by 'Spudgun' (Mirror Forum) - 13.12.2007
The summer of 1990 was a particularly
hot one, even by Algarve standards. I had sold a lot of the household
possessions emanating from a broken relationship, in order to finance
the kindling for a NEW one, by accompanying a young lady to Albufeira
for a weeks sojourn. Cold ‘Sagres‘, Frango and huge surfer waves
rolling in on ‘Fisherman’s Beach’ are just a few of the most
enduring memories I have of that holiday.
Alas, on a personal level, true love
spectacularly failed to blossom on that occasion. However, what DID
bloom was a deep and rewarding love affair with the country of
Portugal and its people, some of whom I deem very close and consider
as my family, that not only lasts to this day but is an important
part of my life. Of course, I am not unique in falling for its
charms; several million of my fellow countrymen visit Portugal every
year, especially the Algarve.
Since that hot summer I have returned
to Portugal many times and visited many places there, and have always
been struck by the genuine warmth, integrity, courtesy and generosity
of the Portuguese, qualities that I consider to be generic to the
race as a whole. I have always admired the respect that they reserve
for their elderly and the dignity that they bestow upon them,
together with the discipline and respect which they instinctively
instil in their young. These are qualities that are often lamented in
my own country, the social consequences of which are plain to see by
all who choose to inspect the European tables for youth crime, drugs
and teenage pregnancies, to name but just a few of the maladies that
effect British society.
So when the tragedy that unfolded,
concerning a young child named Madeleine McCann, in Praia da Luz on
the 3rd May 2007, I was drawn to this case with perhaps a slightly
greater initial interest and concern than my fellow countryman. Here
was a child from my own nation, missing from a country that I love
and which I consider to be my second home.
My own personal concerns and interests
in this case have never particularly related to whether the McCanns
are innocent or guilty, but rather, why we have a British Press and
Government that appears hell bent on TELLING us that the McCann’s
are inarguably innocent, and doing so in a manner that I consider
threatens to seriously taint the very alliance that has existed
between our countries for 630 years.
By virtue of the secrecy laws that
encapsulate the Portuguese judicial system, this was always only ever
going to be a case presented entirely by the media with little or
next to no ‘official’ input, making it impossible to distinguish
between what could be factual, fabrication or just plain speculation.
From an early stage in the proceedings, however, apparent doubts and
suspicions surrounding the McCanns began to surface in the Portuguese
press and media, claiming to be citing Polícia Judiciária sources.
Some of these suspicions were picked up
on and reprinted in the British newspapers but only ALWAYS with the
added clarification that the stories were “scurrilous lies”,
“outrageous allegations” or “ludicrous claims” and NEVER
without the statement from “sources/friends close to the McCanns”,
asserting that it was all “hurtful and unhelpful speculation“.
Thus, it became an endless cycle of
reports and allegations emanating from the Portuguese media, being
repeated, ridiculed and rejected by the British media. Of course, we
all accept that newspapers, especially the more ‘salacious’
variety, are prone to occasionally, shall we say, slightly ‘modify‘,
exaggerate or perhaps even over elaborate certain stories in order to
make them more interesting, readable and saleable. That said,
particularly in matters and stories of this nature and gravity, I
have always held the belief that the media, especially the Broadsheet
variety, would fairly rigorously adhere to the basic principles of
professional journalism and at least ensure that their reports are as
factually based as was possible. I also believe that to be the tenet
that any free speaking Democratic Foreign media organisation would
operate by. Consequently, I considered the assertion by anyone that
EVERY single report being made in the Portuguese press was a LIE to
be preposterous.
What ensued was something of a most
bizarre and unprecedented state of affairs, to witness on one side,
the Portuguese reporting on the possible complicity of Kate and Gerry
McCann in the disappearance of their daughter, with the British Press
on the other side not only refuting those claims, but stating that
what was being reported was being fabricated. Then, when it became
increasingly implausible that the Portuguese media were fabricating
what was being reported, the British media decided it must be the
Portuguese Authorities themselves who were doing the fabricating!.
Of course, in the absence of any true
judicial process it should be rightly deemed heartless to speculate
about the loss of a child, particularly if one is to try and imagine
how any parent would feel if placed in the same situation. However,
what then happened over the ensuing weeks and months was, I believe,
unique in the annals of any other case in history and I personally
believe that it will form the material for many Media based
vocational courses for years to come.
