Media Mayhem - MCCANN MEDIA NONSENSE OF THE DAY

It implies they're innocent. As Peter Hyatt says, 'they overwhelmingly talk you out of it every time'. No informed person with half a brain cell can possibly think them innocent.

I 've read the article a couple of times, and I can't see that it expresses an opinion either way, as to guilt or innocence. It doesn't pay them any compliment either, so what am I missing? I knew they were guilty when I heard the first report of Madeleine's 'disappearance'. The 'abduction' theory was too stupid to consider plausible.

It all happened in September 2007 didin't it?

Must be something to do with that dreaded word .... arguido !

McCanns deny reports that Gerry is not Madeleine's father


The front page of 24 Horas



By Aislinn Simpson in Praia da Luz
4:50PM BST 10 Oct 2007

The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have issued a furious rebuttal to an "offensive" report claiming Portuguese police believe Gerry is not her father.

Kate and Gerry were "horrified and devastated" by the latest "absolutely untrue" slurs in the Portuguese press claiming Madeleine's DNA was different to that of her twin siblings – all three of whom were conceived by In-Vitro Fertilisation – because she has a different father.

The tabloid 24 Horas claimed British police visited a sperm bank the couple used and tracked down the four-year-old's natural father to rule him out of any involvement in her abduction.

But family spokesman Clarence Mitchell described the reports as "unwarranted, unsubstantiated and totally inaccurate".

He said that the couple planned to sue 24 Horas over the allegations about Madeleine's paternity as soon as their official suspect status was lifted.

"We have up to a year to sue and we will do. Gerry and Kate want to concentrate on the case involving Madeleine and don't want to do anything that may compromise that while they are official suspects," he said.

"But they plan to sue 24 hours and any other media outlets that print these claims as soon as the official suspect status is lifted."

He added: "For the record, Gerry McCann is the biological father of his daughter Madeleine. A report in the 24 Horas newspaper suggesting otherwise is nothing short of lies.

"It is indeed absolutely untrue. It is offensive to suggest that Gerry is not her natural father."

Gerry McCann's mother Eileen said the 24 Horas claims were "utterly ridiculous".

"Madeleine is my natural granddaughter," she said.

"She looks like Kate and she looks like me too. Her eyes and nose are the same as mine."

A friend of the couple's said they had reacted to the unexpected attack with "complete horror and total distress".

He said: "How could a sperm donor have been eliminated when there isn't one? Gerry is the father.

"He damn well knew, because of the IVF process, that he was 100 per cent the father.

"To say it caused huge distress is an understatement."

Portuguese police apparently believe Madeleine's paternity is "very significant", because, according to a Portuguese police source quoted by the newspaper: "It explains why Madeleine's DNA profile is so different from her twin siblings DNA profiles."

This would mean that samples of hair and bodily fluids taken from the McCann's Renault Scenic, which they hired 25 days after their daughter went missing on May 3, and in their rented apartment in Praia da Luz, can only be Madeleine's, the newspaper claimed.

Yesterday, 24 Horas co-editor, Luis Fontes, said he stood by the story, which he claimed was confirmed by both Portuguese and British pathology sources as well as Leicestershire and Portuguese police.

"It's absolutely – our sources are rock solid," he said. "If they think they can sue us, bring it on."

A spokesman for the Forensic Science Service (FSS) in Birmingham, where scientists are still testing samples sent to them from Portugal, insisted the story had not come from them.

"As with any ongoing case, it is not possible to comment on matters that could jeopardise the investigation," she said.

"Our inquiries are ongoing."

A spokesman for Leicestershire Police said that they had refused to comment when contacted by 24 Horas on Wednesday.

"Leicestershire Police will not comment on any aspect of this investigation," she said. "That is a matter for the Portuguese Police as it is their investigation."

Nor would Policia Judiciaria comment further: "At this moment in time, we cannot and will not deny that news."

A source close to the family said they have been told forensic results are back on Monday. Portuguese police are hoping they will prove Madeleine's body was in the hire car.

Speaking after a meeting with the new head of the investigation, Paulo Rebelo, PJ director Alipio Ribeiro said Kate and Gerry could only be ruled out as suspects when the FSS results were back.

He said: "All lines of investigation are open and will continue to be open until we have more clarity on this case.

"The investigation will continue to proceed along the lines it's proceeded on until now."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1565936/McCanns-deny-reports-that-Gerry-is-not-Madeleines-father.html

Got to love how the media at first romanced the McCann's then later turned on them like a beast lol

'Allo Allo Allo - what we got 'ere then..

Move along, officer tells Sky’s man at Scotland Yard

HE’S almost as familiar a sight outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters as the famous revolving Scotland Yard sign.

By John Twomey

PUBLISHED: 00:00, Fri, Apr 26, 2013



In rain or shine, Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt has brought his viewers breaking news of terrorism, murders and police ­scandals.

But yesterday the reporter became the story when a Yard ­security officer asked him to move on from the London landmark where he has ­regularly broadcast for the past two decades.

“You can’t ’ang around ’ere,” the over-zealous uniformed security officer told the veteran crime man.

Brunt, who has been on first name terms with commissioners and Yard top brass, protested: “But that’s my job!”

Not wishing to create a scene, the newsman – nicknamed Brunt of The Yard – retired a short distance before reporting his unwelcome brush with the law on Twitter.

He tweeted: “Just been told by an unfriendly police officer I’m not allowed to hang around Scotland Yard. This could be awkward long-term.”



Brunt, 57, who joined Sky News in 1989, later denied he was upset because the officer didn’t immediately recognise him.

He was not reporting at the time and did not have a camera crew with him. Brunt later told a friend he had been sitting on a concrete block when the officer approached him.

Yard sources said later the minor confrontation would have no impact on the cordial relationship between Brunt and the Met.

One senior officer remarked: ­“Martin is always welcome to stand outside.”

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/394827/Move-along-officer-tells-Sky-s-man-at-Scotland-Yard
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Loitering with intent ?   Maybe he was looking for the broom cupboard office of Sloperation Grunge.

Brunt should be locked up after the door stepping incident with Brenda he's a vile disgusting of a man.

I'm not worried if G is Madeleine's father or not I want to know why Madeleine went missing and why the McCanns have constantly told ridiculous lies as have their friends,they know what happened 
to Madeleine and where she was dumped.They will be payed back (I
fervently believe that)sooner or later,sooner I hope.

Lady Meyer in pursuit of abducted children like Madeleine McCann

Frustrated at not being able to offer more assistance to the parents of Madeleine McCann, Lady Meyer has set her sights on co-ordinating the search for abducted children.

Mandrake by Richard Eden

12:04AM BST 18 May 2008

The wife of our former ambassador to Washington, Sir Christopher Meyer, tells me that she is trying to persuade Boris Johnson to establish a headquarters for such searches.

