame ! 

The entire article is cobbled together from the past 10 years of attacking the Portuguese Police and Amaral , written totally in favour of the poor heartbroken parents . Every piece of misinformation and biased reporting is included .

If it wasn't so sad that yet another so called " journalist " is letting poor Madeleine down again by producing total lies and bull.... it would be hilarious . 

Whoever wrote this should hang their head in shame .

'Don't say anything until they've turned off microphone', Gerry warns Kate on Spanish TV

Last updated at 15:46 25 October 2007

Gerry McCann warned his wife: "Don't say anything till they've taken off your microphone" as she broke down in tears at the end of an interview on Spanish television.

Kate started sobbing as the 30-minute interview by a Spanish TV presenter drew to a close.

But instead of turning to comfort her, Gerry's immediate reaction was to whisper the warning in extraordinary scenes played out to millions of viewers.

The couple were savaged in a phone vote which accompanied an exclusive interview they gave to late-night programme 360 grados on Spain's Antena 3.

Nearly 70 per cent of the callers said they thought the McCanns were not telling the truth about their daughter's disappearance while only 30 per cent gave the couple their backing.

Gerry nearly stormed out of the television interview after being quizzed over drugging his children.

Sources said Mr McCann was "fuming" at being asked a question that the Spanish interviewer had promised not to pose. Mr McCann stormed out of a previous interview with another Spanish TV channel.

A source said today: "Kate and Gerry were annoyed towards the end of the interview because of the drugs question. Gerry was on the verge of another walkout."

A source close to the McCanns insisted Gerry's warning to Kate followed a question about allegations they had drugged their daughter which the programme makers had been told they could not ask.

The source said: "Kate was very upset she was asked the question and Gerry was furious. "What was said wasn't said because they have anything to hide."

The anguished mother-of-three said: "As Madeleine's Mummy I feel in my heart that she is there.

"I don't know how anyone could harm anyone as beautiful as Madeleine."

In her first television interview since she was named as an official suspect in the search for Madeleine, she said she was as confident of finding her daughter alive now as she was on the day she went missing nearly six months ago.

"Maybe even more so," she said. "I think she is possibly being held by someone in their house but I don't know.

"I strongly believe Madeleine is out there and we have to do everything we can."

The 39-year-old GP broke down as she told how her life felt incomplete without her daughter, whose fourth birthday passed shortly after she disappeared.

"I feel sad and I feel lonely and our life is not as happy without Madeleine," she said.

"I feel anxious she is not with us."

The cameras were stopped while she composed herself.

When the interview resumed Mrs McCann revealed how her two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie ask about their big sister.

She said Amelie told her: "Madeleine is coming home to my lovely house and I am going to share my toys with her."

She continued: "They do ask about Madeleine. Madeleine was a big part of their life.

"They are not upset and they are not distressed but they are very much aware she is not there."

Her husband Gerry said: "The hardest thing for me is when they say, 'When is Madeleine coming back home?' and we have to say, 'We don't know but everyone is looking for her'."

Mrs McCann broke down again at the end of the interview when she was asked about the last time she saw her daughter.

She said: "She was very happy and very loving and I know Madeleine was very happy with her life. She is special."

Mr and Mrs McCann gave their first television interview to the Spanish channel Antena 3 as they launched a new hotline targeting people in Spain, Portugal and North Africa, appealing to them for clues as to their daughter's fate.

They had been warned by their legal team that they could be prosecuted for talking publicly while still bound by the strict Portuguese secrecy laws.

But their lawyers cleared them to speak last week.

Broadcasters from all over the world, including Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters, had asked for the first broadcast interview, but the family wanted to target the Iberian peninsula.

Mrs McCann said: "Somebody knows something. It is not about us. It is about Madeleine.

"We have not even seen her since she was four. She needs our help. She needs her family."

Mr McCann, also 39, added: "We want people to try to help reunite our lovely four-year-old girl with her parents."

The couple said they were confident they would be cleared of any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance.

Mrs McCann declared herself "100 per cent" sure while Mr McCann said he was "much more optimistic" since a new officer, Paulo Rebelo, was appointed to the case.

The consultant cardiologist said: "We have not been charged with anything. Investigations are continuing. The only thing is finding Madeleine."

His wife added: "It really is secondary. I will take anything that is thrown at me."

Mrs McCann defended her and her husband against accusations they had seemed calm and "too cool" in the weeks and months after their daughter vanished.

"We know we are innocent, totally innocent. That is why we are calm. We know each other," she said.

Mr McCann said the couple remained "completely united" and added: "Nothing that has happened to us has come close to upsetting us the way Madeleine going missing did.

"We have our own heartache and grief but we are absolutely determined to help in the search."

He described the last time he saw his daughter, saying: "I was the last to see her. I saw her and thought how beautiful she was, and how lucky I was to be a father of three children."

The couple refused to discuss claims that DNA evidence was found in their apartment and their hire car, and dismissed claims that they sedated their children as "ludicrous".

But Mr McCann said: "We are certainly not scared.

"There is no evidence DNA tests will show anything other than us being completely innocent."

He said the group of friends who were with them in Praia da Luz - the so-called Tapas Nine - knew they were not involved in the disappearance.

He added: "They know we are innocent, absolutely. They will help us. They will clear our names."

Asked if he had any regrets, he replied: "Not from the minute we found Madeleine gone."

Roberto Arce, who interviewed the McCanns for the Spanish television programme 360 Grados, spoke later about the couple's demeanour and emotional state.

"Kate looked prostrate with pain," he said. "Much more depressed than I've ever seen her before. She cried for the first time.

"Gerry looked much happier with the massive campaign that's been put in place to find his daughter."

He added: "The McCanns don't say in the interview there are clues Madeleine - dead or alive - is in Spain.

"But privately they confessed afterwards there are.

"I can't say what they are and I'm not sure they're necessarily more solid than other leads.

"But they maintain there are, in Spain as well as in neighbours like Morocco, but that Spain's involvement in all this is very important."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-489404/Dont-say-theyve-turned-microphone-Gerry-warns-Kate-Spanish-TV.html

Kate poker's face

by Joana Morais 10 years ago

McCanns Interview to Spanish Antena3

Kate cries like a poker player in Correio da Manha - 26 de Outubro de 2007.

The key to the mystery lies "certainly with Kate, a very special and disturbed woman", guarantees to CM Jose Cabrera Fornero, a forensic psychiatrist who has been following the case since the beginning.

The Spanish man attentively watched "the staged interview" that the couple gave to Antena 3, and its purpose was "to have the Spanish people on their side". But 70 percent of the viewers who called the channel believed the McCanns were lying, and the psychiatrist sided with them - "by crying without moving a single muscle, Kate looked like a poker player".

A specialist in facial expressions, Cabrera says that "the face of Kate is always the same, except for the tears - the first ones over the last five months and curiously only after having been criticised for not crying". Now she did it but her face "doesn't express any emotion or feeling. When one cries, one's face muscles move, and she didn't move a single muscle, just like poker players.

That is highly significant", says the Spanish psychiatrist, and "brings us the certainty that she is hiding something". Cabrera says the 30 minutes of conversation ended up being "a non-spontaneous interview, perfectly ordered in terms of the questions that were asked by the journalist. And it gives us the impression that the entire stance was staged by the couple". The Spanish man even remembers Gerry's last sentence and even considers it "genial": "Don't talk until they take the microphone off you". (actually from the video Gerry says: "Do you want to say anything to whoever is calling?" after Kate McCann's mobile (which is on her lap) rings)

This only proves that all of it was just a big theatre play, the entire interview was staged. That is clear". Jose Cabrera noticed that "during half an hour of interview his only concern was to control her. It's extraordinary. Whenever she opened her mouth to speak, he squeezed her hand - and all of this because the key to this mystery certainly lies with her, she is a very special woman..."Kate McCann "had psychiatric problems for a long time", the specialist guarantees, and "now they have become worse".

Cabrera retained an interview that Maddie's grandparents gave to the Spanish television recently: "In their innocence, they said that Kate had told them, some time before the disappearance, that the little girl was looking increasingly like herself, which from a psychiatric point of view means a lot..."For the Spaniard, the origin of a bad relationship between mother and daughter - that was reflected by the writings about Madeleine in Kate's personal diary - "which is highly significant" for all the specialists that have been following this case since early May".

Gerry's greatest concern has been "to control his wife's impulses in public - and that was once again well demonstrated throughout this interview", says Jose Cabrera Fornero. "He is the one who dominates the entire situation, he knows everything and he knows he must control her and her problematic personality, so she does not exceed herself in front of the cameras and talks too much..."All the gestures and facial expressions "become fatal for someone who has something to hide" - this is dictated by the experience that was collected over the years by this specialist in forensic psychiatry. "And there is no way to avoid that."

Nothing moves Jose Cabrera "against this couple", whom he does not know, but he defended the McCanns' guilt in the 'Prós e Contras' show on RTP, when the Policia Judiciaria confirmed their suspicions on the couple - and yesterday he reinforced his theory to CM, one day after Kate and Gerry chose Spain for their first interview after becoming arguidos.