What started as simple rebuking and
contending amongst the British press and media quickly grew into a
mass, concerted ‘war of attrition’ against firstly, the
Portuguese press and media, followed by the Portuguese Police, its
Government and then, finally, its people.
“Useless Porto Plod!”, “Bumbling
Portuguese Cops” and “Lazy, Boozy Porto Police” were just some
of the headlines that informed the avid British public of the
progress of this case. Serious and reputable journalists came out in
force to support the McCanns in their ordeal with a reverence that
bordered on canonising in the true sense of the word. Penny Wark of
the ‘TIMES’ treated them with a fawning manner reminiscent of the
way the late Diana, Princess of Wales was revered. Every other
Broadsheet columnist of note penned pretty much the same story;
Madeleine was ABDUCTED, the Portuguese police are ineffective and the
parents are living Saints.
Perhaps the worst and most offensive
article written appeared in the ‘Daily Mirror‘. Under the Header
“OH, UP YOURS, SENOR”, Tony Parsons resorts to appalling
xenophobic comments and outrageous abuse. He refers to the “stupid,
cruel Portuguese police”, adding “I have never much cared for the
convention of calling cops "pigs" or "filth", but
I am happy to make an exception”. He goes on to say that the PJ are
“fitting up”, the McCanns and advises the Portuguese Ambassador
Antonio Santana Carlos to” keep your stupid, sardine-munching mouth
shut”. On a Editorial note, I feel his comments would have had more
gravitas had he utilised the correct, Portuguese ‘SENHOR’ in his
title, rather than creating even greater, unquestionable outrage by
implementing the SPANISH Senor! On a more serious level, I would have
to suggest that, had similar comments been made by a journalist,
concerning any other race or subject, then I feel the full weight of
the Authorities, (acting under the austere legislation surrounding
Race Relations and the plethora of new ‘Race Hate’ crimes that
exist in the UK), would have been dispatched to address the offender
forthwith.
Indeed, the disgusting words that were
printed by the Daily Mirror appear even more hard to believe when you
consider that the UK is famous for its ’political correctness’,
considered absurd by most people conversant with it, and especially
by those that have faced intervention by the police for inadvertently
breaching some obscure legislation relating to it.
I positively shudder with shame when I
imagine the good and decent people of Portugal, whom Parsons referred
to as ‘Bumpkins’, especially those who took time off from their
work places and normal lives to search the ground on their hands on
knees, looking for clues regarding the missing girl, using their bare
hands.
When Gerry McCann attended the
Edinburgh festival in August, on the invite of BBC ‘Newsnight’
presenter Kirsty Walk, to address TV executives on the Media role in
the search for his daughter, I considered this to be a most
extraordinary turn of events and indicative of just how much power
the McCanns yielded in controlling how this case was being reported
and thus, potentially, perceived.
At the same time, The Daytime TV news
schedules were, (and still are), often dominated by the case, with
‘friends’ and family members of the McCanns lining up to praise
them. Minor celebrities too, do not hesitate in telling us how the
poor McCanns are being treated despicably by the Portuguese press.
Richard Madeley who, with his wife Judy
Finnigan host a popular TV program, vilified and abused members of an
internet Forum who voiced possible suspicions surrounding the
McCanns, calling them ‘scum’.
Another daytime ‘Queen’ of the
‘GMTV’news programme and tabloid columnist, Fiona Phillips,
displays a regular sycophancy towards the McCanns that positively
nauseates, and flies in the face of EVERY journalistic trait.
Surprisingly, it has recently been revealed that Phillips was offered
a ministerial job by Gordon Brown, also suggesting she was also
offered a peerage. Fortunately for British politics, the Prime
Minister couldn’t match the £400,000 she currently receives for
her ‘journalistic’ qualities.
Vanessa Feltz, tabloid columnist,
‘social commentator’ and former chat show ‘queen’ expressed
disgust at what she called ‘McCann Baiting’, lambasting the
deplorable Portuguese Press, and their British counterparts who
reprinted their stories. These are just a few of the well known faces
of British TV that have unquestionably helped to forge opinions
amongst the general public, or at least, those members who have
neither the interest in formulating their own opinions, or where they
have, allowing this constant media barrage to change them.