“There are hundreds of charities in London who offer services to missing or abducted children,” she said at the launch of Rachel Johnson’s novel Shire Hell. “I’m proposing one centre of excellence which amalgamates all the charities and would be much more efficient in helping people.”

Catherine Meyer speaks from experience: she set up the charity Parents and Children Together after her former husband denied her access to her two sons.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/1976774/Lady-Meyer-in-pursuit-of-abducted-children-like-Madeleine-McCann.html

Nicki Swift is a celebrity based website and YouTube channel that focuses on many Hollywood famous people. Most videos focus on just one celebrity and a short story revolving around them. However, these videos can be short segments from other sources.

The untold truth of the Madeleine McCann disappearance

It's been over 10 years since British three-year-old Madeleine McCann disappeared from the vacation home where was she was staying with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, and two-year-old twin siblings in the resort town of Praia da Luz, Portugal. According to reports, Kate and Gerry tucked Madeleine and her siblings safely into bed on the evening of May 3rd, 2007, and then went out to dine with seven fellow vacationers to a tapas restaurant close by. Upon returning home at about 10PM, and despite regular checks on the children, they discovered that their daughter Madeleine had vanished without a trace.

The ensuing search for toddler Madeleine swept media worldwide and became one of the biggest news stories of the decade. McCann's parents became a regular news presence and the subjects of intense public scrutiny, and accusations of police incompetence flew left and right. With a 2019 Netflix documentary reigniting public interest in the case, let's go back and review what has come to light in the years since little Madeleine's tragic disappearance.

There have been numerous unidentified 'people of interest'

In the years since Madeleine seemingly vanished into thin air, a number of witnesses came forward to describe people of interest who, to this day, have yet to be identified. In October 2007, Scotland Yard released sketches of a man who witnesses claimed to have seen uncomfortably carrying a young girl close to the McCann's vacation apartment around the time that the McCanns were out to dinner. (It was later announced in 2013 he was unlikely to be connected with the case.) Then in 2009, the police revealed drawings of a man, described as "very ugly," who had been seen "acting suspiciously" in the days leading up to the disappearance.

In August 2009, a woman with an Australian accent became the focus of attention; she was described as a "Victoria Beckham lookalike. Likewise, she has never been located. The same can be said of unidentified "woman in purple," who was announced as a person of interest as recently as May 2017. In November 2018, a source told the Daily Mail that Scotland Yard had recently informed the McCanns of "two specific and active leads" and that they were "they were confident and hopeful they could get a result."

The case was a media sensation

Madeleine McCann's disappearance generated what can only be deemed a media frenzy. As Vanity Fair detailed in an extensive 2008 article, tabloids worldwide picked up the case and covered it in exhaustive detail. A columnist for The Guardian even went so far as to compare the story to "the Second World War." The public likewise scrambled for any available information, with a source telling Vanity Fair that "Panorama, a BBC newsmagazine show, bought the same five-month-old footage of the McCanns (shot by a family friend) as ABC's 48 Hours and repackaged it" and "viewership rose by 2 million, to 5.3 million."

The McCanns appeared on television multiple times to tell their story and pleaded for information that would lead to their daughter's return. As Vanity Fair reported, these media efforts on the McCann's behalf absolutely furthered public interest, with the "Find Madeleine Web site visited by more than 80 million people in three months after the disappearance."

The McCanns also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2009, having been the subject of a bidding war between Winfrey and Barbara Walters for their first public statements. Interest in the couple and the case continues, as of this writing, with the aforementioned possible Netflix documentary as perhaps the biggest sign, as well as other media outlets, which are also still eager to interview the McCanns.

The McCanns didn't participate in the Netflix doc

As of this writing, Netflix hasn't released any official materials regarding an alleged Madeleine McCann documentary. But according to the Daily Mail, the streaming service planned either a "one off, two parter or as originally intended an eight part series" to air in advance of the 12th anniversary of the toddler's disappearance. An alleged source "close to the filmmakers" said they would have "welcomed the opportunity" to collaborate with the McCanns, who denied any involvement with the production on their official website. Similarly, close friends of the McCanns, including the infamous "Tapas Seven," who dined with them on the night of Madeleine's disappearance, also expressed that they "want nothing to do with it."

In what they said will be their only comment on the matter, the McCann's said in a statement, "We did not see and still do not see how this programme will help the search for Madeleine and, particularly given there is an active police investigation, could potentially hinder it. Consequently, our views and preferences are not reflected in the programme."

Regardless, the anonymous source remained upbeat about the project, telling the Daily Mail, "We have interesting new interviews with people close to the inquiry and we believe we can give justice to this unbelievably tragic story."

The investigation was controversial from the beginning

Accusations of mismanagement and incompetence have flown since the search for Madeleine began. From the start of the investigation, Portuguese police came under intense international scrutiny; according to Vanity Fair, they were dubbed "the Keystone Cops" and "Butt Heads" by reporters. As Vanity Fair reported in 2008, the leader of the investigation had been "accused of covering up a beating by his subordinates of a Portuguese woman who was ultimately convicted of killing her own child."

Additionally, per Vanity Fair, there were no dogs trained in tracking missing people available in the small vacation town of Praia da Luz, so "local residents actually used household pets under the guidance of police with drug-sniffing dogs." The Telegraph also reported in 2007 that the police had failed to gather crucial DNA evidence from blankets, sheets and pillows from Madeleine's bed. And as recently as 2017, sources were still coming forward to criticize what they saw as failings on the part of the Portuguese police.

The McCanns themselves were suspects

Shortly after Madeleine's disappearance, rumors started to swirl that Kate and Gerry were involved in their toddler's disappearance; specifically, that she had been accidentally killed and that the two were attempting to cover it up, a charge that the couple have always vehemently denied. According to Vanity Fair in 2008, the Portuguese police told the McCanns in September 2007 that they were "arguidos" or "formal suspects" in Madeleine's disappearance, though no charges have ever been filed and the status was revoked in July 2008.

Portuguese ex-police officer Goncarlo Amaral has been extremely public about his theory that the McCanns themselves accidentally killed their young daughter, and that British intelligence agency MI5 assisted them in covering up the accidental death. Amaral, who was one of the original investigators of Madeleine's disappearance, even released a book in 2008 accusing the McCanns of faking their daughter's abduction to hide their involvement in her demise. In 2015, the McCanns sued Amaral for libel and won, though the decision was later overturned.

As of November 2018, the McCanns were back in court, "battling [Amaral] at the European Court of Human Rights," according to the Daily Mail. At stake is a fund set up for the continued search for Madeleine, which is said to be in the range of £750,000 due to donations and proceeds from the sale of the McCanns own book. Should the McCanns get ordered to pay Amaral compensation and court costs, the fund could reportedly be depleted.