The English press itself confirmed yesterday that "70 percent of viewers that called Antena 3 believe the McCanns are lying", the online edition of the 'Daily Mail' announced. Jose Cabrera was not surprised: "Any English person is cold, but there is something more to her - her personality is not normal. And he makes an impression by only worrying about her answers..."(...)

"The interview was a circus act": Moita Flores, criminologist, considers the interview was another act from the McCanns.

Correio da Manha - What is your opinion about the McCanns during the interview they gave to Spanish television?

Moita Flores - The whole thing looked like a circus act to me, duting which the couple repeated the usual common places, once again escaping the essential. And once again they revealed that they have a lot to tell, but they don't want to...

CM- During this interview to Antena 3, Kate shows herself a lot more emotional that usual.

MF- But the curious thing was that even before this interview was made, it was known the lady was going to cry, which then happened. And she even managed to play the part well...

CM- Do you believe there was image staging during this interview?

MF- One should notice that it was known beforehand that the couple would take the opportunity to compliment the Portuguese police, which then happened...

CM- Gerry looks confident that the DNA tests cannot incriminate them.

MF- When he mentioned the tests, it was a silly reply to a docile interviewer. Everybody knows that DNA tests identify people, and they don't lie. But they do not condemn anyone on their own. That was miserable.

CM- How can the couple's statements be defined?

MF- It was an act that nobody believes in. After the kidnapping theory, now they insist on their innocence. An innocent person does not need this...

Madeleine search was 'hijacked' by McCann publicity machine, Portuguese police claim
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

By VANESSA ALLEN and ANDY DOLAN

Last updated at 17:42 10 January 2008

The search for Madeleine McCann has been hijacked by her parents' "gigantic propaganda machine", Portuguese police have claimed.

Officers lashed out against Kate and Gerry McCann's slick PR operation after learning they had granted an interview to glossy magazine Vanity Fair, and could even make £2million from a film about their daughter's disappearance.

A source close to the investigation said detectives were furious about the latest publicity, which came as formal requests for the McCanns' friends to be reinterviewed were sent to Britain.

Police are also skeptical about "a surge" of new witnesses traced by the couple's private detective agency, Metodo 3, the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha reported.

The unnamed source said: "Who do the McCanns think they are?

"The discovery of new witnesses in the last few weeks have led authorities to believe they are battling against a gigantic propaganda machine.

"The McCanns have some very powerful people on their side - millionaires, celebrities and even politicians."

A second official dismissed the work of the couple's detective agency as "diversion tactics", aimed at distracting police away from the McCanns, who are still official suspects in the case.

He said: "Their tactics are really beginning to annoy us. Whenever a decisive date approaches the company takes a new rabbit out of the hat."

The attacks are a clear indication of the anger that the McCanns' publicity campaign has caused in Portugal, where police investigations are usually carried out in secret.

They came as Gerry McCann revealed he is tortured by guilt that Madeleine's disappearance is his fault.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, he also admitted there was only a "slim" chance his daughter was alive - the closest he has come to conceding the fact.

"I wish I hadn't gone to the tapas bar," Mr McCann told the society magazine. "I wish I'd stayed in the apartment that night. I wish I'd stayed in the room when I checked on her five minutes longer.

"Of course we feel guilty about not having been there and that is just something we have to deal with for the rest of our lives. We live this 24 hours a day."

Mr McCann, 39, gave the interview alone in October, without his wife Kate, after being approached by the magazine.

Vanity Fair also spoke to the couple's friends and family as well as to the other suspect in the case, Robert Murat.

Mr McCann's sister Philomena told the magazine that he had called her on the night Madeleine vanished and sobbed: "It's all my fault, because Kate and I went out to dinner."

Clarence Mitchell, the family's spokesman, said Mr McCann had not been paid by Vanity Fair and had instead requested donations to the fund in return for cooperation with future projects.

He said the Find Madeleine campaign was to take on a "commercial dimension" to keep it in the black. It emerged on Tuesday that the couple could make £2million from a film about Madeleine's disappearance.

Other projects could include a book deal and even TV chat shows which the McCanns have shunned in the past for fear of seeming like celebrities.

The £1.2million fund to finance the search for Madeleine has been halved by the cost of hiring private detectives, running adverts and paying the family's living costs.

Only £600,000 remains and the balance is expected to drop to only £346,000 by April and possibly zero by June.

In the Vanity Fair interview, Mr McCann, from Rothley in Leicestershire, said: "I know now that, probably, the chances of getting Madeleine back are slim.

"You might never see her again. But still you have the hope. Still."

He told how he sank into a depression after his daughter's disappearance from a resort villa in Praia da Luz, Portugal, on May 3. He said the world then seemed "all black, with maybe tiny points of light".

But the consultant cardiologist said he pulled himself out of the "darkest hours" by throwing himself into the campaign to find his daughter, adding: "Grief washes over you - it's like a big wave, mostly I was able to beat it back.

"We can't cry our eyes out every day, because that's not helping. So after three days I picked myself up - quicker than Kate could."

He conceded that his wife remained "fragile" and had struggled to deal with the loss of Madeleine, who vanished a few days before her fourth birthday.

The couple, who are both suspects in their daughter's disappearance, insist she was taken from her bed while they ate dinner with friends nearby.

Portuguese secrecy laws mean they are not allowed to speak directly about the investigation, or the events of May 3.

Mr McCann told Vanity Fair writer Judy Bachrach: "I can't talk to you about the details of what happened.

"I live under threat from the Portuguese - if I do talk - of two years' imprisonment."

But Trish Cameron, Mr McCann's sister, told Vanity Fair of Kate's dramatic reaction when policeman Ricardo Paiva told her she was being made a suspect.

She said Kate screamed at the officer: "Do you honestly believe that I would murder my own child?"

The McCanns were interviewed and formally named as suspects on September 7 and Mrs McCann was allegedly offered a two-year jail sentence if she confessed to accidentally killing Madeleine and hiding her body.

Mrs Cameron said Kate, a 39-year-old family doctor, rejected the deal saying: "I'm not going to f****** lie!"

The couple's psychologist, Alan Pike, who counselled them every day for a fortnight in May, said Mrs McCann was threatened with losing her other children, two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

He told Vanity Fair: "The police told her during the interviews that her other two children might be taken away."

Another friend told the magazine that Mrs McCann was tormented about her daughter's welfare, saying she constantly said: "I hope whoever has Madeleine is giving her blankets, is feeding her properly, is keeping her warm."

Jon Corner, another friend interviewed by Vanity Fair, said Mrs McCann told him she was tortured by the idea that she might have glimpsed the abductor.

He said: "She told me 'I wish I could roll back time and go back to the day before Madeleine was abducted. I would slow down time. I'd think: Where are you? Who are you? Who is secretly watching my family? Because someone was watching my family very, very carefully. And taking notes'."

The couple endured a swing in public opinion against them after they were named as suspects and Mr McCann said this was a "bleak" time.

They also lost some of the support they had attracted from politicians, including Gordon Brown, who had telephoned them to pledge his help.

Mr Mitchell said the couple had been offered only a medium-level consular meeting by Downing Street, which they rejected.

In the interview, Mr McCann spoke frankly about how he and his wife employed a "strategy" to keep their daughter's plight in the headlines.

They were criticised in Portugal for circulating pictures of Madeleine and revealing the distinctive fleck in her eye, which police said could have put her life in danger.

He admitted the plan was risky but that "in terms of marketing, it was a good ploy".

Mr McCann said he had considered the plans for a documentary-drama only because it could address issues such as alert systems to help find lost children.

• The third suspect in the Madeleine McCann case broke his eight-month silence yesterday to insist: "I am innocent."

Robert Murat, an expat Briton, has never spoken publicly about the decision of Portuguese police to make him an "arguido" in the case.

But he told Vanity Fair: "All I can say is that I am innocent. There is no way I was at the resort that night. Full stop. I was in my mother's kitchen until 1am. I spent the night at the house."

Relatives of the 34-year-old say he spoke "off the record" to the magazine's writer, Judy Bachrach, while he drove her around Praia da Luz.

They said he was not paid and had not broken Portugal's secrecy laws which ban arguidos and witnesses in criminal cases from speaking about the alleged crimes or the police investigation.

Mr Murat, who has a daughter in Britain from a failed marriage, was named as a suspect last May 14 and his girlfriend, Michaela Walczuch, and her estranged husband, Luis Antonio, were interviewed as witnesses.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-507182/Madeleine-search-hijacked-McCann-publicity-machine-Portuguese-police-claim.html

sallypelt wrote:Snipped from Verdi Today at 12:50



"We can't cry our eyes out every day, because that's not helping". Well, Gerry, I didn't realise that crying during bereavement was an option. I certainly didn't have one when I lost my younger brother. It was spontaneous and without warning.

Also "The McCanns have some very powerful people on their side - millionaires, celebrities and even politicians."

And there you  have it. Over ten years of this circus summed up in a few words. What else is there to say?

Hi sallypelt, I agree with your every word in regard to how people react at a"Bereavement"Crying isn't an option.

If you take the comments as depicted from the article,"Gerry's Three days of crying,Grieving named"quite how you could then state,that same person then being alive could be a "Reallity"?

