McCann plea for more family support

I don't get it.

What does she mean by 'financial bureaucracy'?

Paying tax and stuff?

Kate McCann in plea to MPs over missing loved ones
Published Date: 13 June 2011
By TRISTAN STEWART-ROBERTSON[/b]

Families of missing people are left with "unimaginable, unending heartbreak, confusion, guilt, and worry" when their loved ones go missing and need more support, Kate McCann will tell MPs today.
Ms McCann, whose daughter Madeleine, below, went missing four years ago from a holiday flat in the Algarve shortly before her fourth birthday, will join other mothers of missing children as she talks about the lack of emotional support available to families.

She will help explain the current state of support for families, saying they should be spared "the additional pain of financial and legal bureaucracy".

"When someone you love goes missing, you are left with unimaginable, unending heartbreak, confusion, guilt, and worry," she will say.

"In addition to the reassurance that everything possible is being done to find their missing loved one, families need support. And they should be spared the additional pain of financial and legal bureaucracy."

Ann Coffey, chairwoman of the all-party parliamentary group on runaway and missing children and adults, said the MPs were examining what "emotional, practical and legal support those families need to help them cope at such a traumatic time".

She said: "When a child or vulnerable adult goes missing the families left behind are absolutely devastated. Often the families feel isolated and alone."

Ms McCann, 43, will give evidence as Scotland Yard continues its review of the investigation into her daughter's disappearance in Praia da Luz on 3 May, 2007.

Last month, Ms McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, published a book about Madeleine's disappearance in a bid to revive efforts to find her daughter.

The official Portuguese inquiry into the disappearance was formally closed in July 2008, although private detectives employed by the McCanns have continued the search.

Ms McCann will be joined by Sarah Godwin, whose son Quentin was 18 when he went missing in New Zealand while on his way to an after-school job on 20 May, 1992.

Ms Godwin said: "There are not the right words to explain how this emotional journey has evolved; it's been a long, slow and lonely task but after so many years I can usually keep painful emotions in a fairly secure part of me.

"I can now talk more freely about Q and our story and I can start to work with others in similar situations, although this interaction is both cathartic and difficult.

"I have learnt to gradually pull myself out of the emotional hole, accept the possibility of never seeing Q again, and accept the knowledge that I might never know the facts of his life or death. I have to honour his life whilst living with his and our loss."

Martin Houghton-Brown, chief executive of Missing People, said there was not enough support for families with missing children.
He said: "As it stands, if your house is burgled you are automatically offered emotional, practical and legal support. If your child goes missing you may get nothing.

"From dealing with finances, insurance policies, bank accounts and mortgages
through to having a missing person declared presumed dead, families left behind often struggle to deal with institutions that have no system for their clients going missing."

The MPs will also hear from Peter Davies, chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre and Home Office Minister James Brokenshire.

Vanished but not forgotten

CHEF Claudia Lawrence, 35, went missing on 18 March, 2009, from Melrosegate, Heworth, York. She sent a text message that night and was reported missing after she did not arrive for work the next morning. Claudia's father, Peter, gave evidence to the parliamentary inquiry in March.

Genette Tate was a 13-year-old newspaper delivery girl when she went missing from her home village of Aylesbeare, east Devon. It is thought she vanished shortly before 3:30pm on 19 August, 1978, only minutes after she had been speaking to two friends.

Andrew MacRae, three, went missing with his mother Renee on 12 November, 1976. After leaving her home in Cradlehall, Inverness, Renee dropped off her son Gordon, nine, at her estranged husband's house and drove towards Perth to visit her sister. They were never seen again.

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13 June 2011 Last updated at 00:35 GMT
Families of missing people to call for more support[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
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The government is being urged to improve support for the "heartbroken" families of people who go missing.

The UK's first parliamentary inquiry into the issue will look at what campaigners say is a "complete gap" in help for those affected.
Among those giving evidence later will be three mothers of missing children, including Kate McCann, whose daughter Madeleine disappeared abroad in 2007.
The inquiry will make recommendations to the coalition government.
As well as Mrs McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, the inquiry will hear from mothers Nicki Durbin and Sarah Godwin, whose son Quentin was 18 when he went missing in New Zealand while on his way to an after-school job in 1992.
Mrs McCann, whose daughter Madeleine was three went she went missing during a family holiday in Portugal, will say: "When someone you love goes missing, you are left with unimaginable, unending heartbreak, confusion, guilt, and worry.
"In addition to the reassurance that everything possible is being done to find their missing loved one, families need support. And they should be spared the additional pain of financial and legal bureaucracy."[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
“Start Quote

When a child or vulnerable adult goes missing, the families left behind are absolutely devastated. Often the families feel isolated and alone”