Additional conspiracy theories abound

In addition to the controversial rumors about the McCann's own involvement in the disappearance, numerous conspiracy theories have proliferated in the years since Madeleine went missing.

These various theories include: that Madeleine was taken by a human-trafficking ring; that she was abducted after wandering out of the apartment to look for her parents; that she was kidnapped as part of a botched burlgary; and that she was the victim of a targeted kidnapping by a family wanting a child.

David Edgar, a former Detective Investigator, who was hired privately by the McCanns to investigate Madeleine's disappearance, told The Sun in October 2018 that the case will likely be solved when the culprit gives "a deathbed confession." He also theorized, "There is every possibility that Madeleine is still alive and could be being hidden somewhere and having no idea that she is at the centre of a worldwide hunt for her."

Despite ongoing speculation, however, none of these theories has ever been proven conclusively.

There have been multiple sightings

In October 2016, The Sun announced that there have been a staggering 8,685 sightings of Madeleine McCann across 101 countries since her 2007 disappearance. Many of the sightings were totally unsubstantiated, or were later ruled out by police.

As early as September 2007, CNN reported that a young girl resembling Madeleine was spotted in Morocco by a Spanish couple who vacationed there several months after her disappearance. And the Morocco connections don't stop there. According to an April 2017 report by Express, an unidentified English man, and a woman "who now lives in Spain" said they saw Madeleine in Marrakesh on the same day in May 2007, just days after she went missing. Additionally, Express reported, "There were also other sightings in Zaio, a town in north Morocco, later that month and on June 15."

As recently as 2016, an unidentified young woman in Rome was also linked to the case (though she was later identified as a Swedish student who had been missing).

Celebrities got involved to help...

As media attention exploded, a number of high-profile people lent their time and reputations to helping the McCanns locate their daughter. Some notable names included David Beckham, who filmed an appeal for help, Portuguese soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, and bestselling author of the Harry Potter series J.K. Rowling, who donated money to help locate Madeleine and reportedly advised Kate McCann while she was writing her 2011 book Madeleine: Our Daughter's Disappearance and the Continuing Search for Her.

Pope Benedict briefly met with the McCanns in 2007 to bless a photo of their daughter, and Virgin Airlines magnate Sir Richard Branson contributed greatly to a multimillion dollar reward fund. During a 2007 appearance on Today (via The Telegraph), Branson also revealed that he secured "the top Portuguese and British lawyer" to help the McCanns fight what he viewed as a misinformation campaign by the Portuguese police.

"Imagine your child gets stolen from you, you go through all the hell that comes with that," Branson told the morning show, adding, "Then when the Portuguese police cannot find the person who has stolen it they (sources) start placing stories in the press, each one of which is shown to be unfounded a week or two later but by then they have spread around the world."

... and to cast blame on the McCanns

However, some celebrities haven't been so kind to the McCanns.

In May 2016, Sharon Osbourne made some ungenerous remarks about the McCanns on her show The Talk (via Express), specifically noting that she felt it was "insane" that they had left their children sleeping while they went to dinner close by. A close friend of the McCanns responded to Osbourne's off-the-cuff comments, telling Irish Mirror, "Kate and Gerry have never forgiven themselves and this should not have been aired in a random way, as it ­apparently was. It's based on ignorance of the true facts. While she's entitled to her view she should keep it to herself."

Later in May, controversial British tabloid celebrity Katie Price endorsed Osbourne's hurtful remarks during an interview on Loose Women (via the Daily Mail), saying, "It doesn't matter who you are, you don't leave your children... I'm on Sharon's side. If you are on holiday, your kids sleep in buggies, why in your right mind would you leave your kids in a room? I don't care if it is a safe place or if you can see them or not."

The case created tension between the U.K. and Portugal

Relations between the Portuguese police, who were the initial investigators on the case, and the British police became incredibly tense over the years.

Portuguese police accused the U.K.'s forces of acting like "a colonial power" in their country. Pedro do Carma, deputy director of the Policia Judiciaria and a leading detective on the case, expressed his outrage in May 2017 to the BBC's Panaroma series that four local men in Portugal had been made suspects by the British police without any proof. For their part, members of the British police force (and much of the media) felt that the Portuguese police had done an insufficient investigation.

Meanwhile, the McCanns had a testy relationship with both Portuguese and British detectives, with claims that the Portuguese Police treated them inhumanely and that they were "left for long periods without any updates or communication with the investigators." In 2008, Vanity Fair reported that the McCanns were horrified to learn that "without [their] knowledge or consent, the [Portuguese] police had photocopied Kate's diary, examined her borrowed Bible, and removed Gerry's laptop."

The McCanns also worked with private investigators and reportedly refused to share information with British detectives.

One prime suspect died in 2009

In November 2013, the The Mirror reported that a prime suspect in the case had died in 2009. Euclides Monteiro had been an employee at a resort near where the McCanns were staying in Praia da Luz, until he was fired in 2006. The outlet suggested that Monteiro may have kidnapped Madeleine as an act of revenge.

Monteiro's friends and family were shocked at the allegation. His wife told The Mirror that the accusation was "disgusting," and that her late spouse "would never be capable of committing such a crime." A friend described him as a petty thief who was unfortunately "a slave" to his heroin addicting, but insisted he was no kidnapper.

The McCanns even had their doubts. "We are aware of reports in the Portuguese press," they said through a representative. "They are pure speculation and the McCanns are not going to give a running commentary on every new report."

The investigation is ongoing

The search for Madeleine, who would be 15 years old, as of this writing, carries on, with the McCanns continuing their efforts through Facebook and the official "Find Madeleine" website.

Additionally, CNN reported in May 2017 that "London's Metropolitan Police still has a dedicated team of four detectives working the case, in conjunction with their Portuguese police counterparts." Scotland Yard's efforts, deemed "Operation Grange," have been ongoing for six years, and according to CNN, "around $15.7 million has already been spent on the search for Madeleine. In March, the UK's Home Office approved $103,000 to fund the inquiry through September 2017." However, to date, no one has been charged.

And despite the many years that have gone by, Kate and Gerry McCann continue to hold onto hope that their daughter will be found and returned. During an interview to mark the anniversary of the disappearance, Kate McCann explained, "I do all the [birthday] present buying. I think about what age she is and buy something that, whenever we find her, will still be appropriate. A lot of thought goes into it."

Read More: https://www.nickiswift.com/68459/untold-truth-madeleine-mccann-disappearance/?utm_campaign=clip

Professor Gerald McCann, know affectionately across the great divide as Gerry. McCann the man - of many faces and every one the same..

Gerry: Chances of finding Madeleine are slim



By Lucy Cockcroft

12:01AM GMT 10 Jan 2008  

The father of missing Madeleine McCann has admitted the chances of ever seeing his daughter again are "slim", the closest he has come to conceding the fact she may never be found.