Who knows for sure what guarantees were given by UK Government Officials on Madeleine McCann's disappearance,nut you know for sure,there is a Cover Up and the UK Government is involved with it,as much as they would like to"wriggle"away from it,they cannot there in too deep!
Especially so when you look at the"Candidates" from Peter Macs E-book.

If this media manipulating, sorry monitoring, isn't all part of the wider agenda, I'll eat my big 'at - plumage 'n all   .

All the money power and influence afforded by the UK government to control, sorry advise, through the medium of a media monitoring unit chef and that's what you get - negative publicity?

Pull the other one!  Still they made a few quid out of it didn't they?

Former police chief reveals shock new theory on Madeleine McCann disappearance

The ex-cop became the boss of Portugal’s missing children agency in the same year the three-year-old disappeared

ByAlan Selby
James RodgerAdvanced Content Writer

19:00, 24 APR 2017

A former police chief claims Madeleine McCann was bundled away to caves three miles from the resort where she disappeared.

The little girl was snatched and taken to a warren of caves nearby that have never been searched, Portuguese investigator Paulo Pereira Cristovao suggested.

The ex-cop became the boss of Portugal’s missing children agency in the same year the three-year-old disappeared.

And he believes human error is to blame for the failure to find the missing Midlands girl.

Speaking a decade after Maddie vanished, Mr Cristovao told the Sunday Mirror: "I think this case has lots of mistakes – from many persons, from many situations, from the police and maybe from the government.

“At the end of the day we all forgot one person - Madeleine McCann.”

The three-year-old had been holidaying with her parents Kate and Gerry and two younger siblings when she vanished from the Ocean Club complex in Praia da Luz, on May 3, 2007.

Since then, UK police have spent more than £11 million on the investigation into the missing Midlands girl.

Mr Cristovao’s theory is that Madeleine could well have been taken to caves in the tiny beach town of Burgau, three miles along the coast.

Ahead of the 10th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance, the former officer said: “I put myself in the role of someone who knew nothing about the streets or the region. Where would I put the body of a girl?

“I stood at the Ocean Club apartment door – to the right is the town of Portimao. There are lots of people there, lots of buildings.

“If I had kidnapped her that’s not the way I’d want to go. I would want to go left, and find the first side road. I put my car on that road, and I went straight to Burgau. It’s a nearby beach, with a lot of rocks with caves.

“It’s a good place to put somebody. As far as I know the police never went there, because you would need divers.

“In a case where you hear theories like aliens and gypsies kidnapping Madeleine, I think this is as good as all the others. We’ve heard theories so stupid over these 10 years. When we don’t understand something, we complicate it.

“I think sometimes – always – the best solution is the simple solution.”

Mr Cristovao left the police to head up Portugal’s Association for Missing Children the year Maddie vanished. He later wrote a book about the case.

Now, discussing her disappearance for the first time in nearly a decade, he has laid out the errors he thinks set the investigation on the road to failure.

Instead of old-fashioned legwork, he believes there was too much focus on outlandish theories and behavioural profiles in the first hours and days.

He said: “The most important thing was starting an investigation on Madeleine – where is she? – instead of starting an investigation because the mother looks like this, or the father looks like that, or the mother won’t cry, or the father won’t cry.

“When Madeleine disappeared, we had 12 other missing children – three or four in the Madeira islands, the rest on the mainland.

“The money we spent on Madeleine was a million times more than all the others put together.

“I don’t know if it was pressure from government or the media, but it was the most expensive investigation in the history of Portugal – by far.”

Ten years ago, Mr Cristovao claimed the McCanns had been neglectful to leave their children alone as they dined nearby.

But he insists he does not believe Kate and Gerry, from Rothley, Leicestershire, are behind her death

Ex-Scotland Yard detective Colin Sutton said yesterday Madeleine was most likely kidnapped by traffickers.

He said: “It’s more likely than a paedophile ring. Six and seven-year-olds are much more at risk from paedophiles."

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/uk-world-news/former-police-chief-reveals-shock-12933455

Revealed: The nanny who could help clear the McCanns' name

Last updated at 14:50 14 October 2007

This is the nanny Madeleine McCann's parents believe will be a key witness in their fight to clear their names and find their daughter.

For five months the identity of the Mark Warner employee who was looking after Madeleine in Praia da Luz's Kids Club in the hours before her disappearance has been a closely held secret.

She was witness to the McCanns' movements during the week they were on holiday in Portugal and fed Madeleine less than three hours before she disappeared.

On the morning after Madeleine's disappearance it is believed she even told Portuguese police of a man she had seen acting 'suspiciously' around the apartments.

Today we can reveal her identity as 20-year-old Catriona Baker, the daughter of a nurse and draughtsman from Manchester.

The McCanns believe Ms Baker is a key witness in the defence that they are assembling with the aid of a team of lawyers and investigators.

Ms Baker has told friends she is convinced of the McCanns' innocence. She is still in contact with Kate McCann and was said by friends to have been hit hard by her charge's disappearance, even being offered trauma counselling by Mark Warner Holidays.

Intriguingly, Ms Baker revealed to one friend - spoken to by this newspaper - that she told Portuguese police of a man she saw acting strangely near the apartments in the days leading up to Madeleine's disappearance on May 3.

She was interviewed for just three hours by police on the morning after Madeleine's disappearance. This compares with the four-and-a-half hours endured by Charlotte Pennington, another nanny at the resort who was witness to Kate's 'hysterical' reaction to Madeleine's disappearance.

The Mail on Sunday has also learned that within 24 hours of that interview Ms Baker was dispatched by Mark Warner to take up a new position in the Greek resort of San Agostino along with four other members of staff.

They were all linked to the seven holidaymakers who had eaten in the resort's tapas restaurant with Kate and Gerry McCann on the night of Madeleine's disappearance.

It is believed Ms Baker has since been reinterviewed by both British and Portuguese police but she has been told not to comment on the investigation.

The young nanny, described as 'fun and vivacious', has been deeply affected by Madeleine's disappearance, telling friends of nights without sleep and a complete loss of appetite.

Writing to one concerned friend nine days after Madeleine disappeared, she admitted: 'I was her nanny, so it's been tough for me, you wouldn't recognise me.

'It's hit me so hard I've hardly slept or eaten. My mum came to see me, but transferring me to "San Ag" has put me back at stage one as I am so stressed again.

'Love you loads, thanks for writing. I'm sorry I haven't been in touch, I have not been out of the house much.'

To another she added: 'Thanks so much for your support ... I am trying to cope, but not really liking "San Ag"... I don't plan on staying here. If they don't send me back to Portugal. I'll go home.'

She had been introduced to Gerry and Kate McCann on the first evening of their holiday at the Ocean Club resort as Madeleine's designated nanny and had developed a 'good relationship with the couple and especially with Madeleine', according to a friend.

On the day Madeleine disappeared Ms Baker had spent nearly six hours with the toddler, along with five other children aged between three and five. Two of those are believed to have been the children of the McCanns' friends, David and Fiona Payne.

Madeleine and her two-year-old twin siblings, Sean and Amelie, were placed in the resort's Kids Club, where Ms Baker worked, at around 10am while their parents took a stroll before collecting them at 12.30pm for lunch back at the apartment.

In the afternoon, the McCanns played tennis while Madeleine went back to her nanny at the children's club, who gave her tea at 5.30pm. Madeleine, Sean and Amelie were picked up by their parents at 6pm.

Ms Baker was not with the McCanns when the alarm was sounded over Madeleine's disappearance just before 10pm. However, she joined the search shortly after 11pm after completing her duties as a night babysitter.

Mark Warner did not return Ms Baker to Portugal from Greece and she has since left the company. She is now a live-in nanny looking after three children. Her location is being withheld on the request of the McCanns.

Ms Baker refused to comment about the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, adding: 'I don't want to go through it again.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-487506/Revealed-The-nanny-help-clear-McCanns-name.html

“Miss Baker agreed to go through it again as long as she could have her previous statements to remind herself of what she’d already said and be able to meet the McCanns to get their stories straight”.

polyenne wrote:“Miss Baker agreed to go through it again as long as she could have her previous statements to remind herself of what she’d already said and be able to meet the McCanns to get their stories straight”.

Exactly my thoughts.

Miss Baker doesn't want to go through it again ? 
What's she gone through? 

This was to help Madeleine! 

And she couldn't even "go through it again" for a little girl who she once supposedly had in her care? 

I despair at these crèche workers, I really do!

She is now a live-in nanny looking after three children. Her location is being withheld on the request of the McCanns.

So the McCanns are in a position to dictate - is this according to a source close to the family?

