News of the World gave McCanns REWARD money in April 2011.

by tasprin 03.06.14 11:50

Early in December 2013, Gerry McCann was contacted by email at the University of Hospital of Leicester, where he is a Consultant Cardiologist. He was asked what had happened to the Reward Fund. His reply, within the hour, was courteous and clear:

That is something you will need to take up with News International.
My understanding is that the reward was made up of pledges.
Gerry

Ten weeks after the company had shut down the News of the World [in 2011] a Press Officer was asked [about the reward]

The reply, six days later, was also courteous and clear:

Thank you for your enquiry.
I can confirm that the funds raised by the appeal were donated in April this year (2011) to the official Madeleine Fund and the fund created by News of the World is no longer active.
http://asaucesaid.blogspot.nl/

by canada12 03.06.14 11:53

Was this income reported in the public accounting for the Fund for 2011?

by Guest 03.06.14 12:15

http://www.mccannfiles.com/id429.html

Report on the accounts for the year April 2011 to March 2012.

by Liz Eagles 03.06.14 12:19

tasprin wrote:

Early in December 2013, Gerry McCann was contacted by email at the University of Hospital of Leicester, where he is a Consultant Cardiologist. He was asked what had happened to the Reward Fund. His reply, within the hour, was courteous and clear:

That is something you will need to take up with News International.
My understanding is that the reward was made up of pledges.
Gerry

Ten weeks after the company had shut down the News of the World [in 2011] a Press Officer was asked [about the reward]

The reply, six days later, was also courteous and clear:

Thank you for your enquiry.
I can confirm that the funds raised by the appeal were donated in April this year (2011) to the official Madeleine Fund and the fund created by News of the World is no longer active.
http://asaucesaid.blogspot.nl/

It seems to me there's a big chunk missing from this i.e. was the same question posed?

News of the World speak of funds relating to an appeal not a reward offered by the press.

More info needed to clarify this imo.

by tasprin 03.06.14 12:29

aquila wrote:
tasprin wrote:

Early in December 2013, Gerry McCann was contacted by email at the University of Hospital of Leicester, where he is a Consultant Cardiologist. He was asked what had happened to the Reward Fund. His reply, within the hour, was courteous and clear:

That is something you will need to take up with News International.
My understanding is that the reward was made up of pledges.
Gerry

Ten weeks after the company had shut down the News of the World [in 2011] a Press Officer was asked [about the reward]

The reply, six days later, was also courteous and clear:

Thank you for your enquiry.
I can confirm that the funds raised by the appeal were donated in April this year (2011) to the official Madeleine Fund and the fund created by News of the World is no longer active.
http://asaucesaid.blogspot.nl/
It seems to me there's a big chunk missing from this i.e. was the same question posed?

News of the World speak of funds relating to an appeal not a reward offered by the press.

More info needed to clarify this imo.

The blog states the following questions were asked:

1. Is (the Reward Fund) still active?
2. How much was raised and what has happened to the funds since?
3. Given the demise of the newspaper, who is now responsible for the administration of this account?
4. What are the current plans for the Fund?

The News of the World press officer replied:

Thank you for your enquiry.
I can confirm that the funds raised by the appeal were donated in April this year (2011) to the official Madeleine Fund and the fund created by News of the World is no longer active.

The blog does say there is more to follow so we'll have to wait and see

by **PeterMac** 03.06.14 12:33

Do you mean 2013, or 2011 ?

by tasprin 03.06.14 12:53

PeterMac wrote:Do you mean 2013, or 2011 ?

hello Peter, what I gather from the blog is, in 2013 Gerry McCann was asked about the News of the World Reward fund and he replied it was best to contact News International because it was his understanding that the Reward was just pledges. But, in 2011, a press officer had already confirmed, in a reply to an inquiry regarding the reward, that when the appeal closed the money collected was paid into the FindMadeleine fund in April of that year.
As far as I know the paper did not have any other appeal for money related to the McCanns.