More worryingly, and with startling
regularity, the newspapers and TV stations here have given column
inches and time to fill by retired, notable British Police
Detectives, including CID detective Mark Williams-Thomas (who, by
happy coincidence now runs a company dealing with media handling and
advice for high profile cases), who became a regular partner
alongside Sky News’s Martin Brunt; Mike Hames, the ex-commander who
set up Scotland Yard's paedophilia unit; John Stalker, former Deputy
Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police and the wonderfully
titled Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, formerly John Stevens,
former Head of the Metropolitan Police, now International Security
Advisor to the Prime Minister Gordon Brown. ALL renowned, respected,
successful high flying career Police Officers whose stupendous
collective powers of detection, pretty much came to the same
conclusions, albeit to varying degrees, even though they do not,
presumably, have the benefit of any more evidence than any one else
outside the Polícia Judiciária; NAMELY, that Madeleine McCann was
abducted and that the Portuguese Police are incompetent. Other high
ranking ex-police have stated that the likelihood was the Portuguese
were framing the McCanns.
But the real and, in my opinion, truly
damaging bias was reserved for the mainstream television channels.
Both the BBC and SKY news, in particular, have displayed a most
obvious and uncomfortable loyalty to the McCanns, in regular news
reporting devoid of any impartiality, the presenters frequently
making derogatory comments to each other concerning the Portuguese
claims. It was a common occurrence for the studio link to engage in
derogatory ‘banter’ with the at the scene reporter, invariably
Martin Brunt in Praia da Luz when he was giving his latest report
about the Portuguese police and their progress in the case, or when
commenting on some of the stories appearing in the press there. Kay
Burley, a predominant Sky News ‘anchor’, would frequently roll
her eyes, shake her head or ‘tut’ in disgust and ridicule at
Brunts’ revelations, peppering her responses with asides such as
‘Poor Kate’ or ‘How much more can the poor parents bear?’
However, what I consider to be the most
despicable, incredulous and unprofessional piece of reporting
occurred on the 7th September when Kate McCann was made an official
Arguido. Both Sky and the BBC, reported throughout the whole day,
that Kate had been offered a ‘deal’ whereby she would receive a
reduced prison sentence if she confessed to the accidental killing
and subsequent disposal of Madeleine. It would have taken all of 15
minutes for the back room researchers to establish that, for the
interviewing police to make such an offer was an impossibility under
the constraints of the Portuguese Judicial system. There was no offer
of a plea bargain. It had all been "a misunderstanding",
the McCann lawyer, Carlos Pinto de Abreu, explained the following
day. The quoted ‘source’ of this scoop, was Gerry McCann’s
sister Philomena, who revelled in the limelight whilst explaining to
all and sundry that this information had been revealed to her over a
telephone call with Kate, subsequent to her interrogation.
To this day, this shameful piece of
fabricated ‘news’ is still on virtually every online edition of
most British newspaper archives. The truth, however, relating to this
“misunderstanding”, isn’t.
Then, on the 10th September, Martin
Brunt sombrely stated to Sky News viewers that amongst other samples,
a FULL, non-transferable DNA match to Madeleine had been unearthed
from the rear boot of the car hired by the McCanns. By this time,
GERRY McCann had also been made an Arguido and combined with these
new ‘developments‘ there was a curious ‘pause’ in the Press
and Media, a kind of ’shell’ shock that resulted in the media
doing nothing more than reporting the facts, such as they were. The
McCanns were suspects, and they were back home .
The huge thong of reporters that had
awaited their arrival at the airport asked no questions, appearing to
me almost subservient, as Gerry read out a carefully scripted
passage, declaring his and Kate’s innocence.
Almost seamlessly, the ‘Pro McCann’
media wagon was back on the road. As more and more information
started to surface and be reported on the mainstream TV news,
concerning such unpalatable topics as ‘Body fluid samples’,
‘Cadaver dogs’ and ‘blood spots’, not only did I expect the
ludicrous, servile reporting to cease, but I expected the UK
Journalists to give at least a modicum of consideration to the
possibility of the McCanns complicity in their daughters appearance.
After all, ‘speculative’ Portuguese sources weren’t responsible
for the apparent evidence in the possession of the Portuguese
Authorities.