Courtesy of P_R:





After just three months:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1561350/McCanns-call-for-media-obsession-to-end.html


By Chris Hastings, Arts and Media Editor
12:01AM BST 26 Aug 2007

The father of Madeleine McCann yesterday appealed to the media to end its obsession with his daughter's disappearance.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, Gerry McCann said that, despite the family's concerted effort to publicise the hunt for the four-year-old, the continuing scrutiny had been far greater than he could ever have imagined.
Mr McCann, 39, said that, because of the need for the media campaign to continue in "a pretty low-key format", he and his wife Kate were now considering returning home to Rothley, Leics.
"I personally do not think it is necessary to bombard people with Madeleine's image on a daily basis," Mr McCann said. "Initially, without a doubt, we wanted a lot of coverage, but the coverage has been 10 times greater than we imagined."
Mr McCann said that, in an effort to provide coverage of the hunt, some journalists had been tempted into presenting harmful speculation as fact. He added that he had now stopped looking at newspaper and television coverage of the case.
Last week, Mr McCann condemned a report in a Portuguese newspaper which claimed that he and his wife had accidentally killed Madeleine with an overdose of drugs.
The McCanns have denied any involvement in their daughter's disappearance and police have confirmed that they are not suspects.
"A huge amount of speculation is being presented as fact because people are under a huge amount of pressure to come up with stories," Mr McCann said. "In the last six weeks there really has been nothing to report. Staying in Portugal may be counterproductive because of the media attention on Kate and I which generates pressure on people to write things.
"The sticking point is the knowledge that we will be leaving Portugal as a family of four when we arrived as a family of five."
He also admitted that his feelings of guilt over Madeleine's disappearance would never leave him and his wife.

"A huge amount of speculation is being presented as fact because people are under a huge amount of pressure to come up with stories," Mr McCann said.

"In the last six weeks there really has been nothing to report. Staying in Portugal may be counterproductive because of the media attention on Kate and I which generates pressure on people to write things.

"The sticking point is the knowledge that we will be leaving Portugal as a family of four when we arrived as a family of five."

Ah yes of course, August 2007, the writing was already on the wall.  Run away!  Run away!

Maddy: We saw abduction

Paul Byrne in Praia da Luz
3/01/2008

A family who may have seen Madeleine McCann being abducted could provide vital evidence in the search for the missing four-year-old.

The group saw a man walking towards the beach in Praia da Luz while carrying a child at the time Madeleine vanished, exactly eight months ago.

Portuguese police have taken statements from the family, who live in Drogheda, Ireland.

Now detectives hired by Madeleine's parents want to speak to Martin Smith and his family. The Smiths were leaving Kelly's Bar just before 10pm when they saw a man carrying a child 500 yards from the McCanns' apartment.

Kate McCann, 39, raised the alarm about her missing daughter at around 10pm.

The Smiths are thought to have described the man as white and 5ft 7in to 5ft 9in tall. His top clothing was obscured by the child. That description matches a suspect seen walking away from the apartment at about 9.15pm by Jane Tanner, a member of the "Tapas Seven" group of friends who were on holiday with the McCanns.

She saw a man carrying a child wearing pink pyjamas similar to those worn by Madeleine.

The McCanns' spokesman said yesterday: "Our detectives are being very methodical and I am quite sure that this family will be on their list."

The eight-month deadline means suspect Robert Murat, 34, hopes to be formally cleared today.

Daily Mirror

Secret Madeleine McCann report finds competing British forces hampered inquiry

Police chiefs fighting to be seen to be helping in the search for Madeleine McCann alienated Portuguese authorities and had a long-term impact on the investigation, report finds

By Telegraph reporter

7:38PM BST 01 Sep 2014

British police forces competing to been seen to be helping find Madeleine McCann hampered the investigation and has had a long term negative effect, a secret Home Office report found.

The unpublished report by Jim Gamble, former head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), found that so many UK agencies got involved it damaged relations with Portuguese police.

The report, commissioned by former Home Secretary Alan Johnson in 2009, was delivered in 2010 and led to the Metropolitan Police reopening the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, but was never released.

For the first time details have been briefed to Sky News, revealing that Mr Gamble criticised the Association of Chief Police Officers decision to put Leicestershire Police in charge of the operation because the McCanns lives in the county, despite the fact the force was ill-equipped to deal with such a big investigation.

Mr Gamble said that within weeks of Madeleine going missing in May 2007 the Portuguese were given advice by CEOP, the Metropolitan Police, the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the National Police Improvement Agency.

The Crimestoppers charity published its own appeal hotline and different Government ministers – No 10, the Home Office and the Foreign Office – were demanding briefings from the various agencies.

Mr Gamble said: “All of us, including myself at CEOP at the time, your first gut reaction is you want to help, a child has gone missing … so everyone came with best intention, that created a sense of chaos and a sense of competition, people putting their hand up and wanting to help and in many instances in my opinion wanting to be seen to help.

“If we look at it honestly there were some in leadership roles who wanted to represent their organisation to be seen to take a lead role and be seen to provide critical input in this and that made it difficult for a small, regional force like Leicestershire.

“It was unhelpful … I've no doubt relationships from the outset with the Portuguese were impacted by it and I think that had a long term negative effect on the investigation and I think to this very day the Met investigation team that's engaged now are still having to manage and massage that relationship and perhaps to be fair to the Portuguese, mend some fences that were trodden on in the early days.”

He has refused to discuss the content of his report, but leaked details reveals that the intervention of multiple British police forces and crime agencies led to "frustration" and "resentment" among the Portuguese police who believed that their British counterparts were on the side of the McCanns.

Because of the challenges to the way the Portuguese police were investigating Britain was warned that they should not try to act as a "colonial power".

Discussing the investigation Mr Gamble said that the initial Portuguese police response to Madeleine’s disappearance was "haphazard".

“There was chaos, and as it went on it was haphazard which was alien to the more structured police you would expect here in the UK. There was not a sense of order.

“In the first instance the parents should be your Number One suspects. In most cases in the first few golden hours as you collect evidence you can then rule them in or out.

“And that was one of the huge flaws in this, that people didn't focus on clearing the ground beneath their feet in those chaotic first few hours that led into the haphazard first few weeks.

“When I carried out the scoping review there was no evidence that some of the critical information and the analysis of which could have led to intelligence and to leads had been followed up.”

One of Mr Gamble’s recommendations in his report was the establishment of a national centre for missing children which could combine the resources of the best experts and technology.

However, this has not been set up and therefore the British authorities are no better equipped to deal with a similar situation than they were in 2007, Mr Gamble warns.

However, despite the failings Mr Gamble remains confident that Madeleine's case will be solved.

“Someone knows … I genuinely believe in my lifetime we will find out what happened. Relationships, loyalties change, and at some stage some person will come forward.”

Author Anthony Summers, whose book ‘Looking for Madeleine’ is out next week and contains further revelations about the case, said: “It was a case of too many cooks, all with good intentions, spoiling the broth of the initial investigation. And then the mistakes, or should I say the missteps, began to pile one upon another.”

Co-author Robbyn Swan added: “The problems that grew out of the race to help in the initial phase of the Madeleine investigation, the problems of the lack of co-ordination between the Portuguese and the British police, the bad feeling, the lack of translation ability, those things have not been fundamentally addressed.”

The Home Office – which declined to release the report under Freedom of Information laws – declined to comment.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/madeleinemccann/11068928/Secret-Madeleine-McCann-report-finds-competing-British-forces-hampered-inquiry.html
----------

Roughly translated - the British establishment stomped all over the Portuguese investigation leaving but a remnant of truth.

Mr Gamble said that within weeks of Madeleine going missing in May 2007 the Portuguese were given advice by CEOP, the Metropolitan Police, the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the National Police Improvement Agency.

the    did the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have to do with the CEOP?

Given advice - advice about what exactly?  How to cover-up a major criminal investigation or how to pervert the course of justice or how to adjust evidence towards a desired conclusion?

Bah!

Madeleine McCann fund received £125,000 from News of the World

Confidential deal towards search fund for Madeleine was part of apology for tabloid's publication of mother Kate's diary extracts

17th December 2011

The News of the World paid £125,000 to the fund supporting the search for Madeleine McCann as part of an apology for publishing Kate McCann's diaries – on condition that the terms of the deal remained secret.

The payment was made after the missing girl's parents expressed their outrage at the story, which Kate McCann said made her feel "mentally raped". All the parties involved in the negotiations over the payment, which was agreed in September 2008, were asked to sign a confidentiality agreement hiding the scale of the newspaper's culpability.

The payment was made despite claims by the defunct newspaper's editor at the Leveson inquiry last week that he believed he had had the full support of the McCanns to publish. Colin Myler, who edited the NoW from 2007 until it closed this year, told the inquiry he had received repeated assurances from his head of news, Ian Edmondson, that the McCanns' spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, supported publication – a claim which has been strenuously denied.

Myler told the inquiry that he subsequently ran an apology and paid a "substantial sum" because "he felt very bad that she didn't know". However, the Observer has learned that the NoW initially tried to minimise the compensation. A source at News International, the owner of the newspaper, said there were hours of negotiations between the company's lawyers and Carter-Ruck, the solicitors hired by the McCanns, in the days following publication of the story on 14 September 2008.

A deal was finally struck in which a £125,000 payment was agreed, but all parties were obliged to sign agreements that they would not talk about the size of the compensation. Last night Kate and Gerry McCann's spokesman and News International declined to comment.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/dec/17/news-of-world-mccanns-payment
----------

Another out of court settlement courtesy of the murky Murdoch empire?

Here it is - thanks to pamalam and co..

Original Source: NEWS OF THE WORLD SUNDAY 14 SEPT 2008
By Daniel Sanderson, 13/09/2008


For the first time, the heartbreaking truth that destroys the lies of the Portuguese police

TODAY we reveal the secret diary of agonised mum Kate McCann' penned over months as she and husband Gerry struggled to deal with their daughter Madeleine's abduction.