Gerry McCann opened his heart in an interview with American society magazine Vanity Fair and told of the guilt he and wife Kate have felt since the disappearance of Madeleine.

The little girl, then three-years-old, went missing on 3 May in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while her parents were with friends at a tapas restaurant.

They had left their three children asleep in a nearby holiday apartment.

Speaking to interviewer Judy Bachrach, Mr McCann said: “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.

“I wish I hadn’t gone to the tapas bar. 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.”

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

The 39-year-old consultant cardiologist and his wife, also 39, have been made official suspects, or arguidos, in the case by Portuguese police and are under strict instruction not to talk of the details around the disappearance.

Mr McCann said: “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.

“It’s very difficult to describe this situation. One month, three months, five months, five and a half months.

"And I know now that, probably, the chances of getting Madeleine back are slim.

“You know, it’s difficult. Very difficult. You might never see her again. But still you have the hope. Still.”

Mr McCann, who gave the interview alone in October near his home in Rothley, Leicestershire, while Kate was at church, described how his GP wife fell to pieces privately in the days following the disappearance.

He said: “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.”

But in public she was told to maintain her composure for the sake of Madeleine.

Justine McGuinness, a former spokesman for the McCann’s, said: “That was one of the things they were told right from the beginning.

“Don’t show any emotion, because whoever took the child could get off on that, and take it out on the child.

"Or the abductor might find tears stimulating in some way. Appalling when you’re being told not to show any emotion in public and your daughter is abducted.”

When the case first took over media headlines last summer the McCanns attracted high-profile support from the Pope, David Beckham and Richard Branson among others.

Gordon Brown has even called the family to offer them his backing.

But Vanity Fair claims they now feel deserted by the Prime Minister.

In the interview, Clarence Mitchell, the McCann’s spokesman, said: “...it is true that we have requested a meeting with the prime minister to show him the strength of our case, to explain Kate and Gerry’s innocence - and yet all we’ve been offered is a medium-level-consular meeting, which we rejected.”

The interviewer also spoke to the couple’s friends and family as well as to the other suspect in the case, Robert Murat.

The British ex-pat, who lives in Praia da Luz, said: “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.

"Yes, we are a kitchen kind of family. “I spent the night at the house.”

Jon Corner, another friend interviewed by Vanity Fair, said Mrs McCann told him she was tortured by the idea 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’.”

Mr McCann was not paid by Vanity Fair, but instead requested donations to the Find Madeleine fund in return for cooperation with future projects.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1575151/Gerry-Chances-of-finding-Madeleine-are-slim.html
...................

[For those who still believe The Telegraph reported Madeleine McCann's disappearance at midnight on 3rd/4th May 2007, please not time of this report]

Gerry McCann opened his heart ....

Well, what more can you expect from a consultant cardiologist

Mr McCann described how his GP wife fell to pieces privately in the days following the disappearance.

The Grauniad..

Who's who in Team McCann

This week, Kate and Gerry McCann hired a new spokesman - and their campaign to clear their names and find their daughter Madeleine has taken a more positive turn. Aida Edemariam profiles the people helping behind the scenes

Aida Edemariam

Thu 20 Sep 2007

Clarence Mitchell, 46

Mitchell is on his second tour of McCann support as their official spokesperson. Two weeks after Madeleine disappeared he was sent by the Foreign Office to provide "consular support in exceptional circumstances". He spent weeks with the family, organising their trips across Europe, and, according to Gerry McCann, the couple's visit to Rome to meet the Pope. In June, he returned to his job as director of the Central Office of Information's Media Monitoring Unit, but quit this week in order to devote himself to the McCann cause full time. Before he became a civil servant, Mitchell was a BBC journalist who reported from Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq - and on the royal family, a role which coincided with the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
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Richard Branson, 57

The Virgin entrepreneur - worth, according to the Sunday Times Rich List, an estimated £3.1bn - has apparently been following the McCanns' story with great interest from the beginning. He has been in regular contact with them and had already provided a £100,000 reward for information leading to Madeleine's return before he heard that the McCanns might have to sell their home to pay for their legal defence. (They feared a public backlash if they dipped into the Find Madeleine Fund, which has so far received more than £1m.) Determined that the McCanns should receive a fair hearing, he began a second fund by donating £100,000.

Michael Caplan QC, 54

One of two British lawyers the McCanns have hired to defend them against suggestions that they might have had a hand in their daughter's disappearance. A part-time judge in the crown court and a chairman of the police disciplinary appeal tribunal, Caplan has a reputation in the profession for unflashy reliability and tenacity; in Chambers UK 2007, A Client's Guide to the Legal Profession, he is described as "the weapon of choice for battleship cases". He certainly has experience in dealing with cases in which there is huge media interest, having successfully defended Pinochet against extradition to Spain when he was arrested in the UK in 1998. He also defended the captain of the dredger Bowbelle, whose collision with the Marchioness on the Thames in 1989 resulted in the deaths of 51 people.

Angus McBride, 42

McBride is, like Caplan, a partner in the legal firm Kingsley Napley. He is particularly experienced in defending the reputations of celebrities, or accidental celebrities, such as the McCanns. He represented the actor Chris Langham, who has just been jailed for downloading child porn, and defended various professional footballers, including John Terry, charged with and acquitted of affray in 2002, and two Premiership players accused of rape in 2003. He is currently acting in Sir John Stevens's inquiry into past collusion between soldiers, police officers and paramilitary gunmen in Northern Ireland.

Carlos Pinto de Abreu, 40

De Abreu, a Lisbon lawyer, has offered his services to the McCanns for free, and began his job by filing a libel suit against a Portuguese tabloid, Tal & Qual, which claimed that police believed the McCanns administered their daughter a fatal drug overdose. He has also applied to the district attorney for a change in the couple's formal status, from "witness" to "assistant" in the investigation. This would mean they would be allowed to know more about it. A specialist in human rights, De Abreu is the president of the human rights committee for the Portuguese bar association.

John McCann, 48

One of seven directors of the Find Madeleine Fund, Gerry McCann's brother has taken indefinite leave of absence from his job as a medical rep for the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca in order to administrate the £1m fund from his Glasgow sitting room. Worried that focus on allegations about her parents has overshadowed the search for the four-year-old, he has just announced a new campaign of billboards, television commercials and advertisements in newspapers across Portugal and Spain. Retired teacher Brian Kennedy, Kate McCann's uncle, is a fellow director.

Esther McVey, 39

McVey has been friends with Kate McCann since they went to school together and is a board member and spokesperson for the Find Madeleine Fund. A former television personality - she appeared on GMTV and in programmes such as 5's Company, The Heaven and Earth Show, Shopping City and Channel 4's Nothing But The Truth with Ann Widdecombe - McVey now runs a PR firm in Liverpool, and hopes to become a Tory MP at the next general election. A former girlfriend of shadow culture minister Ed Vaizey, she narrowly failed to win Wirral West in 2005, losing by about 1,000 votes to Labour's Stephen Hesford.

