What has caused this change?

by worriedmum 29.05.14 7:00

Yes it does seem strange that only(weeks?months?)ago Madeleine's parents were saying that there was no evidence that she had come to any harm,
-hence the libel trial-
then we had them 'just wanting answers' and Kate speaking of visiting Praia Da Luz on her own to 'look for answers'(Daily Mail 1st May 2014)
next the investigation was 'distressingly slow',
then it was 'please don't dig while we have cake and celebrate Madeleine's birthday',
followed by ' we won't go unless Madeleine's DNA is found'.

The Fiona Bruce clip is from the beginning of this month. (including the 2.41 segment which has been clipped in some online versions).

What a change in four weeks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU10-0zclnc

HAVE THEY BEEN TOLD SOMETHING?

by **sharonl** 29.05.14 7:08

It's not long since we heard that Kate visits Portugal at least twice a year because she feels closer to Madeleine there. Suddenly she doesn't want to go there.

And why make this statement now? Have they been asked to return to Portugal?

by worriedmum 29.05.14 7:10

sharonl wrote:It's not long since we heard that Kate visits Portugal at least twice a year because she feels closer to Madeleine there. Suddenly she doesn't want to go there.

And why make this statement now? Have they been asked to return to Portugal?

Exactly.

by nglfi 29.05.14 7:21

Is this the first time CM has said he 'cannot and will not discuss operation Grange? ' normally he's dying to spill the beans? I thought this phrasing was very odd for him.

by **sharonl** 29.05.14 7:43

nglfi wrote:Is this the first time CM has said he 'cannot and will not discuss operation Grange? ' normally he's dying to spill the beans? I thought this phrasing was very odd for him.

It's not the first time, we have often heard the phrase "Kate and Gerry McCann do not wish to comment" from the highly paid spokesman. He's been lost for words before, probably afraid of putting his foot in it.

by nglfi 29.05.14 7:52

sharonl wrote:
nglfi wrote:Is this the first time CM has said he 'cannot and will not discuss operation Grange? ' normally he's dying to spill the beans? I thought this phrasing was very odd for him.

It's not the first time, we have often heard the phrase "Kate and Gerry McCann do not wish to comment" from the highly paid spokesman. He's been lost for words before, probably afraid of putting his foot in it.

Ah ok, thanks. I was being optimistic and hoping he'd jumped ship.

by Guest 29.05.14 7:59

CM can't jump ship now. He's joined at the hip with Mr&Mrs. I hope he's still spokescreature during general election campaign so that he can be challenged on his role. (Delete that: hopefully by then they'll all be facing charges).

by nglfi 29.05.14 8:28

I wouldn't be surprised at the ability of a politician to try and weasel their way out of any situation, regardless of how f###ed they are! It'll be interesting to see what CM's standpoint will be if the two are ever charged.

by worriedmum 29.05.14 8:38

by Gillyspot 29.05.14 8:44

Dutchgirl wrote:Madeleine McCann's parents vow not to return to Portugal unless new search finds daughter's DNA

This is Clarence Mitchell being quoted so he is still on the McCanns' payroll

But Kate and Gerry McCann have decided to stay away, a close pal has revealed.
The friend said: “They welcome the new phase of the investigation and hope it may lead them a step closer to finding out what happened to their daughter. They will be kept informed by Scotland Yard of any developments but they have no intention of going there. It is the last place they would want to be while digging takes place.
“It will be a hugely emotional time for Madeleine’s parents but it is a scenario they know needs to happen. They will only go to Portugal, God forbid, if any remains matching her DNA were found.”

by Guest 29.05.14 8:49

nglfi wrote:I wouldn't be surprised at the ability of a politician to try and weasel their way out of any situation, regardless of how f###ed they are! It'll be interesting to see what CM's standpoint will be if the two are ever charged.

Whoever's controlling him will have a plan in place.

by margaret 29.05.14 9:13

Ladyinred wrote:
nglfi wrote:I wouldn't be surprised at the ability of a politician to try and weasel their way out of any situation, regardless of how f###ed they are! It'll be interesting to see what CM's standpoint will be if the two are ever charged.

Whoever's controlling him will have a plan in place.

I suspect Pinky would then like us to believe he knew all along and it was his dastardly plan to assist them until the police caught up with them. lol

by **PeterMac** 29.05.14 9:17

No decent lawyer would let them return to Portugal.
They are still not sufficiently in control of their body language, nor indeed their spoken language to be allowed anywhere near.

by Guest 29.05.14 9:21

PeterMac wrote:No decent lawyer would let them return to Portugal.
They are still not sufficiently in control of their body language, nor indeed their spoken language to be allowed anywhere near.