by gbwales 03.06.14 14:15

Should they appear in this year - 2011-2012 if they were paid over in April 2011 ?

https://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t6208p10-2012-accounts-out-now-page-2-of-thread

by **Enid O'Dowd** 03.06.14 14:27

gbwales wrote:Should they appear in this year - 2011-2012 if they were paid over in April 2011 ?

https://jillhavern.forumotion.net/t6208p10-2012-accounts-out-now-page-2-of-thread

Yes, if the News of the World paid over the donations from their readers in April 2011 then they would be included in the audited accounts for the year ended 31 march 2012.

These accounts make no mention of the NOTW fund either in the Directors Report, as an analysed item under Income in the Income and Expenditure or as a note to the accounts. It is not a statutory requirement to mention in the accounts the receipt of this money but you would think that common good manners would dictate that it was mentioned somewhere. The directors could have included it in their report, thanked the NOTW and their readers who donated and indicated the amount involved.

As I have written in my analysis of the Fund's audited accounts which are available on www.mccannfiles.com the lack of information is strange given the commitment to openness and transparency in the accounts 'whatever it cost' to quote from Dr Kate McCann's book.

by Liz Eagles 03.06.14 14:39

@Enid

Missing People, the charity that is obliged to be more forthcoming in its accounts never mentions how much a particular event has raised either.

Just a nice big whooppee and onto the next fundraising event.

by Doug D 03.06.14 21:43

Based on the appeal advert in the NOTW which was for the reward,

News of the World gave McCanns REWARD money in April 2011. Notw+reward+crop

if the funds actually collected (not the celebrity pledges which effectively don't exist) were paid across to the general McCann fund, it would appear that the NOTW have acted illegally.

The only way around this would have been for the funds to have been paid across under Trust, in a separate account, still as 'reward' money, until such time as it was decreed that no reward would ever be paid (about now maybe?) at which time the funds should be distributed equally between the three named charities.

Such an account could (and probably should) fall outside of the 'Find M.' accounts and would not therefore be visible, but this is not what the NOTW seem to say they did with the money.

If these funds have gone into the 'Find' accounts, they should certainly be identifiable as a specific item and not included as part of the company assets, as they will either get paid away as 'reward' or distributed.

A letter to the Charity Commissioners seeking clarification of the NOTW account and actions would seem appropriate.

by lj 04.06.14 5:55

Maybe it went to the children's charities, afterall it is a "went unpaid" after 4 year.

by Mirage 06.06.14 12:06

I've seen some "bitter twitter" on the subject of the News of the World giving the £1.5 million reward money to the Find Madeleine Fund. I thought I would bump this thread due to increased forum traffic in case anyone missed this.

I often wonder how much, in total, has poured into their coffers.

by gbwales 06.06.14 12:16

There's more info on this here: http://asaucesaid.blogspot.co.uk

The final answer squeezed out of NI was this (my bolding):

In answer to your question, a total of £21,257.32 was received and banked in The Madeline (sic) Fund HSBC Bank Account No 52135590 between May 2007 and November 2007. No other payments save those relating to this particular appeal were received from readers into this account.

In April, 2011, after a considerable length of time had passed and taking into account the circumstances of the McCann family, it was agreed by senior executives at the News of the World that the £21,257.32 should be paid to Madeline's (sic) Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned. This fund is a not-for-profit company which was established to find Madeline (sic) McCann, support her family and bring her abductors to justice.
See http://www.findmadeleine.com/about_us/madeleines-fund.html for more details about this fund, the directors of the company as well as its objectives.

News International recognises that, in transferring the payments collected in 2007 to the Madeline's (sic) Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned in April 2011, the News of the World may not have strictly complied with the terms under which that money was collected from its readers. The article dated 13 May, 2007 stated under the heading 'How you can add to the reward': 'Should the reward remain unpaid for any reason, the portion made up of readers' donations will be shared equally by children's charities Barnado's, Childline and the NSPCC.' It was decided, entirely in good faith, that it would be more appropriate, given the circumstances of the McCann family, that the money be transferred to Madeline's Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned, as opposed to splitting the donations between the three charities.