Her words destroy the litany of lies told by Portuguese cops to paint them as cold and calculating. Kate wrote: 'I can't bear being without Madeleine. It's like torture' a slow painful death.'

   FOR months the Portuguese police leaked carefully selected extracts from Kate McCann's secret diary, chosen to deliberately paint her and husband Gerry as the ice couple' cold, dispassionate and emotionless in the face of three-year-old Madeleine's abduction.
   Now, for the first time, the News of the World can fill in the blanks and nail those lies. The 135-page journal covering April 28, 2007 to Tuesday, July 31, was passed to us by a reporter in Portugal appalled by the sickening smear campaign against the McCann's.
   Kate's log of the dark days after Madeleine vanished from their holiday flat reveals the true picture of the tortured woman behind the calm, brave face she had to portray in public, as initial disbelief and numbness gave way to desperation and rage. Often she includes touching messages of love to her missing daughter. It confirms the strength Kate drew from her devout Catholic faith' and frankly admits the doubts the trauma forced her to face.

THE entry for the fateful day Madeleine McCann vanished 'May 3, 2007'makes chilling reading in her mother's diary, because it started out so NORMAL.

Mum-of-three Kate, 40, records that it began much like any other since the family arrived at the Mark Warner Ocean Club in Praia da Luz on Portugal's Algarve coast' one long, happy round of swimming, tennis, kids' club, games and fun.

But knowing what is about to befall them turns Kate's simple account of the children's evening bedtime routine into a tense drama...

THURSDAY, MAY 3: Milk and biscuits for the kids. I left them with this and books and games and went to have a quick shower/wash my hair. M (Madeleine) tired' sitting on my lap' I read the story of Mog (favourite children's book).

Brush teeth. To the bedroom with the kids. M pulls away and puts her head on pillow. Kisses goodnight for M. Pulled the door to as far as possible without shutting it. Silence.

Dry hair. Put make-up on. Glass of wine. Restaurant.

(During dinner nearby with friends 'dubbed the Tapas7 'the group took turns to check the children. At 10pm Kate discovers Madeleine gone. The McCann's and helpers frantically scour the area until 4am.)

FRIDAY, MAY 4: No sleep, Gerry and I started looking through the streets around 06.00 as it was starting to get light. Nobody around. Why not' Desperate.

Minutes seem like hours. Outside of the apartments masses of people asking questions about that night and for descriptions of Madeleine. Long day.

(Then Kate, Gerry and their seven friends were taken to the Policia Judiciaria, or PJ, headquarters in nearby Portimao to give statements.)

Nobody from the police introduced themselves. Nobody offered us a drink or food. All the police dressed informally and smoking. No sympathy was shown and far from inspiring.

I believe my statement would have been around 15.00 and such. They allowed G (Gerry) to come in with me but seated behind me. Translator present.

The police officer who took us by car to the station was the one asking the questions and afterwards typed the answers on a typewriter. Morose.

We left the police station around 7.30pm to 8pm. After 15 minutes we received a call from the PJ saying we had to go back but they didn't tell us why. We turned around and flew back at around 200 kilometres an hour. Once again frightening. Did they find her' Please God. Is she dead' Prayers. We arrived' they showed us a photo of a girl they'd forgotten to show us from the close circuit TV footage. Not M. Devastating.

SATURDAY, MAY 12: (Madeleine's birthday) Madeleine is four years old. Day at resort with holiday group. Special Mass for Madeleine at 18.00 in Praia da Luz.

MONDAY, MAY 14: I slept well last night after a not very good end of the day, frustration with the FLO (Portuguese police family liaison officer) asking me where would my little M be.

I got up at 06.50. I dealt with some trifles and got myself ready for the statement to the press at 08.00.

I tried to put on a slightly more presentable and 'healthy' air. Gerry again gave a great performance.

Following on we answered about four questions. I almost responded to the first one asking how we were, but I didn't. I did answer a question on our possible return home. I replied that obviously I didn't even think about that. Anyway, it seemed to have gone well. After breakfast and our having left S and A, (twins Sean and Amelie, then aged two) we went to church to pray in silence. Very good, calming.

After getting back I decided to go running' for the first time since THE day (already 11 days ago). I knew that it was going to be physically difficult, but I also knew that I wasn't going to give up, because it was for Madeleine and also because the level of pain is far higher now.

No cameras or journalists, which was great. I went running towards the beach and then along it and again climbed that hill so steep 'without stopping! (I carried a photo of M in my hand to keep me going.) On the last hill past the tennis courts my legs completely weak, but I managed to keep myself walking. I managed to reach the apartment then time to stop' to think' I felt really quite calm.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23: Gordon Brown (then Chancellor and PM in waiting) called and spoke with Gerry -very kind and giving encouragement.

Feeling a bit emotional afterwards.

SATURDAY, MAY 26: We went to an amusement park with the kids. Some phone calls, emails etc. Not a very good day for either the two of us' some dark thoughts/ frustrations/ desperation creeping in. Some tears.

(Then in a moving little message to Madeleine) I love you so much XXX

SUNDAY, MAY 27: Clarence (Clarence Mitchell, Foreign Office family liaison at the time) spoke to us about a possible trip to the Vatican. It seems that it really is going to happen' main story on the news!

Spoke to Dad. I went for a walk to the beach with Sean and Amelie. Frozen. Beach' slippery, wet feet.

We all had dinner when we got back to the apartment.

We have to keep looking. We have to find you beloved xxxxx.

(Kate signed off the day's entry by drawing a heart with 'I LOVE MADELEINE' inside.)

WEDNESDAY, MAY 30: (After trip to see Pope detailed above) The kids went to bed again around 9pm!!! Low point of tonight' becoming desperate/without hope because of the lack of information. They are acting like they have no leads at all. Very worried.

Tomorrow it will be 4 weeks since Madeleine was taken. Four weeks since we saw our special little girl. We are not certain that we will ever see her again, but know that we have to keep up our hope and strength' for the others, at least. Exhausted.

I love you so much, Madeleine. You must come back! X

FRIDAY, JUNE 1: Quite fed up...I can't stop thinking about Madeleine, about her fear of pain. How can I go on knowing that her life could have ended like this'

This week I have been quite overtaken by black thoughts. Please, God, bring her back.

Bedtime is becoming more and more of a challenge.

SATURDAY, JUNE 2: I can't remember today (which is now yesterday!). The morning was spent doing paperwork. I wrote a letter to JK Rowling, asking for her help in keeping M in the public eye. She has a new Harry Potter book which will come out in July. I asked if it would be possible to do something like a bookmark with M on.

An enjoyable afternoon' I never felt so relaxed. I felt it was wrong. S and A had fun and that was important. I also worried about what people might think, like 'How can they manage to...''

It seems that Sean is liking the beach more these days. We had tea in a nearby restaurant' good, despite still thinking that I had to do normal things without feeling guilty. We left around 7.30pm and the kids were completely exhausted.

Fed up again 'poor M. Once again it took a long time before S and A were sorted. Finally went to church for 10 minutes.

Private worship (despairing!).

Cried again in bed' I can't avoid it. I need her close to me. Thinking about her fear of pain breaks my heart. Thinking about paedophiles makes me want to tear at my own skin. Of course these people, like psychopaths, aren't 'normal' human beings. I was never in favour of the death penalty, but these people should be kept in a secure place. I wouldn't even complain if it was in nice surroundings, but, certainly in the case of paedophiles always distanced from any type of contact with children.

Whose human rights are more important' Those of a paedophile or of a vulnerable, defenceless child'

TUESDAY, JUNE 5: Woke up relatively late again, around 7.30am, with a good morning wake-up call from S and A. Adorable!! I just wish it had been all three of them that came into the room. After a shower and breakfast, I took S and A to the Kids' Club. I asked if they could make birthday cards for their Grandma and Gerry' today is his birthday but I had forgotten which is not surprising!

THURSDAY, JUNE 7: The Press conference went well. People are always asking how we are managing to cope, how we can manage to run a campaign, as if we are strange because we are able to appear calm and controlled and aren't going under all the time. They know so little. Nobody should judge or criticise because, unless they have already been in this situation, they have NO IDEA how they would be and certainly NO IDEA how painful it is. NO IDEA AT ALL. I love you so much Madeleine xxxx

I can't bear this. I can't bear being without Madeleine. It's like torture' a slow, painful death. I hope her suffering, if she is suffering, is much less. Please God.

SUNDAY, JUNE 17: Cherie Blair (then the Premier's wife) phoned to find out how we were.

We talked about everything in general, including about them leaving Number 10. She agreed as well to make a 20-second video clip for our broadcast on YouTube about Madeleine and children who have disappeared.

I also had the chance to speak to Tony (then Prime Minister) who told me that we weren't to hesitate to ask him if there was something he could do to help.

On Sky News tonight they suddenly said the Portuguese police had stated that the crime scene had been contaminated' because of us' and that fundamental evidence had been lost. How dare they insinuate that our daughter's life could be put in danger because of us. Very angry. Very upset.

I want to speak to someone now, but it's too late.

I changed my mind and I sent a text message to Ricardo (Portuguese police family liaison officer). I don't know if was a sensible idea but I feel really annoyed.

My darling little Madeleine, you know that we wouldn't do anything to put you in danger.