Didn't K say in her chat with Fiona that she goes to Portugal once or twice a year?

by canada12 29.05.14 9:25

margaret wrote:
Ladyinred wrote:
nglfi wrote:I wouldn't be surprised at the ability of a politician to try and weasel their way out of any situation, regardless of how f###ed they are! It'll be interesting to see what CM's standpoint will be if the two are ever charged.

Whoever's controlling him will have a plan in place.

I suspect Pinky would then like us to believe he knew all along and it was his dastardly plan to assist them until the police caught up with them.

If he really is in MI5 or MI6 that wouldn't be such a far-fetched idea. Spies are "turned" all the time. And report to multiple people. Wouldn't it be interesting if all along CM was working for SY, and not the McCanns....

by margaret 29.05.14 9:29

canada12 wrote:
margaret wrote:
Ladyinred wrote:
nglfi wrote:I wouldn't be surprised at the ability of a politician to try and weasel their way out of any situation, regardless of how f###ed they are! It'll be interesting to see what CM's standpoint will be if the two are ever charged.

Whoever's controlling him will have a plan in place.

I suspect Pinky would then like us to believe he knew all along and it was his dastardly plan to assist them until the police caught up with them.

If he really is in MI5 or MI6 that wouldn't be such a far-fetched idea. Spies are "turned" all the time. And report to multiple people. Wouldn't it be interesting if all along CM was working for SY, and not the McCanns....

Isn't a spy meant to blend in and not be noticed?

I suspect he would like us to believe that but he's a buffoon, a pompous idiot who must have gone to the Mr.Bean school of spying.

I would put good money of him trying to say it but we'll see if he's expendable or his part in this can be whitewashed.....

by **PeterMac** 29.05.14 9:45

canada12 wrote:Wouldn't it be interesting if all along CM was working for SY, and not the McCanns....

That's a lovely goonspiracy theory.
Teresa May is Home Secy, and therefore party to and theoretically in control of everything MI5 does.
SO
In return for letting CM stand as a candidate he agrees to work for SY

I can feel a book coming on.

Tinker Tailor Told-a Lie ?
Lie-catcher
From Praia with Love
The Dishonourable Schoolboy
The Day of the Jackass
The 39 yards

by The Rooster 29.05.14 9:53

I'm sure Mitchell will have been interviewed by police and that he has effectively been gagged by them. Some hacks ring him for an opinion and he says "he can't and he won't comment" on grange. Notwithstanding this I really think he's passionate about becoming accepted into politics and dining in the rooms at Westminster Palace, rather than operating outhouse as it were. I don't think he would want to compromise his opportunities and would therefore be willing to help in a positive way the authorities regarding the disappearance. If the parents are involved and he knows, he will tell, of that there is no doubt in my mind. He has a family and a career to lose. Why exchange that for a prison cell next to Gerald McCann in Wandsworth...

Eric Allison
Wandsworth is the largest jail in the UK, holding more than 1,600 prisoners. It is a "local" jail, one of the human warehouses that receives prisoners from court, processes them and, in theory, moves them on, according to their security category. In practice, many men will serve their short- and medium-term sentences there.

Without doubt, Wanno, as it is known, has the worst reputation of any jail in the UK. Prisoners know it as a "screws' nick", where the regime is dictated by staff rather than management.

I'm sure the same will go for any of the other "in the know" parties involved. No brainer really!!!

theguardian.com, Wednesday 13 March 2013 11.43 GMT

by Guest 29.05.14 9:56

PeterMac wrote:
canada12 wrote:Wouldn't it be interesting if all along CM was working for SY, and not the McCanns....
That's a lovely goonspiracy theory.
Teresa May is Home Secy, and therefore party to and theoretically in control of everything MI5 does.
SO
In return for letting CM stand as a candidate he agrees to work for SY

I can feel a book coming on.

Tinker Tailor Told-a Lie ?
Lie-catcher
From Praia with Love
The Dishonourable Schoolboy
The Day of the Jackass
The 39 yards

Brighton Sock
Dial M for Mitchell

by bobbin 29.05.14 9:57

Ladyinred wrote:
PeterMac wrote:
canada12 wrote:Wouldn't it be interesting if all along CM was working for SY, and not the McCanns....
That's a lovely goonspiracy theory.
Teresa May is Home Secy, and therefore party to and theoretically in control of everything MI5 does.
SO
In return for letting CM stand as a candidate he agrees to work for SY

I can feel a book coming on.

Tinker Tailor Told-a Lie ?
Lie-catcher
From Praia with Love
The Dishonourable Schoolboy
The Day of the Jackass
The 39 yards

Brighton Sock

Pink Rock ?

by canada12 29.05.14 10:01

PeterMac wrote:
canada12 wrote:Wouldn't it be interesting if all along CM was working for SY, and not the McCanns....
That's a lovely goonspiracy theory.
Teresa May is Home Secy, and therefore party to and theoretically in control of everything MI5 does.
SO
In return for letting CM stand as a candidate he agrees to work for SY

I can feel a book coming on.