End Quote Ann Coffey MP


MPs will also hear from Peter Davies, the chief executive of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop), and Home Office Minister James Brokenshire.
Peter Lawrence, father of missing York chef Claudia Lawrence, will give evidence later in the week.
The charity Missing People says that after 48 hours relatives should be given support similar to that given to the victims of serious crime.
This includes a dedicated police officer as well as emotional and practical advice.
The inquiry will also consider calls to make it easier to register the death of a missing person whose body has not been found.
This is in order to sort out their financial and legal affairs.
Courts can be asked to declare someone dead after seven years, although in England and Wales it is not statutory.
The inquiry will examine whether a new system is needed for the national database of unidentified bodies - currently totalling 1,000 - to match these details with information about missing people.
The inquiry, organised by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Runaway and Missing Children and Adults, will be held over four sessions.
MP Ann Coffey, who chairs the group, said: "When a child or vulnerable adult goes missing, the families left behind are absolutely devastated. Often the families feel isolated and alone.
"This inquiry will examine what emotional, practical and legal support those families need to help them cope at such a traumatic time."

She's got some front! I hope it gets pointed out to her that she's had the support of 2 Prime Ministers, a police force, the media, gullible celebrities, a dubious fund, Chilean dictator defending law firm...the list goes on. They've had millions go through their fund and she's taking the attention away from the truly deserving cases who never get a mention in the press nowadays.

It was not a good start to my Monday morning to read that the sainted Kate will be joining in with parents of missing children to ask for more support. Let's hope that some of those other parents will have the guts to tell her where to go.

Kate McCann will tell MPs about the heartache that families of missing children have to endure

Yes, Marian, I had to turn the news off this morning after hearing about this. I just don't understand how the prime suspect in the death and concealment of her own daughter can be ALLOWED to associate with parents of genuine missing children and tell MP's how they must be feeling because she surely to God doesn't know. It must be very different to be the mother of a child who has died (where the mother is the suspect) than the mother of a child who is genuinely missing, goodness knows where and with whom.

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Who lets Kate McCann do this stuff? Whose idea is it to parade Kate-the-children's-porn-writer-McCann alongside parents of genuine missing kids?

Hi Goncalo, thanks for your reply. It really doesn't do my blood pressure any good to hear of the stunts that this woman and her cohorts come up with. To name just one other occasion; when she gatecrashed an event for the families of teenage victims of knife crime. By the way, this topic seems to have been set up three times so is it possible to merge them all?

Madeleine McCann: Kate McCann Appeals To Creepy MPs






[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]MADELEINE McCann: Kate McCann addresses the MPs.

The[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] says: “McCann plea for more family support”.

“Kate McCann will tell MPs about the heartache that families of missing children have to endure”

Are MPs that insensitive they cannot empathise? These are the MPs who wore yellow ribbons in the House of Commons in a [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]of pap emotion when the Our Maddie story was at its apogee and the politicians were tapping into the emotions of the mob.

Families of missing people are left with “unimaginable, unending heartbreak, confusion, guilt, and worry” when their loved ones go missing and need more support, Kate McCann will tell MPs.

Oh, come on, we can imagine. The TV is full of shows about missing children, imagined by scriptwriters. Did you see [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]? Did you see [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]? [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]? The books -[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]? Did you xsee all that imagining?

How can they be better supported?

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[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]Mrs McCann, whose daughter Madeleine went missing from her family’s holiday flat in the Algarve region of Portugal shortly before her fourth birthday, will join other mothers of missing children as she talks about the lack of emotional support available to families.

So. It’s not just her. The headline is misleading. The media that created Our Maddie position Kate McCann as the spokesperson for all the missing – whether their loved ones like it or not.

She will help explain the current state of support for families, saying they should be spared “the additional pain of financial and legal bureaucracy”.

How? Kate McCann will say:

“When someone you love goes missing, you are left with unimaginable, unending heartbreak, confusion, guilt, and worry. In addition to the reassurance that everything possible is being done to find their missing loved one, families need support. And they should be spared the additional pain of financial and legal bureaucracy.”

She was helped by the kindness of strangers. The McCanns’ embarked on a skilful campaign to raise funds. Kate McCann’s Madeleine book alone has raised over £2m. Indeed, the McCanns still employ a PR team to handle the media. Should all parents of the missing get a media rep? No longer should we see images of distraught adults sat behind a big desk at the police station, making appeals to the cameras that film their every movement for signs of, well, what? Guilt? Fear? Hurt? Emotion? Entertainment?

Ann Coffey, chairwoman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Runaway and Missing Children and Adults, said the MPs were examining what “emotional, practical and legal support those families need to help them cope at such a traumatic time”.