Philomena McCann, 43

A high school teacher from Glasgow, Gerry McCann's sister often speaks to the press on the family's behalf. She is popular among reporters for her fierceness and colourful Glaswegian vocabulary, but occasionally strays off-message - such as when she told Sky that Portuguese police (of whom she is not fond) had offered Kate a two-year sentence in return for admitting accidental manslaughter. Gerry was still being interviewed by police, and Philomena had got the story somewhat garbled (they did not offer a plea bargain, but were exploring the possibility of accidental death). But, as reported in this paper, British journalists treated her statement as tacit permission to start reporting allegations against the McCanns.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/sep/20/marketingandpr.crime

Kate McCann: 'I still buy a Christmas present for Madeleine 11 years after she went missing'

Kate McCann

22 December 2017 • 5:17pm

The last Christmas I ever spent with my daughter, Madeleine, is a very vivid memory for me. She was three-years-old then and at nursery had just started to learn some Christmas carols. She also loved doing the accompaniment to Dean Martin’s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I can still hear her singing it now. For her present that year we had bought Madeleine (and her younger brother and sister) a kitchen station which we wrapped with a bow and left for her to find when she came downstairs.

I remember seeing her face when she walked in. She was beside herself. She was so excited and got straight to work preparing us all a meal. That was a lovely moment. I have bought a Christmas present for Madeleine every year since then but that toy cooker was the last one I ever saw her open.

In May 2007 she went missing from our rented family holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal and has never been seen since. This Christmas will be the 11th my husband and I have spent without our daughter. For families like ours who have to live with the agony of a missing child – or indeed any relative – Christmas can be a hugely painful time.

The festive period is a time to be together as a family and for most people is such a happy occasion. That almost expected joy makes it even more difficult for those that are suffering. You learn over time that you simply have to make the best of it and lean upon the support that is out there – wherever it comes from.

The first Christmas we had after Madeleine went missing I couldn’t do anything. I felt so numb that I couldn’t buy presents or cards or even put up the Christmas tree. It all felt so wrong. In the end somebody else had to do all that and we went and stayed with family elsewhere. Each year I’ve made a bit more effort and we’ve dealt with it as best we can. After all, our other two children who are now 12-years-old deserve a Christmas as well. That doesn’t mean it isn’t hard. Everything is tinged with pain.

That absence is tangible for all our family, the emotion still palpable. It’s impossible to shake off that heaviness ever-present on your chest. But you just have to try. Before Madeleine’s disappearance I had never heard of the charity, Missing People, which The Daily Telegraph is backing in its Christmas Appeal. My husband Gerry and I stayed in Portugal for months after she had gone, continuing to search in vain.

It was only when we got back that we were properly put in touch by a relative. The work the charity does for families like ours is vital and I am proud to be an ambassador championing their work. Hundreds of thousands of people go missing every year. This is something that affects so many families and it can destroy them.

The charity is there every hour of every day. Without them people would be totally lost. The Missing People charity team are simply very normal, genuine, caring people that you could come and have a cup of tea with. I’m sure that’s part of the secret to the charity’s success. We often talk about our missing persons ‘community’, or ‘family’ and every Christmas get together for our annual carol service at St Martin-in-the-fields united in our emotion and hope.

We are all cushioned and supported by the presence of each other. Unless you have experienced what families like ours have it is impossible to describe the anguish of missing a loved one. I know without the support of so many we would not have made it this far. We have found that support in many places. A candle still burns for our daughter in the village and Madeleine and all missing children still get mentioned in prayers at our local church – and in many others I’m sure.

With so many things in the world to pray for just now, we are very grateful for this. At times the pain of losing our daughter has been almost too much to comprehend. You don’t know how strong you are until you have no option. Gerry and I are united in our aim of finding Madeleine and our love of our children and making life as good as possible for them.

It doesn’t mean there aren’t times when things are emotional, testing or strained. But we’ve got through it so far. In spite of how hard the festive season has been for our family over the years our younger children are still really excited about Christmas and that’s lovely to see. I have to remind myself to be cheerful and get into the Christmas spirit with them. I suppose I have learnt over the years that it’s important to have enjoyment yourself too and, more than that, it is OK to try.

You don’t have to feel guilty. And if there’s one thing I love, it’s real quality time spent with my children; cuddling up on the couch under a throw and watching a DVD together. We do a Christmas stocking for them and also one for Madeleine. The presents I buy for her usually have to jump out at me. She would be a teenager now so I always try and pick something that would be suitable and enjoyable for her no matter what age she is when she gets to open them.

In my head I guess I just want everything for be right for her when she comes back home. The loft is filled with the presents I have bought for Madeleine and her wardrobe, too. Like many families of missing children we have kept her bedroom exactly the same as it was when she disappeared. The irony is I’m sure she wouldn’t want it like that anymore because it’s bright pink.

And in any case if Madeleine was to walk through that door the most important thing is she is with us, not what her bedroom is like or anything else for that matter. But for whatever reason I just can’t bring myself to change it. The police investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance is still active, thankfully, and while it can be incredibly slow and frustrating we continue in hope. That is all we can do. While people gather with their families this weekend and enjoy meals and swap presents together – I would urge them to remember the missing. We must never forget them.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/parenting/kate-mccann-still-buy-christmas-present-madeleine-11-years-went/

All about herself, of course.

I watched a documentary recently about a woman who stabbed her 
two sons to death and tried to say a stranger got onto her house,the police were convinced she was the culprit,she was on bail when she 
went on tv celebrating one of her sons birthday,she was laughing and
joking with her friends squirting silly string etc having a real good time
as soon as the police seen she was dragged in instantly.The jury watched it nine times she was sentenced to death.Remind you of a
time in May 2007 only this time no jury were used due to some low
life in this country.

Madeleine McCann's parents vow 'there will always be hope' despite winding up of police investigation

• Danny Boyle
  
  4 May 2016 • 11:47am
  
  

The parents of missing Madeleine McCann have insisted "there will always be hope" in the hunt for their daughter, despite British investigators admitting they have only one remaining line of inquiry. 

Kate and Gerry McCann, who are marking nine years since the youngster vanished while on holiday in Portugal, said that "information is still forthcoming" in the inquiry.

The future of the British police investigation into Madeleine's disappearance is in doubt and the probe is expected to be wound up in the next few months.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, last week revealed that UK detectives have one remaining line of inquiry left to examine.

According to reports, this might be a theory that Madeleine was abducted by a gang of thieves during a botched robbery, with one of the culprits working at the resort where the family were staying.