The Cadaver dogs, that had purportedly
detected the ‘Scent of Death’ were BRITISH, with an impressive
track record in the fields of evidence recovery. The DNA samples,
recovered from the apartment and the boot of the McCanns hire car had
been, and were continuing to be, analysed by the Birmingham FSS, the
“vanguard of forensic science technology that has an unrivalled
reputation for the integrity, impartiality and accuracy of its
findings“. It was also revealed that BRITISH police who had
assisted the Portuguese in the investigation, also apparently
concurred with the PJ that Madeleine had probably died on May 3rd.
It crossed my mind at this stage that a
huge and collective sense of astonished embarrassment was potentially
about to unfold. Here was a nice ‘middle class’ couple, both
Professionals, highly regarded and respectable people who had accrued
a huge wave of worldwide public support in the initial stages, (not
to mention around £1.3 Million in donations, around £2.5 Million in
pledged reward money for information leading to the safe recovery of
Madeleine and other undisclosed amounts and contributions, including
a private jet to enable the McCanns to more effectively spread their
campaign); who had kissed the Papal ring after receiving his personal
blessing, met European and other World leaders, accepted an
invitation to the Whitehouse, been interviewed on a number of
European and American TV stations and had actively taken part in
initial discussions designed to launch a new ‘Madeleine’s Law’,
aimed at formulating a European database of known Paedophiles. Not to
mention cosy, telephone chats with British Prime Minister Gordon
Brown who has frequently been known to not only pledge support, but
actively become involved in the investigation itself.
At the VERY least, the circumstances
now surrounding the McCanns, I surmised, would result in a
perceptible retreat by the media that would put an end to what I
considered to be the celebrity status to which they had been
appointed. In fact, I rather thought that the press would now exact a
tortuous revenge and would seek to print anything that was derogatory
towards the McCanns, at least to the degree of abuse and invasion of
privacy that had been showered earlier on the other Arguido in this
case, Robert Murat.
Of course, my country is, and always
has been instrumental in maintaining that most basic of human rights,
the right of ‘Innocent until Proven Guilty’, and I personally
believed that never to be more appropriate than in this case. I
considered it would be neither suitable nor fair for the Media to
comment, speculate or assume anything until a fair and judicial
process had been undertaken. Certainly, the tales, theories and
assumptions being made and propagated on internet Forums had no place
in the realms of anyone’s National press.
However, to my mind, what occurred with
the British media, subsequent to this Arguido status being applied to
the McCanns, was every bit as offensive, preposterous, irrational and
groundless as the most wildest Conspiracy Theory ANYWHERE on the net.
The McCanns arguido status seemed to actually harden the resolve of
the entire British media, and Kay Burley was back to her acerbic
best, making sniggering asides to Martin Brunt when he reported on
the Polícia Judiciária officially handing over the 4,000 pages of
prosecution evidence to Judge Frias. Burley feigned mock surprise,
stating that she couldn’t believe that the Police would miss out on
such a “photo opportunity” to present the pile of boxed documents
for the cameras, implying that perhaps the documents weren’t quite
as substantial and plentiful as was being reported.
Tabloids and Broadsheets alike began
producing countless articles explaining how and why Portugal is a
haven for paedophiles, especially the Algarve. Column inches were
given over to explain how Portugal’s ‘elite’, including
Government officials had once been involved in a Lisbon Paedophile
ring centering around an orphanage. A Portuguese Investigation into
paedophilia, involving a nationwide operation, including the seizing
of 150 computers was reported in the UK Press as being an integral
part of the McCann case, suggesting that the operation was effected
to establish whether any indecent images of Madeleine McCann existed,
even though Operation Predator was nothing whatsoever to do with the
events that occurred in Praia da Luz. The Daily Mail’s Roger Graef
explained that Portugal has “more Paedophile’s than it cares to
admit”. He goes on to explain that the Portuguese have “an odd
attitude towards underage sex.” erroneously stating the permitted
minimum for same age couples.
And just in case we’re not getting
the picture, ’Dispatches’ a Channel 4 Investigative Documentary
entitled ‘Searching for Madeleine’ is endorsed by David Canter a
‘Criminal Psychologist’ who explains how the alleyways around the
Ocean Club apartment where Madeleine went missing, “provide an
ideal rat-run that would be well known to local criminals“. He goes
on to point out that the most convincing arguments he had heard for
an abduction by a local came from his colleague at Liverpool
University, Professor Kevin Browne, (who advises many international
agencies including the WHO and UNICEF on child protection) He,
apparently, made clear that this quiet village could harbour a number
of child abusers who had been released into the community rather than
convicted, (adding that Portugal convicts a much smaller proportion
of child abusers than some other European countries).