I love you very much and I am in agony right now.

I only have to hope that God helps us all now and that he brings you back to us, safe and sound, very soon.

I need you to come back Madeleine. You are the best thing in my life that has ever happened to me. XXXXX

I ended up feeling very upset. Everything overflowed. Terrified that we might not get Madeleine back. I simply cannot face that. Tears, despair, rage, helplessness. I spoke to Gerry, recited prayers. Please God, bring her back XX

I fell asleep after 1am.

MONDAY, JUNE 18: I spent a few lovely hours with Sean and Amelie building a sandcastle with a moat, getting big hugs from Sean, ice creams.

Shower, lovely meal and a little playtime with the kids.

(But as night closes in Kate's anguish returns.)

I cant stand living like this. It's so painful and distressing. Dear Lord, PLEASE answer our prayers. PLEASE send Madeleine back to us. PLEASE.

I love you so, so much Madeleine, more than anything XXXXX.

TUESDAY, JUNE 19: Last night I didn't manage to get to sleep until around 1am because I was so upset again. It's so painful to be without Madeleine and I can't stand to think that it could be like this forever. This simply cannot happen.

Good night, good night Madeleine, I'm longing to read you a bedtime story again. I love you my little darling X.

I'm longing to read you a bedtime story again. I love you my little darling X.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20: There is still no sign of Madeleine. I didn't feel like it so I decided not to go running.

Went to pick up Gerry from the airport. It was so good to see him. Just before we reached the apartment we saw a man lying in the middle of the street, so we stopped the car and got out. It was no surprise to see that he was drunk (we've all been there!) but he recognised Gerry and me immediately. Gerry walked him round to his apartment.

THURSDAY, JUNE 21: I went to the church around 9.20pm to pray a bit by myself, in peace. I got a bit annoyed, I don't understand why God doesn't answer my prayers. I think I need a sign of some sort. I miss her so much. It is so painful and I don't feel my life is complete and I won't ever feel it is complete, if she doesn't come home. Gerry came down later on to be with me.

Apart from a glass of wine, chocolate and this diary, there's nothing much else to tell.

I LOVE YOU MADELEINE. GOOD NIGHT GOOD NIGHT X X X.

FRIDAY, JUNE 22: I miss Madeleine loads and that's a real understatement. Sometimes I think I must have done something so bad. (Then Kate recalls the IVF treatment she needed to get pregnant) It was so difficult and painful 'trying' to have Madeleine and now this!!!

Why''' Bad luck''' A sick joke''' And then I think I don't want to think about me' I'm an adult, but Madeleine, dear, sweet, vulnerable, beautiful Madeleine... and I just feel like screaming. WHY'

Dear Lord, I continue to ask, continue to hope, continue to try to have faith in You. Please help us. Put an end to this nightmare. Please help Madeleine. PLEASE LORD.

Unbearable

Madeleine, I love you with all my heart. You are part of my being and I will never feel whole without you. I hope and pray for the day, hopefully soon, when we will be reunited and together again FOREVER. I miss you so much. I need you. I love you. XXXXXXXXXXX

SATURDAY, JUNE 23: I woke up after 7am hesitating (again!) about going running but eventually I built up enough enthusiasm to convince Gerry that we should go. He ran quite well and without a doubt it was worth us going.

Will we see her again one day' How can this end well now' She's so precious. God I need you to do something soon. I'm so desperate and suffering so much.

This evening I felt quite low again. It's the awful uncertainty, helplessness and worry. It's really unbearable. I only want to be able to hide or hibernate until this is all over and Madeleine is back. Please make sure she's OK.

The usual' dinner, a few drinks and emails. Good night. Good night my darling, longing to lie down...

SUNDAY, JUNE 24: Oh, Madeleine, I find the nights so difficult and only God knows how things are going to find you. I just want to say, once again, that you have been the most special and amazing thing that ever happened to me.

I've never felt such love for another person. I hope and I trust that God and Mary are protecting you and I only know that Dad and I and all your wonderful family and friends will continue to search for you, and we all long for the day when you will be back with us again' FOREVER! XX

Good night. Good night darling. I love you XXXXXXXX

TUESDAY, JUNE 26: I went for a short walk to the shops nearby. I had heard that there was a paedophile there. Nice, isn't it'

If people informed us about these criminals of course we'd be more cautious and we'd feel safer!

Unfortunately I read two books of messages that had been delivered... There were three horrible ones. One from a former Met Police officer' very insensitive/ cruel and far from constructive! Another said 'R.I.P. Maddie' 'how appalling!

Well, not surprisingly I was very upset and I went out to the rocks on the beach. I cried a lot and spoke to Madeleine and to God. I was still not ready to go but Gerry was calling me. The police had arrived, as planned, at the apartment. I calmed down and went to the meeting with the police. Everything seems to be so slow. We finished at around 7pm so I went to be with the kids and tell them bedtime stories. I had dinner, had a few drinks despite having said I wanted it without alcohol!! We talked some more.

My darling Madeleine, I feel such fear and dread when I think of you. Every day and every night, it is TOO MUCH. I can only have hope and trust in God and Mary to look after you and bring you back to us soon.

I'm so sorry if I/we let you down. I hope you know how fond of you we are and that we would NEVER do anything intentionally that would put you in danger' of any kind. You are so precious to me. You make me so happy and I miss you so much. Please God, please Mary, keep watch over our sweet Madeleine. Keep her safe and sound and bring her back to us soon! X X

MONDAY, JULY 2: (The day the McCann's had to move from the Ocean Club apartment to a rented house.)

I started to put everything in the suitcases and then I took S and A to the Kids' Club around 09.20 and then I came back to pack the cases. We moved everything to the house around 10:30. Although now I think that it is a good thing to move to the house' with a bit more privacy' everything feels wrong and painful without Madeleine. I cannot believe that this has happened. She is so loving and I desperately want her back. Sean and Amelie appeared very excited about the 'new house' especially with regard to their room. After lunch on the terrace, Gerry filled the Jacuzzi with cold water and the children enjoyed themselves immensely in their 'swimming pool'. I went to look for Chinese food for 4.

Oh dear Madeleine, where are you' Are you nearby' Please keep well and be strong, my little one. We are desperate to find you. We love you very much. You are so special. I long to give you the biggest hug in the WORLD!! I miss you so much. I love you so much my dear Madeleine.'

THURSDAY, JULY 5: I got up at 7.15. Gerry went for a run.

NOTHING is or will be as good again without Madeleine.

I am thinking about you a lot, dearest Madeleine, and praying a lot so that we find you soon' alive and unharmed.

Stay strong' you know that we all love you very very very much XXXXX.

FRIDAY, JULY 6: (The day a man was arrested in Holland for a cruel hoax intended to extort '1.3million from the McCann's in return for details of the kidnappers and Madeleine's location.) I wrote my emails and finished our statement for when the story broke about the Dutch man's extortion near lunchtime.

He's 39, unemployed, says that he was bored and wanted to play with our emotions. Bastard. David Miliband (the new Foreign Secretary) phoned Gerry to offer support.

SATURDAY, JULY 7: We had breakfast and got the children ready as usual. At 10.30 the four of us went to the Algarve Shopping Centre.

The plan was to buy sandals and some other things for the children. However the journey was a disaster. We had to stop three times on the way there, since Sean and Amelie were crying alternately.

PAIN REVISITED: Kate and Gerry McCann talk ahead of the one year anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance

I began to feel that it had been a wasted day, even though Sean and Amelie had some good goes in Noddy's car and Popeye's boat. The return journey was slightly more bearable.

I had a 'moment' while we were having lunch. I saw a woman who looked pregnant and I began to think about when I was pregnant with Sean and Amelie. And then it hit me. (Kate then remembers a touching scene from the past.) Madeleine was coming to visit us later that evening, the look of wonder on her face, and afterwards she got in beside me in bed. She was and is so adorable' a real jewel, a real gift. And I painfully miss her.

At around 18.00 went to church. It was good... there was nobody else there. Later Gerry turned up and joined me and we went down as far as the rocks on the beach and talked a little about Madeleine. But I began to feel slightly pessimistic and fearful. Please, my God, prove to us that we are not wrong. But I was feeling worse. Please, my God, let this have a happy ending.

I have been thinking a lot about you today, Madeleine. I am so worried and frightened for you. I can only hope that God has you in his hands and brings you back to us soon. Please, my God, help us, help Madeleine.

We love her and we need her so much, and she loves us and needs us. Please, please, please make it so that we have some good news soon. Good night darling. I love you. (I can hardly wait to say 'See you tomorrow.') XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

THURSDAY, JULY 12: I hate the person who took my Madeleine'the same one who has caused all this trouble, who made us feel worthless and mistrustful and mainly who has frightened my beautiful Madeleine. I will never forgive that person/those people for this. Never.

Today I washed the Cuddle Cat (Madeleine's favourite soft toy and a constant comfort to heartbroken Kate). I was hoping not to have to do it until Madeleine returns, but it was now quite dirty and smelly, unfortunately without the smell of Madeleine on it. XX

TUESDAY, JULY 17: Finding it very difficult to talk to people from home, unless they are directly involved. It is difficult to show an interest in other people's lives and children at the moment. I know it sounds horrible, selfish and egocentric, but at the moment I can only think about Madeleine. I don't want to hear about anyone having babies or getting pregnant (mainly because it was all so very difficult for us). I'm worried about turning into a bitter, angry woman, that would be horrible. Please God bring Madeleine back and let this nightmare end.