“It has been a very long time but the investigation continues, information is still forthcoming and our hope and resolve continue”
Kate and Gerry McCann

However, Mr and Mrs McCann have issued a statement on their website saying and that their "hope and resolve continue", as they thanked supporters for their "continued help and commitment".

Madeleine vanished from an apartment at the age of three while on holiday with her parents in the Algarve on May 3 2007.

Despite a hugely high-profile international hunt, there has never been any trace of her.

According to reports, the couple marked the ninth anniversary of her disappearance with a prayer meeting in their home village of Rothley in Leicestershire.

In their statement, the McCanns said: "As yet another anniversary comes around, we'd like to thank all our supporters for your continued help and commitment in the search for Madeleine, and the hope for her safe return.

"It has been a very long time but the investigation continues, information is still forthcoming and our hope and resolve continue.

"Until we have answers, until there is news (real news!), there will always be hope and we will continue to do everything we can to help find Madeleine.



An anniversary update posted on the FindMadeleine.com website


The British investigation now only comprises a handful of officers. The Home Office has granted £95,000 funding to keep the probe going for another few months.

Speaking on LBC radio last week, Sir Bernard said: "There's been a lot of investigation time spent on this terrible case.

"It's a child who went missing, everybody wants to know if she is alive and if she is where is she, and sadly if she's dead then we need to give some comfort to the family.

"It's needed us to carry out an investigation together with the Portuguese and other countries have been involved.

"There is a line of inquiry that remains to be concluded and it's expected that in the coming months that will happen."

Sir Bernard added: "The size of the team has come down radically, we are now down to two or three people in that team, at one stage there were about 30 officers in it.

"There is a line of inquiry that everybody agrees is worthwhile pursuing."

When asked when the probe, called Operation Grange, will end, the Met chief added: "At the moment it would be at the conclusion of this line of inquiry unless something else comes up.

"If somebody comes forward and gives us good evidence we will follow it. We always say that a missing child inquiry is never closed.

"First of all, the line of inquiry that is being pursued, that obviously is important and it is important that is resolved, and I think it will be."

He added: "If something new comes forward we will investigate it, but that line of inquiry probably at the moment is the conclusion of this inquiry."

Hopes were high when the UK investigation into the little girl's disappearance was launched in 2011, with Scotland Yard detectives later highlighting a sex offender who had targeted British families with young children staying in villas in the same area where Madeleine was last seen.

Despite no obvious progress since then, last week Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Duthie, who is head of the force's murder squad, remained optimistic.

He said: "There is ongoing work. There is always a possibility that we will find Madeleine and we hope that we will find her alive."

The McCanns are helping to promote a single, called I Hope, which is being released by the charity Missing People on May 20 ahead of International Missing Children's Day.

It is performed by relatives of missing children alongside stars including Rick Astley, Chesney Hawkes and Lesley Garrett.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/04/madeleine-mccanns-parents-vow-there-will-always-be-hope-despite/





Oh Danny Boyle
The pipes the pipes are calling thee

From Algarvian hills
To o' the mountain sides

For anyone out there still hooked on what they read in the papers, look listen and learn. This is how it works - Rebekah Brooks was/is not an exception, although I have to say master class, this is how it works..

How Rebekah Brooks understood you all the way to the front page

Brooks's Leveson inquiry appearance was a display of the empathetic arts she used to win round politicians and celebrities

Anyone who ever fantasised about being famous got a salutary look at what for the last 20 years has been the quid pro quo of British public life: what it's like to be turned over by a tabloid.

Rebekah Brooks, former editor of the Sun and the News of the World, then chief executive of News International before resigning over phone hacking last year, spoke for several hours at the Leveson inquiry.

Alternately empathetic and steely, she revealed the qualities – described by those who knew and worked for her as charm and warmth – that made her the darling of the political and showbiz worlds.

At one point, describing Gerry and Kate McCann, parents of the missing child Madeleine, she seemed so moved when articulating their terrible ordeal, she had to look away. More cynical observers, dazzled by her demure Peter Pan collar and modest expression, might have assumed this was for effect. But remember Sara Payne and Sarah's Law, the campaign for a paedophile register Brooks ran when she edited the News of the World and publicly "named and shamed" convicted offenders? That campaign was dismissed, derided and condemned as a dangerous witch-hunt, particularly when the residents of an estate went on the rampage, and a paediatrician had her job title misunderstood and graffiti painted on her front door. Brooks could never understand the reception. It was always obvious that she felt passionately about Payne's plight. Her empathy led. The later revelation that the mobile phone Payne was given by News International was one of those hacked, was one of the most extraordinary of this entire shebang.

Watching her describe the circumstances of the Sun's story revealing Fraser Brown's cystic fibrosis and furiously denying Gordon Brown's allegation that the paper hacked into his child's medical records, was a similar story. "If the Browns had asked me not to run it, I wouldn't have done," declared a wide-eyed Rebekah, who had earlier described Sarah Brown as "my friend". You sensed she absolutely believes that, even as she fails to understand how terrified the Browns were of her power; even as she denies having any such influence; even as she denies the Sun ran a revenge attack on Brown for suggesting that the Sun might have acted without proper morals. Throughout this complex dance, the Sun reader – earlier described by Brooks as being the only real source of authority at News International, is cast aside.

Countless celebrities and politicians experienced the Brooks velvet glove; the holding of your hand as the bad news is delivered. We have the tape, the ex-lover, the drugs, the cash. We know you're gay, having an affair, an addict or being blackmailed. It's going to come out and it'll be so much better for you if we're on your side.

Then comes the tell-all interview. My shame, my hell, my secret life. And the redemption. Recovery. All documented of course. We're on your side, you're on our team. Until you're not.

Many of them ended up thanking her. Being grateful. Sending warm text messages, perhaps. Piers Morgan would josh, dare and goad you into it, but Rebekah Wade, as she was, was the Princess Diana of tabloid take-downs, who understood you all the way to the front page.

She was not the only editor who practised this art. But she was hats off the best at it and today we got to see how.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/may/11/rebekah-brooks-leveson-inquiry
....................

Nasty nasty conniving little reptiles.

It makes me very angry to still see folk who will use press reports to bolster their opinions yet rubbish those reports than don't. Can't have it both ways - either the press is a good thing or a bad thing. I go with the latter.

Kate McCann: I needed help, I felt totally out of control

The mother of Madeleine McCann describes how she needed expert psychological counselling to bring her back from the brink of an emotional breakdown.


Mrs McCann, 43, issued an appeal to MPs as Scotland Yard continues its review of the investigation into her daughter's disappearance Photo: HEATHCLIFF O'MALLEY

John Bingham - 13th June 2011

Kate McCann told MPs that she felt “totally out of control” and “unable to function” in the days after the disappearance of her three-year-old daughter on holiday in Portugal in 2007.