The Documentary entirely ignores the findings of the Cadaver dogs and
completely brushes over the DNA evidence without any elaboration. It
gives no consideration whatsoever to the fact that the McCanns are
official Arguidos in the disappearance of their daughter.
SKY News has its own, SPECIAL
Investigation: ‘Madeleine: The Search For The Truth’,
Ou bien ce documentaire n'existe plus en ligne, ou bien il a pris le titre Madeleine - The Mystery
which
actually searches for no such thing, but does imply that the
Portuguese are so inefficient that apparently a British ‘expert’
in child abduction declined offers for his help in the matter as he
didn’t want to ‘risk his reputation’, given the ‘mess’ made
by the Portuguese. Yet another British ex-detective gets his chance
to solve the mystery, and concluded that the Portuguese police appear
to be “trying to make a situation fit round a theory so all these
bits lock together in order to show them to be guilty”. He goes on
to conclude that “one is left with the only other solution”……
which I’m not going to quote verbatim here, suffice to say that it
involves “1 or 2 men”, abuse and an unpleasant ending.
Unfortunately, the documentary didn’t appear to have sufficient
time to include the evidence, nor the reasons for the detective
arriving at this conclusion.
ITV took an even more pro-active stance
in defending our Kate and Gerry, with ‘Tonight with Trevor
McDonald: The McCanns, Questions of Evidence”. They interviewed
Allan Jamieson, a ‘top British forensic scientist’, who proceeded
to rubbish reports that suggested hair recovered from the McCanns
hire car showed evidence of containing traces of sedatives, and had
been derived from a corpse. The documentary also featured the
irrepressible Mark Williams-Thomas, the former CID Detective and SKY
News regular, mentioned previously, and who has been one of the most
violent critics of the Portuguese Police investigation of Madeleine
McCann's case. He appeared as a “child protection expert” Mr.
Williams also concluded that Madeleine was abducted. Unfortunately,
what he failed to mention in this Documentary was that, although his
company WT Associates Ltd. is A ‘Child Protection and Risk
Management Consultancy’, this company also lists amongst its
services, “MEDIA MANAGEMENT, providing media handling and advice
for high profile cases”, and also “Design or review organisations
media crisis policy”. More importantly, he forgot to mention what
he subsequently declared to a Portuguese journalist: that he was
“involved with advising the McCanns”, although he did later issue
a retraction of this, declaring that “there are no conflicts of
interest”.
Of course, the social commentators,
columnists and media people, especially those that have actively and
openly supported the McCanns, are wont to say that this case is an
appalling ‘Trial by Media’. My own, personal, response to that is
that the case for the DEFENSE definitely has been by media!
With the appointment of former British
Government Director of Media Monitoring Clarence Mitchell as the
McCanns spokesman in mid September, (although it’s difficult to
establish exactly when and how he turned up on the scene in the first
instance), it was very quickly made clear in the press that, indeed
the Portuguese Authorities and Police had got the case all wrong!
Madeleine wasn’t dead at all.
Almost immediately, she was spotted in
the Moroccan city of Marrakesh by two unrelated witnesses. A further
sighting was reported by another Spanish woman, who is convinced she
saw Madeleine in the town of Zaio being led by a Moroccan woman in
Muslim dress across a street. In yet ANOTHER sighting, in Zinat, the
witness not only photographed Madeleine, but took the precaution of
only forwarding the photograph to ‘lawyers working for the
McCanns‘, thus avoiding those ‘incompetent’ Portuguese police.
The photograph, taken by a Spanish holiday maker, was very widely
published. (Proving, if nothing else that the Spanish are surely the
most observant, attentive and productive witnesses in the World).
Alas, barely 24 hours later, the girl in the photograph was
identified as local five-year-old Bushra Binhisa, the daughter of an
olive farmer.
Clarence Mitchell commented that the
discovery was “disappointing news”. Presumably not least because
it remained in the papers for all of a day, and subsequently might
reinforce the notion in some peoples’ minds that it couldn’t
possibly have been Madeleine in the first place.