Please don't let our lives be destroyed by this. Please don't let them hurt Madeleine.

Earlier today I found Amelie in our room looking at photos of Madeleine and she said: 'I miss my sister. Where's my sister''

I couldn't believe it. I didn't realise Amelie's vocabulary and use of words was so good. I just said: 'I miss her too. We'll find her soon.' What a little sweetheart!

She then turned her attention to something else.

We took turns jumping into the water with the kids, which was great fun. After a DVD and a story it was the twins' bedtime which didn't take too long tonight. Madeleine, we are all with you darling.

Keep strong, be patient, we'll keep on going till we find you. I love you so much. We hope and pray we'll see you soon.

Goodnight, my darling. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 18: It was suggested that Madeleine is dead and buried in an area close to the beach, behind the cliff.

What can I say' I feel my body's on the verge of collapse. How much pain and emotion can one body take' I had a bad afternoon. I was very worried, desperate, extremely on edge. I don't think I can take any more of this, I really can't. How much longer will this suffering go on' I need Madeleine ALIVE.

SATURDAY, JULY 21: I continue to feel very low. I miss Madeleine so much. It's as if a ray of light has disappeared from my life. There's no doubt that Madeleine is that ray and I miss her more than words can say.

We just wrote our blogs/diaries. Once again those dark thoughts returned, linked with feelings of anxiety, fear and worry. How much longer will we have to cope with this pain'

My poor, poor Madeleine. Why, Lord' My heart aches with so much love for you, Madeleine. I just hate being without you.

(Kate then relives the last time they saw Madeleine in the Ocean Club apartment.)

If I could go back in time, I would. I have clear recollections of that night. You were so tired. After your baths, you sat on my knee and put my wedding ring on your finger. We (me, you, Sean and Amelie) read 'Mog' in the living area and then 'if you're happy and you know it'. We all sat down on your bed.

Then you counted the squares on the last page. You were always counting things on pages...always laying your head on your pillow at the same time every night. Madeleine you make me so happy. I just want you home. I love you so much. XXXXXXX

MONDAY, JULY 23: I got up at 7.00 and went running. I was surrounded by a pack of dogs (more or less 12)'it really wasn't a nice experience. I went to the flat, high part of the cliff as I felt really alone and a little frightened. Please God, don't let Madeleine be buried here. Please God, make sure she's alive. Please God, bring her back quickly to us.

I took S and A to the Kids' Club at 9.45 then I went to church to pray a little on my own.

Every single moment of happiness with Sean and Amelie, who are both so delightful, is mixed with deep sadness. All I want is Madeleine to be safe and happy again.

Baths, stories and some bedtime chaos from Sean and Amelie before I finally put them to bed at 21.15.

I spent some time on the internet reading about Sarah Payne (Roy Whiting), Eliz. Smart (Brian Mitchell) and the Peter Voisey case (he abducted a six-year-old girl from the bath in North Tyneside). Really horrible.

Night, night sweetheart. I'm trying to be positive. I need to be because I need to believe that you're going to come back to me, so I can go back to being truly happy. I love you XXX.

TUESDAY, JULY 24: Sean and Amelie had lots of fun in the Jacuzzi' laughter galore! Carrot sticks and crisps were had by all at teatime.

Oh, darling Madeleine. It pains me to think of you' it causes me such sorrow and I have no idea how you feel. I pray to God that you are well, that you are not hurt. I pray that God keeps you safe and sound and that you're not afraid, nor in pain.

Please God, answer my prayers and please, please, please bring Madeleine back to us very soon, for our own happiness. Please God.

Madeleine, sweetheart, I love you so much. I can't stop saying it. Night, night darling. We will keep hoping and having faith in God. XXXXXXX.

Restless

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25: I received some bad news last night. A friend has breast cancer and has just received her first dose of chemotherapy following surgery. Horrible. I will include her in my prayers.

At around 15.30 I went for a run. I had begun to feel restless and worried about Madeleine. It was hot and hard work, but I felt better for having gone.

We returned at around 18.15'the children's dinner and baths, our dinner.

(and the children's once again!).

Madeleine, sweetheart, you are the most important thing, the only thing that matters. Words cannot describe how I feel about you nor how restless, tormented, alone, sad and incomplete I feel.

I will continue to hope and pray that you come back to us soon but I don't want to think about how good it would be to feel something like that' not yet, at least.

I love you so, so much darling. I remember sitting watching you through the glass window when you were having your swimming lessons on a Saturday morning. There you were with your yellow swimsuit, ever so pretty and you were smiling and waving at me, and the tears rolled down my face!

I was and am still so proud of you, Madeleine, and my love for you is never-ending. I can't stop saying how much I love you dearly. I'm going to try and stay strong for you and you have to do the same. You know we love you and we are going to keep going until we find you again.

All my love, Madeleine. Night, night. Sleep well. May God protect you. XXXXX.

SATURDAY, JULY 28: I got up at 7.30 after a late and disturbed night of sleep.

At around 16.20 we had a dip in the Jacuzzi. Sean and Amelie loved it. After tea I went to the small church. I was a little tearful.

It's really hard for me not to worry about the small things. I wonder does anyone brush her teeth' She looks so happy in that photo taken on that last day.

I know I'm repeating myself but I can't stop myself from saying how much I love you, Madeleine. I'll say it as many times as I need to. You're so, so special. XXXXX.

TUESDAY, JULY 31: (The day before police seized the diary) I got up early after another late and very disturbed night.

I dropped by the church. I feel better after these short conversations.

I cooked my first meal (since they took Madeleine!!) for dinner tonight.

Please God' make me right. Please God' protect her. Please God' bring her back to us soon!

Night, night Madeleine, by dearest little angel. My sweetheart, my darling, my love, my companion. I love you more than anything. Lots of hugs my darling. I'm going to dream that I'm lying by your side' moments I'll always cherish and I long to have again.

Sweet dreams my little one. Be strong. Mummy XXXXX.

Pope was so gentle and so sincere

DEVOUT Catholic Kate's nerves were on edge as she and Gerry prepared to meet the Pope at the Vatican on May 30.

On May 28 she wrote: 'I felt somewhat concerned. This is going to be a little too much, I only want Madeleine back and to return to our normal life.'

Two days later her diary recalls: 'Pope Benedict XVI arrived in his 'pope mobile' waving to everyone. It immediately became clear that he recognised us. He took hold of our hands and he was so gentle, so sincere.

'I thanked him for having allowed us to be there with him. He said he would pray for us and that he would continue to pray for Madeleine and for her safe return. I gave him the photo of Madeleine' he blessed it (with the thumb)' something that we would be able to keep for ever. A shy man but very friendly.

'Very emotional, very positive, very important' charming.

'Please, God, bring back to us little Madeleine. We love her so much and we miss her so much. Please Lord, help us to be united once again shortly as a family.

'Later on, Clarence (Foreign Office family liaison) told me that, before that (meeting the Pope), a butterfly had flown above and had landed on the bow on my hair.

'Following on, it left, but it came back and landed on my lapel. An omen, we hope.'
----------

Funny how that got into the hands of The News of the World innit?

Police told Kate McCann NOT to cry in public because kidnapper would 'get off' on her emotions

Last updated at 00:54 07 November 2007

British police have told Kate McCann not to cry in public because they fear this will play into the hands of her daughter's abductor.

Police have told the mother-of-three she must try to control her emotions when she is in the public eye.

They are worried a kidnapper will "get off" on any show of emotion by her and husband Gerry.

Spokesman Clarence Mitchell revealed police have been advising the couple during an interview screened in the early hours of this morning.

Detectives briefed them shortly before they gave their first TV interview since being made official suspects over Madeleine's disappearance.

Kate ended up breaking down during the interview on Spain's Antena 3 last week.

Mr Mitchell, speaking on the same channel during a live link-up, admitted: "The police told them they had to control their emotions because the kidnapper could see the programme and could gain satisfaction from that reaction."

Kate, 39, has rarely shed a tear in public since Madeleine vanished on May 3 from their Algarve holiday apartment - and husband Gerry has been portrayed as a cold control freak in the foreign press.

It was thought the mum-of-three had been schooled not to show emotion in public by friends.

But the British police's official role in advising Kate and Gerry on their body language was not known about.

Last night it looked set to drive a further wedge between UK officers and their counterparts - as it showed one set of police believe the couple's claim their daughter was abducted while the other suspect the McCanns of being behind Madeleine's disappearance.

The two forces are still trying to paper over cracks left by disgraced former head investigator Goncalo Amaral, moved off the Madeleine probe after claiming British police were too close to the McCanns.

Portuguese officers will rely on their British counterparts to conduct fresh interviews with the so-called Tapas Nine - the McCanns and their friends - on UK soil.

Gerry and Kate's spokesman said the couple's public show of emotion should be seen in the light of the advice they had been given about provoking Madeleine's abductor.

But he insisted on Antena 3's late-night show Confidencial SA: "Kate's tears the night your channel interviewed her were genuine."