Addressing members of a Commons committee investigating the handling of missing persons cases, Mrs McCann – a GP by profession – called for all parents in her position to be given psychological support.

She also hit out at officialdom for the “unbearable, bordering on inhumane” way she and her husband Gerry had been dealt with, being “left in the dark” about the progress of the search for daughter.

Burglary victims often received better support than parants of missing children, she added.

The couple had been forced to “fight, really fight” for the authorities to take up the search again after the case was shelved by Portuguese police three years ago, she added.

But she said that for the first time in four years she was optimistic about the prospects of finding Madeleine after Scotland Yard agreed to review the case.

In a wide-ranging hearing, two senior police officers also admitted there are failings in the way police handle missing persons cases.

It followed evidence from Mrs McCann and two other mothers who agreed that families were desperate for psychological support and were often left with no point of contact within the police at crucial moments.

Nicki Durbin, whose son, Luke, 19, went missing four years ago, told of her "terror" at hearing about the discovery of a decapitated body on the local news, fearing it was her son, but had no one to call find out more.

Mrs McCann told the committee that she had been lucky that her tour operator had flown a trained crisis counsellor out to help the couple.

“I can't overestimate how much of a difference that made, we are [both] medically trained but we couldn't function,” she said

“The sense of helplessness is overwhelming, it is an incredibly unpleasant sensation, it’s hard to describe.

“Our counsellor helped me start taking control of things I could control.

“It was probably the first time in my life where I felt totally out of control.”

She added: "If your house is burgled, you are automatically offered victim support with emotional, practical and legal assistance.

"If your child goes missing, you may get nothing."

Assistant Chief Constable Phil Thompson of the Association of Chief Police Officers, told the hearing that guidance for police was “cluttered” and inaccessible and was “crying out” for a national strategy.

“That isn’t work well enough and we have to do better,” he admitted.

Chief Constable Nick Gargan, the chief executive of the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), said: "There wouldn't be a police officer in this country who wouldn't change the way they deal with missing persons if they'd listened to the evidence session I've just listened to."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/madeleinemccann/8572998/Kate-McCann-I-needed-help-I-felt-totally-out-of-control.html
....................


The mother of Madeleine McCann describes how she needed expert psychological counselling to bring her back from the brink of an emotional breakdown.

The police in two countries have a duty to investigate without fear or favour. Neither of them appear to have executed their duties.

The only thing K is nobody believes a word you say including the
people who have empathy for you.

CPS lawyers travel to Portugal to explore Madeleine McCann leads

Senior prosecutors have travelled to Portugal to explore new leads in the Madeleine McCann case amid speculation that Scotland Yard is about to open a new investigation into the child’s disappearance.

By Victoria Ward

7:33PM BST 21 Jun 2013

Alison Saunders, London's chief crown prosecutor, and her deputy Jenny Hopkins, head of the complex casework unit, discussed the inquiry with their Portuguese counterparts.

It is the first time CPS lawyers have visited the country in connection with the Yard’s £5 million review of the case.

A CPS spokesman confirmed that prosecutors had travelled to Portugal with officers from the Metropolitan Police “to discuss possible next steps”.

The two-year review has identified several potential suspects who have not been interviewed and detectives have indicated that they need to be questioned in order to be eliminated or pursued further.

More than 20 people "of interest", including Britons, have been uncovered. They also include known child offenders who were in the Algarve at the time Madeleine disappeared in May 2007.

Theresa May, the Home Secretary, has agreed to fund a new full-scale investigation and an announcement is expected within the next few weeks.

A new inquiry would allow police to interview suspects in Britain, although they would seek the assistance of the Portuguese to carry out investigations there.

Kate and Gerry McCann’s spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said they would not comment publicly while the review, code-named Operation Grange, continues.

"They remain grateful, however, to the UK authorities for the work being done to establish what happened to Madeleine and to bring those responsible for her abduction to justice,” he said.

The Portuguese inquiry into Madeleine’s disappearance was shelved in 2008 amid fierce criticism.

Operation Grange, conducted by Scotland Yard's Homicide & Serious Crime Command, was launched in May 2011 following a campaign by the McCann family.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the police review, said last year that his team had identified 195 potential leads.

Scotland Yard also published an age-enhanced image of what Madeleine might look like today, aged nine, saying it had uncovered new information to suggest she could still be alive and living with her abductor.

Last month, Det Chief Supt Hamish Campbell, the head of Scotland Yard's homicide and serious crime command, confirmed that they had identified "both investigative and forensic opportunities".

Officials in Portugal insist that, under their laws, the case can only be reopened if there is new concrete evidence but British investigators are confident that their new leads could provide a breakthrough.

As they marked the sixth anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance last month, Mr and Mrs McCann said they were encouraged by Operation Grange and that the police seemed "more determined than ever".

The couple's hopes were further reinforced by the recent discovery of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight in Ohio, a decade after they went missing in separate incidents.

The McCanns said the rescue of the women "'reaffirmed" their hope of finding Madeleine, which has never diminished.

Madeleine, who was then nearly four, disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on May 3 2007, as her parents dined at a nearby tapas restaurant with friends.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10135847/CPS-lawyers-travel-to-Portugal-to-explore-Madeleine-McCann-leads.html

Madeleine McCann could be alive after police found nothing, say parents

Kate and Gerry McCann, the parents of missing toddler Madeleine, say the fact that police in Portugal have not found anything adds to their belief that their daughter is still alive


McCann's said they wer pleased that significant activity has taken place in Praia da Luz over the last 10 days Photo: FILIFPE FARINHA/EPA

By Agencies

3:15PM BST 12 Jun 2014

Kate and Gerry McCann are pleased police found nothing in their search for Madeleine, reinforcing their belief that she could still be alive.

The couple welcomed the significant activity that had taken place in Praia da Luz and said it was ''gratifying'' to know that a substantial amount of work will take place over the coming months.

Detectives found no evidence relating to the missing child during searches of three areas of land over the past 10 days, but said more investigations will be carried out ''shortly''.

In a statement today, Mr and Mrs McCann said: ''We are very pleased that significant activity has taken place in Praia da Luz over the last 10 days with police officers and support teams from the UK working closely with the Policia Judiciaria and the Guarda Nacional Republicana.

''We are further encouraged that despite the intensive searches, no trace of Madeleine has been found and this reinforces our belief that she could still be alive.

''As parents of a missing child, we have always wanted all reasonable lines of inquiry to be followed and it is gratifying to know that a substantial amount of work will take place over the coming months with the close co-operation of the British and Portuguese authorities.

''We would like to thank all those involved for their efforts and the members of the public who have come forward with information.''

Scotland Yard last night said there was ''still a substantial amount of work yet to be completed in the coming weeks and months'' and the recent activity was only the ''first phase of this major investigation which has been agreed with the Portuguese''.