Tinker Tailor Told-a Lie ?
Lie-catcher
From Praia with Love
The Dishonourable Schoolboy
The Day of the Jackass
The 39 yards

Dr. No Comment big grin

by Guest 29.05.14 10:05

McCon Air (yes, it's a film).

Catch me if you Mccan

by tasprin 29.05.14 10:29

God forbid the day Clarence Mitchell really does refuse to comment big grin

Clarence Mitchell refused to comment, “I cannot and will not discuss Operation Grange.” but the friend/close pal - also known as Clarence Mitchell - said: “They welcome the new phase of the investigation and hope it may lead them a step closer to finding out what happened to their daughter. They will be kept informed by Scotland Yard of any developments but they have no intention of going there. It is the last place they would want to be while digging takes place. It will be a hugely emotional time for Madeleine’s parents but it is a scenario they know needs to happen. They will only go to Portugal, God forbid, if any remains matching her DNA were found.”

The Mirror
10 January 2008
“If, God forbid, Madeleine were never to be found, if some sort of legacy for her were the introduction of a proper [alert] system in Europe which would mean that no other family were ever in this dreadful position again, then at least some good would have come out of this appalling situation.

Sunday Times
10 February 2008
Spanish detective agency [Metodo3] was hired was because of Portugal’s “language and cultural connection” with Spain, 'If we’d had big-booted Brits or, God forbid, Americans, we’d have had doors slammed in our face, and it’s quite likely we could have been charged with hindering the investigation, as technically it’s illegal in Portugal to undertake a secondary investigation,'

Sky News
4 March 2008
A British couple reportedly spotted a "package" being put onto a jet ski on a beach close to where Madeleine went missing in Praia da Luz. The holiday makers had been for a morning swim about 10 hours after the child, then aged three, vanished from the McCanns' apartment on May 3 last year. "It may well be nothing to do with Madeleine. God forbid it has nothing to do with her but Kate and Gerry will get neither up nor down about it until they hear something definitive from the police or investigators. It's something they are keenly aware of but it is not something that strikes them as either good or bad."

The Observer
6 April 2008
“You had nine people in a bar without watches on, without mobile phones, and absolute panic set in when they realised what had happened. They were running around and then several hours later they were forced to sit down and recount their movements in exact detail and they were at sixes and sevens... We would say that, if the police had a perfect time line across nine people, that would be a damn sight more suspicious than the fractured, illogical composite statements they might have got…..
…Meanwhile, they have thrown themselves into urging Britain and the rest of Europe to improve co-ordination in dealing with missing children and to adopt an American-style 'amber light' alert system to speed up attempts to find them. That will be the core message of a British television documentary in which they plan to take part on the first anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance. They feel that if, God forbid, Madeleine is not found, that will be a fitting legacy for her.” says Mitchell.”

The Mirror
12 April 2008
Clarence Mitchell yesterday said the couple had actually stepped up their checks on the children to less than half-hourly intervals in the wake of Madeleine's remark…"Nobody, but nobody, regrets it more than they do. And if, God forbid, Madeleine is never found they will have to live with it for the rest of their lives.”

Daily Record
8 August 2008
"Trafficking into Belgium forms a very strong part of their investigations, as does trafficking into North Africa. They would hope the Portuguese police have acted to the absolute best of their ability in following this up. The private investigators will be pursuing this line as an absolute priority to establish if it has been fully investigated. Kate and Gerry have learned an awful lot about this kind of thing and God forbid Madeleine has fallen foul of any of these types."

Independent
1 March 2009
“They Made a Mistake at the time: they weren’t with her when it happened. They will always regret that, God forbid, for the rest of their lives.”

Culture Media and Sport Committee
10 March 2009
“However when there are legitimate anniversaries, God forbid that it goes on that long, Kate and Gerry may well choose to do some interviews, and we will choose which are the most effective and refine what messages are from the search side, from the investigative side, that will hopefully yield that piece of information.”

Leicester Mercury
7 December 2010
“Money is still being spent on the investigation and without any more money coming it may run out by spring. The book will be coming out around the fourth anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance - God forbid we get that far.”

Radio Humberside) interviews Clarence Mitchell
7 October 2011
“…nothing has been found of Madeleine since, not a trace, tends to suggest that she has been taken somewhere else and has been, hopefully is being looked after or at least cared for with someone. That is the working hypothesis. In some cases, if God forbid, she had been harmed, she probably would have been found long ago but she hasn’t been and that’s why they keep going.”