The former BBC man was involved in a tense standoff with Spanish psychiatrist Jose Cabrera, who last week labelled Kate "a poker player" and called her tears "part of the act."

The McCanns have announced they may sue him over his claims, aired in a Portuguese paper.

But unrepentant Cabrera, staring Mr Mitchell in the eye during a live head-to-head, said: "When emotions are displayed in public, you risk having to respond to what is freedom of expression.

"That risk is a risk that has got to be considered when agreeing to interviews as you and the McCanns have done.

"This whole situation has arisen from their lack of care of their children in an apartment at a given moment in time and leads to people having differing opinions about their sincerity.

"My opinion is one of many you have heard and seen written in newspapers and you'd have to sue so many people that I don't know to what extent that would make sense in your media strategy."

Mr Mitchell countered: "I'm not going to get into an argument with you about this. It's a question for the lawyers.

"But it's wrong to say Kate was crying deliberately. Her tears were sincere."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-492026/Police-told-Kate-McCann-NOT-public-kidnapper-emotions.html

PHEW !!!

TUESDAY, JUNE 26:

Well, not surprisingly I was very upset and I went out to the rocks on the beach. I cried a lot and spoke to Madeleine and to God.

Hmm, i wonder if Maddie was dumped somewhere in the area?
I wonder if kate was close enough to where Maddie was to talk to her?
She links talking to god with talking to Maddie.
God is a spirit, she doesn't tell us she prayed to god, rather, she spoke to god.
She also spoke to Maddie in the same way.
Does this mean she is telling us that Maddie is dead?
I believe so.

How could she speak to Maddie if she was alive?
Maddie wouldn't hear her mom or see her mom nor could she respond.
However, speaking to a dead Maddie is possible if kate believes she has a soul.
Since she links Maddie to god and she spoke to them both, although inconsequential Kate believes Maddie and god can hear her and perhaps respond in some way.
Kate tells us she cried a lot, were these tears of guilt and remorse for what she had done to Maddie?
Was kate begging forgiveness from Maddie and god for what had happened?
Was kate genuinely sorry for what happened to Maddie or was kate only crying for herself?
Was kate feeling the burden of guilt now that the weight that had been lifted from her shoulders on Maddie's death had returned when it started to become clear that the PJ were not buying their version of events and were now getting a bit too close for comfort regarding the truth of what happened?
Was kate close to cracking?

Kate told us they had hidden Maddie really well, i wonder if it would be worth checking the rocks in the area for Maddie's remain, perhaps a small cave or inlet that would be difficult to get to but not impossible, a place that had very few visitors due to its location and difficulty of access.
Was Maddie placed there or dumped close enough that she would be washed in and then grounded on the rocks?
If placed perhaps in a small cave deep enough that no one could accidentally see a tennis bag (especially given the color of the bag)
No one would be likely to come across Maddie;s remains by accident such as by an owner trying to catch their dog or local wildlife predating on Maddie's remain and dragging them out to the entrace or where they could be seen.

Then we have this revealing and damning statement from kate


SATURDAY, JULY 7:

I had a 'moment' while we were having lunch. I saw a woman who looked pregnant and I began to think about when I was pregnant with Sean and Amelie.
And then it hit me. (Kate then remembers a touching scene from the past.) Madeleine was coming to visit us later that evening,

Here we are told that Maddie was not living with kate and gerry when kate was pregnant with the twins.


I was pregnant with Sean and Amelie.
And then it hit me. Madeleine was coming to visit us later that evening.

So kate, who was Maddie living with since you tell her she was not with you when you were pregnant with the twins?

Why kate, was Maddie not living with you whilst you were pregnant?

How long had it been since Maddie had lived with you as a family?

Why had Maddie been handed over to live with someone in your extended family?

What reason had you given to the family member Maddie was living with?

When did you move Maddie back into the family home?

Was Maddie moved back into the family home at all?

If Maddie continued to live with someone in your extended family, what was the reason given?

If Maddie continued to live with someone in your extended family, did you at some point plan to have her move back in to the family unit?

Since you tell us Maddie was not living with you whilst you were pregnant with the twins, does this explain the clear lack of maternal bond between you and her particularly and the distancing between gerry and Maddie?

Does this mean that you and/or gerry may not the bio parents of Maddie?

Does this also explain the distancing from Maddie by all the extended family?

Would this explain all the subtle demeaning and disparaging comments from yourselves and the extended family in relation to Maddie?

Does this explain the questions from the PJ regarding handing Maddie over to a relative or possibly even foster care?

What was so wrong with Maddie that you couldn't have her live with you whilst you were pregnant?

Does this explain why you positively blossomed and glowed as if a weight had been lifted off your shoulders when Maddie disappeared?


Maddie disappearing (died) removed a source of trouble in your family life, did you expect things to die down regarding the investigation of your involvement given the political support you were bringing to bear?

Did you think the actual physical searching would die down over time and all you would need to do is on certain holidays make a little statement, "oh woe is me..." and carry on with your new perfect little family and the donations would continue to come in prompted by carefully controlled MSM interviews?


How did you feel when you learned tha many, if not the majority of the public no longer believed your story given the forensic evidence, evidence that should have been there and wasn't and evidence that shouldn't have been there but was?


Almost 11 years down the line and you  owe tens if not hundreds of thousand in legal fees and costs of the defendants and your own expensive lawyers.
You have been publicly revealed as being not cleared of involvement in the death, disposal and filing a false police report of Maddie.

You have no clue as to what is in the unreleased files of the PJ regarding this case.
UK poilce can prosecute you for fraud, obtaining money and services by deception etc plus given you did interviews overseas and had donate button for said countries you could also face charges in those countries.

Given all that, it would be better for you to come clean, admit the truth and try and come to a plea deal to minimize your prison time or perhaps claim you were suffering from diminished responsibility and post natal depression and perhaps end up in a hospital.


By coming clean it sets an example to the twins and will allow them to begin to heal and also get help for the emotional trauma you and gerry put them through.
it also means you will get the help you clearly need.


As it stands, you will never again be a doctor or GP.
All the years you spent studying, training to qualify and then going into practise if now for nothing.
You can continue to pay for your name to stay on the register but  that is now what all those years of studying and training have got you, a name on a list and nothing more.

Your drop in status from practicing doctor/GP is such that you can't even tell us what your new job is except you work in medicine.
A qualified doctor now working as a cleaner or receptionist or phlebotomist or maybe a nursing assistant.

You thought you had removed a millstone from around your neck called Maddie and life would be perfect but 11 years down the line Maddie is still there a burden, a millstone around your neck heavier than ever and will remain so until you come clean and confess the truth of what happened.

In the meantime, everything you say and write can and will be analyzed and the truth revealed.
Your own words condemn you.

Personally, I think it's a load of old cobblers, much like her book - the proverbial explanation for anything and everything the police might find.  Take this for example..

TUESDAY, JULY 31: (The day before police seized the diary) I got up early after another late and very disturbed night.

I dropped by the church. I feel better after these short conversations.

I cooked my first meal (since they took Madeleine!!) for dinner tonight.

Please God' make me right. Please God' protect her. Please God' bring her back to us soon!

Night, night Madeleine, by dearest little angel. My sweetheart, my darling, my love, my companion. I love you more than anything. Lots of hugs my darling. I'm going to dream that I'm lying by your side' moments I'll always cherish and I long to have again.

Sweet dreams my little one. Be strong. Mummy XXXXX.

Give me strength - who would talk to a three year old child like that!

I've always thought the rocks to be a distinct possibility as a temporary measure, whatever happened thereafter had to be something they thought to be foolproof, otherwise they wouldn't be walking so cock sure.  Cremation or ocean burial would be the most obvious means of ensuring remains would most likely never be found.

Maybe there was an element of truth in Pennington's claim about the man she saw at the harbour in the pitch dark, loading a bundle into a boat, maybe she was in important witness, maybe she was invited on board - hence the flurry of interviews with various media outlets, with multiple variations on a theme    

If Madeleine met her fate early in the week, as compelling evidence suggests, there was adequate time to arrange and implement a plan before the alarm was raised at 10:00 pm'ish on Thursday 3rd May.  As far as I see, the cracks started to show from the various accounts given from Tuesday 1st May - the McCanns as a family suddenly became almost reclusive.

Who speaks to a three year old in such a manner, indeed?!  The more I see and hear of Kate McCann, the more I believe her to be at least sociopathic, if not something even worse.  Clearly Gerry has absolved himself of any blame or guilt in Madeleine's disappearance, frankly if the man was chocolate he would eat himself, but that wife of his really is something else.  She appears to be making a poor approximation of human-like behaviour and genuinely seems to me to be mostly an emotional vacuum, with her true self so abhorrent and unnatural we rarely see its like.  Despite her intellect, she is unable to demonstrate appropriate, or at least believeable concern.  At least one person was bedazzled by her performance.  Karen Matthews lapped it up, right down to the ongoing sedation of an evening so she didn't have to deal with her daughter a second longer than necessary.  The two woman seem poles apart and Kate in particular would likely hate the comparison, but it just goes to show, social and economic differences aside, that having what could be best described as a pod-person for a mother results in unloved, unwanted children whatever side of the tracks you hail from.