We would like to thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We are in the process of notifying the three charities of the findings of our investigation into this matter, but feel, on balance, that the decision taken to pass the money collected to Madeline's (sic) Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned was the right one, both ethically and morally, taking into account the difficulties and sensitivities surrounding this tragic matter.

by Miraflores 06.06.14 12:41

So a sum of c. £21K flowing into the Fund just slipped Gerry's mind, did it? Or was he deliberately being obtuse and referring to the pledges given by various celebrities? Confusion is good.

by Doug D 06.06.14 12:49

The dates in the article are a bit confused as 2012 seems to drop back to 2011. If it was 2012 the final response stating the amount would be 2013 or 2014. Hopefully they will clarify this.

In any event NI confirm that they have not acted in accordance with the terms of the reward fund:

'It was decided, entirely in good faith, that it would be more appropriate, given the circumstances of the McCann family, that the money be transferred to Madeline's Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned, as opposed to splitting the donations between the three charities.'

i.e. illegally

by tasprin 06.06.14 13:24

"News of the World may not have strictly complied with the terms under which that money was collected from its readers"

NOTW didn't comply with the terms at all. Readers donated to a REWARD fund in good faith but as usual the public were conned. When the paper closed the money should've been divided between the three children's charities, Barnado's, Childline and the NSPCC as per the terms. NOTW gave it to the McCanns and didn't tell readers what it had done with their money until it was prised out of them. The McCanns always avoid any mention of the reward, now we know why.
There's quite a lot of appeals in newspapers, but it appears once they've got their hands on the money they can do anything they like with it

by Mirage 06.06.14 14:04

Thanks for that info gbwales.

@tasprin. Yes, it is typical that it is Joe Public being fleeced as usual. Typical that the big hitters offered pledges whilst the little people donated cash.

I am sure that scales are falling quite rapidly from the public's eyes judging by what I see written across the internet. From fb to Sky, the comments are coming thick and fast. I sense TM are feeling the heat.

by waiting for justice 06.06.14 14:23

gbwales wrote:There's more info on this here: http://asaucesaid.blogspot.co.uk

The final answer squeezed out of NI was this (my bolding):

In answer to your question, a total of £21,257.32 was received and banked in The Madeline (sic) Fund HSBC Bank Account No 52135590 between May 2007 and November 2007. No other payments save those relating to this particular appeal were received from readers into this account.

In April, 2011, after a considerable length of time had passed and taking into account the circumstances of the McCann family, it was agreed by senior executives at the News of the World that the £21,257.32 should be paid to Madeline's (sic) Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned. This fund is a not-for-profit company which was established to find Madeline (sic) McCann, support her family and bring her abductors to justice.
See http://www.findmadeleine.com/about_us/madeleines-fund.html for more details about this fund, the directors of the company as well as its objectives.

News International recognises that, in transferring the payments collected in 2007 to the Madeline's (sic) Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned in April 2011, the News of the World may not have strictly complied with the terms under which that money was collected from its readers. The article dated 13 May, 2007 stated under the heading 'How you can add to the reward': 'Should the reward remain unpaid for any reason, the portion made up of readers' donations will be shared equally by children's charities Barnado's, Childline and the NSPCC.' It was decided, entirely in good faith, that it would be more appropriate, given the circumstances of the McCann family, that the money be transferred to Madeline's Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned, as opposed to splitting the donations between the three charities.

We would like to thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We are in the process of notifying the three charities of the findings of our investigation into this matter, but feel, on balance, that the decision taken to pass the money collected to Madeline's (sic) Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned was the right one, both ethically and morally, taking into account the difficulties and sensitivities surrounding this tragic matter.