Well, quite. What more can be done when a child goes missing?

“When a child or vulnerable adult goes missing the families left behind are absolutely devastated.”

Sure. That much the fortunate can imagine.

“Often the families feel isolated and alone.”

Others get millions of pounds in aid and national resources spent on the hunt. Is there enough of that for everyone?

Mrs McCann, 43, will give evidence as Scotland Yard continues its review of the investigation into her daughter’s disappearance in Praia da Luz on May 3, 2007.

Let’s hope Scotland Yard and [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]make headway…



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I thought I heard this morning that today Kate will be speaking with a Select Committee about this, but having looked at the Committee Meeting schedule, her name is not there? Perhaps I got the wrong end of the stick.

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According to BBC Ceefax, Kate has already had her say.

Ms McCann will be joined by Sarah Godwin, whose son Quentin was 18 when he went missing in New Zealand while on his way to an after-school job on 20 May, 1992.

I wonder if Ms Godwin or the mother of Luke will get £3.5million from the government like Kate McCann, the new figurehead for missing children.

Thank you Rosa for supplying the link - I'm off to kick hell out of the spare bed after seeing Kate's nauseating contribution!

This topic is being covered in "McCann plea for more family support".

My blood is boiling i have scratched all my skin off and pulled all my hair out to save myself from further damage im off too bed
PS your welcome Marian The McCanns Give us all sudden impulses

I guess it's about midnight where you are Rosa. I hope that you will be able to get to sleep, I sometimes have trouble doing that after an overdose of Kate's quivery voice. It sounds as genuine as the one my son used to put on to convince me that he was too ill to go to school.

I like your hat Marian, I have one in lemon, but yours is much nicer

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Thank you for your kind words Ufercoffy which I'm sure are not intended to be catty - ouch! By the way, I didn't choose my screen avatar - I wouldn't know how to - this one of the cat in the hat just appeared more or less at the time when I first registered.

By John Bingham3:57PM BST 13 Jun 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.
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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."

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well im nearly f***** speechles,who the hell does this thing think she is,A NEGLECTOR WHO COULDNT OR WOULDNT PUT HER CHILDREN FIRST,has the bloody nerve to jump on this train about REAL MISSING CHILDREN.

I can't believe I've just heard Kate 'figurehead for missing children' McCann on the news just now say "If you're burgled....blah, blah, blah....but if your child goes missing you may get nothing"

is this woman on?

I'm not even going to bother making a list of all the stuff she's received that parents of other missing children haven't had.

Ye Gods - she says this in her book...................

It may sound odd, but in some ways we were glad the investigation had been closed. As I’ve said, we were far from convinced that there was any real in investigation taking place anyway, so to have it officially brought to an end didn’t feel like as a big a loss as might have been expected.

A



And the article says:

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.


So which is it?

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.


Didn't they have Police Liason Officers, the same as Karen Mathews and others do. Do I remember correctly they were sent away? We were burgled many years ago, we didn't have any support of any sort, they cleaned out house out, what is she on about. All we got was a copper come round and tell us how to make the house more secure, and warn us that the burglers would know that we would replace the stolen items with new stuff, and would probably try again. That's it!!!!!

Thing is, Madeleine's case isn't comparable to the other two. The others were 18 and 19 - legally speaking, adults.

This means all sorts of differences - including no chance of paedophilia motives and the fact that adults can legally go 'missing' (ie they have no obligation to tell their parents where they're going) and AFAIK police only search for adults if they suspect foul play.

Get 'em Gonçalo wrote:

Kate McCann will tell MPs about the heartache that families of missing children have to endure

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Yes, Marian, I had to turn the news off this morning after hearing about this. I just don't understand how the prime suspect in the death and concealment of her own daughter can be ALLOWED to associate with parents of genuine missing children and tell MP's how they must be feeling because she surely to God doesn't know. It must be very different to be the mother of a child who has died (where the mother is the suspect) than the mother of a child who is genuinely missing, goodness knows where and with whom.

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Who lets Kate McCann do this stuff? Whose idea is it to parade Kate-the-children's-porn-writer-McCann alongside parents of genuine missing kids?

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Well at least this should be a wake-up call to those who believe the SY review is anything other than another coat of whitewash!

If your house got burgled you would get more support..............................

...........................well, what if you left your house unlocked with all your valuables on show.........what support would you get then.....because this is a better comparison to the McCanns

I agree Cheshire Cat.

The McCann circus is well and truly out of control, it is blessed by the government and they will be in our faces for ever now with Kate the self appointed figurehead.

This is how it will be now. There is nothing anyone can do but stand by and watch these vile people get away with 'murder' and get rich.

They will be rammed down our throats at every opportunity.