The British officers were believed to be flying home today and tomorrow and it is not clear when they will return.

Their departure comes as residents and business owners in the Algarve resort spoke of their frustration at learning the police activity is set to go on, with one telling British police to ''go home''.

Today, locals in the town suggested they should sue the British police for the loss of earnings they have incurred, with another claiming the investigation was ''killing'' the small resort.

Waiter Fernando Pereira said the timing of the searches, at the start of the tourist season was a ''bloody nuisance''.

He added: ''Praia da Luz is not a very big place. There are very narrow roads. It's a pain.

''If they are going to be doing even more digging up and closing roads it's going to disturb everyone.

''Everyone's opinion here - and even the British people who live here - is that it's a bit too much now. The British police should just go home.''

A local estate agent, who gave his name only as Pedro, said the police investigation was putting off potential buyers when he showed them around properties.

He said: ''Suddenly they see a huge police operation and you have to explain. Some people take it very lightly and don't care but others, you can see that they feel very uncomfortable.

''What happened is nothing to do with the people of Praia da Luz but it will always be associated with Madeleine.''

He added that the local feeling was that the police investigation was a ''waste of time''.

''More and more you feel that people have no faith in the police,'' he said.

Expats also spoke of their anger, with one saying: ''Enough is enough''.

One British woman, who did not want to be named, said: ''Praia da Luz is surrounded by scrubland - when's it going to stop? I don't know what they're going to find - a big fat zero I should think.

''It's a family resort but this investigation is killing it.''

Searches in the Portuguese resort saw officers from Scotland Yard's Operation Grange working alongside specialists from around the UK including Sussex Police and South Wales Police, with the Portuguese police.

The force said the decision to search the horseshoe-shaped piece of scrubland close to the Ocean Club resort where Madeleine went missing aged three in May 2007, with the two sites investigated yesterday, was a specific result of the UK's investigation work to date.

The three areas were identified as places to be surveyed after 41 ground anomalies were identified by both aerial survey and ground analysis.

British officers, accompanied by their Portuguese counterparts, spent seven days carrying out a methodical search of the first site last week, with TV crews and press from around the world descending on the resort as the new development in the lengthy investigation took place.

Specialist teams including forensics officers, sniffer dogs and officers using ground-penetrating radar equipment were used on the large site, with the two areas searched yesterday being smaller and on the outskirts of the town.

As police prepared to search the second two areas, graffiti slurring the McCann family and describing British police as ''stupid'' was scrawled on a nearby wall overnight.

The McCanns declined to comment on the graffiti, which was written in large red letters in Portuguese.

The new operation in Portugal is only being carried out at the request of the British authorities after they submitted four International Letters of Request.

There have also been unconfirmed reports last week that Scotland Yard has been granted permission to question three suspects about the case.

The Portuguese have also reopened their inquiry into Madeleine's disappearance but, while they are working with the UK force, they have refused to set up an official joint investigation.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/madeleinemccann/10895211/Madeleine-McCann-could-be-alive-after-police-found-nothing-say-parents.html

Detective leading hunt for Madeleine McCann steps down

DCI Andy Redwood, who has led Scotlan Yard's Madeleine McCann investigation for the past three years, announces he is retiring from the Metropolitan Police


Andy Redwood (centre) and the Portuguese judiciary police chief of investigation, Luis Mota Carmo (left) in Praia da Luz, Algarve, Southern Portugal in June 2014 Photo: FILIFPE FARINHA/EPA

By Martin Evans, Crime Correspondent

12:41PM GMT 05 Dec 2014

DCI Andy Redwood, the man who has led Scotland Yard's hunt for missing Madeleine McCann is stepping down and retiring from the Met.

He is will retire later this month and will hand over to DCI Nicola Wall from the Homicide and Major Crime Command.

Kate and Gerry McCann have been informed of the development and a comprehensive handover is currently taking place.

The Scotland Yard team will travel to Portugal on Monday to carry out further enquiries and to introduce DCI Wall to the Portuguese authorities.

DCI Redwood said: “After careful consideration and a full and rewarding career in the Met the time is right for me to move on.

"The past three and a half years leading Operation Grange has been an extraordinary privilege, and I leave the investigation in the very capable hands of my experienced colleague Nicola."

British officers spent eight days searching three areas of land in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz in June, close to where Madeleine disappeared more than seven years ago but they found no new evidence.

Madeleine disappeared from her holiday apartment on May 3 2007 as her parents Kate and Gerry dined at a nearby tapas restaurant with friends and it became one of the most famous missing persons cases of all time.

Portuguese police closed down their investigation into her death in 2008 but the Met launched its own operation three years later.

Mr and Mrs McCann paid tribute to Mr Redwood's work on the investigation into their daughter's disappearance.

In a statement, they said: "We would really like to thank Andy Redwood for his commitment to the search for Madeleine. We appreciate everything he has done and the great progress that has been made under his leadership.

"We are sure the investigation will continue in the same positive way under his successor DCI Wall.

"We don't think Andy could have done more for our family, especially for Madeleine."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/madeleinemccann/11275266/Detective-leading-hunt-for-Madeleine-McCann-steps-down.html
....................

I have to admit this is very much a me thing - why do the UK police and media and social media always refer to the McCanns as Kate and Gerry?  A very informal address considering they are the prime suspects in the disappearance of a three year old child - their own daughter..

Yes, they should be referred to as Mr. (or Dr.) and Mrs. Perhaps this cosy way of treating them is designed to make people less suspicious of them?

CaKeLoveR wrote:Perhaps this cosy way of treating them is designed to make people less suspicious of them?

Yes, it sounds cosy. Like Rose and Fred West.

At least the Telegraph's reportage was more measured. It's mainly the tabloids that sink to the bottom of the barrel - surprise surprise!.

I just love this little classic..

"We don't think Andy could have done more for our family, especially for Madeleine."

That short sentence says it all really doesn't it? In those few words the purpose of Operation Grange is revealed in all it's splendour!

It's a mutual admiration society, isn't it?

Call me Stu .

Call me Andy . 

First name terms with the detectives " investigating " the disappearance of their daughter ! 

Unless that detective is Portuguese of course , in which case he comes in for abuse and " colourful " language .

Verdi wrote:Detective leading hunt for Madeleine McCann steps down

DCI Andy Redwood, who has led Scotlan Yard's Madeleine McCann investigation for the past three years, announces he is retiring from the Metropolitan Police


Andy Redwood (centre) and the Portuguese judiciary police chief of investigation, Luis Mota Carmo (left) in Praia da Luz, Algarve, Southern Portugal in June 2014 Photo: FILIFPE FARINHA/EPA

That's a whopping great cigarette that bloke on the right is carrying, if you don't mind my saying so