Absolutely disgusting.

Ethically and morally?
I would imagine that in cases where money is used or paid out by Barnado's, Childline and the NSPCC each one would also be surrounding difficult and senstive, tragic cases, not paying a mortgage!

by Guest 06.06.14 14:40

I have seen that the MC's are still trying to reap the rewards of their child's demise by selling "holiday packs", but surely now with two police forces actively looking for their daughter, following every lead it would be a good time for this money to be given to the rightful charities. They can have no excuse to hang on to it.
It is a great tragedy that Madeleine never needed any money, only decent parents. But the children represented by these charities do need the money. The McCann's should never had accepted it in the first place however they should now give it back.

by Miraflores 06.06.14 14:54

There seems to be a simple remedy: split the money in the Fund that came from the public via News of the World, and give it to the three charities in question NOW. What about it Gerry & Kate, if you are reading this?

Sorry bit of a cross post with the previous poster.

by lj 06.06.14 17:17

Mirage wrote:I've seen some "bitter twitter" on the subject of the News of the World giving the £1.5 million reward money to the Find Madeleine Fund. I thought I would bump this thread due to increased forum traffic in case anyone missed this.

I often wonder how much, in total, has poured into their coffers.

Me too, Mirage, me too.

If indeed the reward money was used for the "normal" Fund activities, wouldn't that be "inappropriate" use of the money?

by lj 06.06.14 17:19

gbwales wrote:There's more info on this here: http://asaucesaid.blogspot.co.uk

The final answer squeezed out of NI was this (my bolding):

In answer to your question, a total of £21,257.32 was received and banked in The Madeline (sic) Fund HSBC Bank Account No 52135590 between May 2007 and November 2007. No other payments save those relating to this particular appeal were received from readers into this account.

In April, 2011, after a considerable length of time had passed and taking into account the circumstances of the McCann family, it was agreed by senior executives at the News of the World that the £21,257.32 should be paid to Madeline's (sic) Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned. This fund is a not-for-profit company which was established to find Madeline (sic) McCann, support her family and bring her abductors to justice.
See http://www.findmadeleine.com/about_us/madeleines-fund.html for more details about this fund, the directors of the company as well as its objectives.

News International recognises that, in transferring the payments collected in 2007 to the Madeline's (sic) Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned in April 2011, the News of the World may not have strictly complied with the terms under which that money was collected from its readers. The article dated 13 May, 2007 stated under the heading 'How you can add to the reward': 'Should the reward remain unpaid for any reason, the portion made up of readers' donations will be shared equally by children's charities Barnado's, Childline and the NSPCC.' It was decided, entirely in good faith, that it would be more appropriate, given the circumstances of the McCann family, that the money be transferred to Madeline's Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned, as opposed to splitting the donations between the three charities.

We would like to thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We are in the process of notifying the three charities of the findings of our investigation into this matter, but feel, on balance, that the decision taken to pass the money collected to Madeline's (sic) Fund: Leaving No Stone Unturned was the right one, both ethically and morally, taking into account the difficulties and sensitivities surrounding this tragic matter.

So NI was also lured into thinking the fund was a charity, which it is NOT. For new readers here the "Fund" is a company, aimed for profit, especially for the family.

by Newintown 06.06.14 17:24

lj, re your post of 5.19 p.m.

I think your last few words should read "for the family" not "from the family".

The family don't seem to have given anything, only taken.

Is it possible to amend the words before your time runs out?

by Miraflores 06.06.14 17:32

No, News International know the Fund is not a charity, but for reasons known only to themselves decided that they would give the money to a not for profit company. It wouldn't have been so bad if they had donated to a different charity but one connected with children - that would be obeying the spirit in which the money was donated if not the letter.

And as for Gerry and his 'ask News International' - it would appear to be yet another little dishonesty. If he really didn't know how the Fund had received £21K, then as a director he should jolly well have asked and made it his business to find out. It's not as though the sum is just petty cash.

by missmar1 06.06.14 17:45

lj wrote:
Mirage wrote:I've seen some "bitter twitter" on the subject of the News of the World giving the £1.5 million reward money to the Find Madeleine Fund. I thought I would bump this thread due to increased forum traffic in case anyone missed this.

I often wonder how much, in total, has poured into their coffers.

Me too, Mirage, me too.

If indeed the reward money was used for the "normal" Fund activities, wouldn't that be "inappropriate" use of the money?

Oh my, Am I reading this right that the Mccann's accepted, and, put what they knew to be REWARD money into the ongoing search fund ? Shouldn't this money have gone into a separate account ? They dont seem to mind using other peoples money for anything they choose do they - even taking money out of the fund to pay their mortgage when Madeleine had not long disappeared !

You would think they would have suffered so much guilt over the part they played ( leaving the kids alone so they go out drinking and eating with their mates ) on the night Madeleine went missing that they would have first approached family to help out with the mortgage rather than go dipping their hands straight into the fund which they themselves had set up to ask people to put money into to help them find their little girl...... it beggars belief the more and more we discover about this case.

by lj 06.06.14 17:46

tasprin wrote:"News of the World may not have strictly complied with the terms under which that money was collected from its readers"

NOTW didn't comply with the terms at all. Readers donated to a REWARD fund in good faith but as usual the public were conned. When the paper closed the money should've been divided between the three children's charities, Barnado's, Childline and the NSPCC as per the terms. NOTW gave it to the McCanns and didn't tell readers what it had done with their money until it was prised out of them. The McCanns always avoid any mention of the reward, now we know why.
There's quite a lot of appeals in newspapers, but it appears once they've got their hands on the money they can do anything they like with it

The readers might well have contributed to the new garage addition of the McCanns, who knows.

In case it is not clear: just my opinion.

by Newintown 06.06.14 17:48

Miraflores wrote:No, News International know the Fund is not a charity, but for reasons known only to themselves decided that they would give the money to a not for profit company. It wouldn't have been so bad if they had donated to a different charity but one connected with children - that would be obeying the spirit in which the money was donated if not the letter.

And as for Gerry and his 'ask News International' - it would appear to be yet another little dishonesty. If he really didn't know how the Fund had received £21K, then as a director he should jolly well have asked and made it his business to find out. It's not as though the sum is just petty cash.

lj isn't on line at the moment. I wasn't disputing the fact of what NI thought the Fund was for, I was asking lj to amend her wording, as it read "from the family" instead of "for the family".

The Fund is in fact "FOR THE FAMILY" i.e. for them to spend it in any way they see fit (a house extension perhaps) so the wording "from the family" negates what lj was saying in her post.

ETA: lj has now amended her post, our posts crossed as I was typing this one.

by lj 06.06.14 17:49

Newintown wrote:lj, re your post of 5.19 p.m.

I think your last few words should read "for the family" not "from the family".

The family don't seem to have given anything, only taken.

Is it possible to amend the words before your time runs out?

Thanks Newintown, it's that ESL thing.

by missmar1 06.06.14 17:55

Miraflores wrote:No, News International know the Fund is not a charity, but for reasons known only to themselves decided that they would give the money to a not for profit company. It wouldn't have been so bad if they had donated to a different charity but one connected with children - that would be obeying the spirit in which the money was donated if not the letter.

And as for Gerry and his 'ask News International' - it would appear to be yet another little dishonesty. If he really didn't know how the Fund had received £21K, then as a director he should jolly well have asked and made it his business to find out. It's not as though the sum is just petty cash.

If this is really true and can be proved - per'haps admin could put it up at the top so all viewing this forum could see what the news of the world did with the reward money that was so generously donated by the public and also what the Mccann's then did with it..ie, put it straight in to the search fund. ....wonder who at the NOTW made that decision ? was it done with fairness or favouritism in mind ?