Still, help was at hand in the form of
a NEW suspect to the ‘abduction’, 24 hours later. This time, a
mysterious Englishman, ‘stairwell lurker’ observed by an Ocean
Club employee to be ‘hiding‘ in a stairwell beneath the McCanns
holiday apartment. The employee, who did not want to be named,
exclusively told the Mirror: "I'll never forget him”. Alas,
everyone else did. Not least because there appeared little to suggest
he existed in the first place.
Never mind, another day, another
witness. According to the Daily Mail, A nanny who worked at the
resort where Madeleine McCann disappeared told detectives she saw a
man lurking outside the family's apartment. Or rather, she saw a
man’s shoe. Which quickly receded when she questioned it. Lurking
in the bushes. Oh, and it was in 2006, a YEAR before the McCanns came
to Praia da Luz. Still, the nanny thought that the sighting was on a
Thursday, the same day of the week when Madeleine would subsequently
go missing. Presumably the Portuguese didn’t place great
significance on this sighting. Which would explain why she went to ‘
3’, the Private Detectives hired by the McCanns to do the job the
Portuguese obviously weren’t doing for them. What significance this
alleged sighting of an unidentified man has on the McCann case soon
becomes clear. According to the nanny, when the man ran out from the
shadows, he “bore a striking resemblance” to the man allegedly
seen by Jane Tanner on May 3rd 2007, the ’abductor’, walking away
from the family's apartment carrying a child in his arms. In case
readers of the Mail were experiencing incredulity and confusion,
Clarence Mitchell was on hand to make a clarifying statement:” This
nanny's evidence backs up what we have always said, that Madeleine
was taken from her bed by an abductor?
The next suspect appeared courtesy of
Royal approval. A ‘tip off’, sent by e-mail to the official
website of Heir Apparent Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales. The
email insisted that three-year-old Madeleine was kidnapped from the
Mark Warner Ocean Club holiday resort in Portugal by a disgruntled
ex-employee. The informant named a maid who was sacked from the
apartment complex in Praia da Luz and claimed she snatched the child
in a “crazed revenge plot“.
Clearly this plot was not quite as
“crazed” as the story itself, as, like all the others, it quickly
faded into oblivion.
Throughout these ‘new’ sightings,
witnesses, suspects and suppositions, the PJ remained resolute. As
they always had done, directly or indirectly they were stating the
same, unadulterated points. That they believed Madeleine to be dead
and that her parents were in some way responsible. The case appeared
to me to be stalemate. The Police by this time were still asserting
that they were awaiting further Forensic results from the Birmingham
FSS, together with ‘Regoratory letters’ permitting them to
further question members of the now infamous ‘Tapas 7’, and
probably Kate and Gerry McCann also.
Criminal history is littered with cases
where the alleged culprit has dispensed with their Defence Lawyer.
The McCanns went one better. They dispensed with the Police. And
instated their own……
On paper, Metodo 3, the “elite
Spanish Agency” appear ill suited to the task of finding Madeleine
McCann, irrespective of whether she is alive or not. They seem to me
to be a glorified Debt Collection Agency with positively NO
experience of finding missing persons. Still, in late October they
are the latest recruits to ‘Team McCann’, and have their own,
unique 24 hour ‘hotline’ for anyone with any information
regarding Madeleine. Or at least, presumably, anyone who had
information that for reasons not stated had not already been imparted
to the PJ. Which surely can’t possibly be anyone. Can it?
Alas, within a day or two of its
inception, M3 have received “275 calls with many relating to
Morocco”. How they relate or differ to the previous Moroccan
sightings isn’t explained, but investigators are “reported to be
particularly interested in three calls that gave details of a girl
matching Madeleine’s description with a middle-class Moroccan woman
aged about 60”. Around the same time, M3 release a sketch of
a man allegedly seen walking away from the Ocean Club resort carrying
a child, as ‘witnessed’ by McCann party member Jane Tanner. It
doesn’t explain why this sketch of the abductor differs wildly from
the description originally given by Tanner, but given that the
Portuguese didn’t place much significance on the original sighting
anyway, perhaps they didn’t feel any explanation necessary. Still,
Gerry McCann is happy with it. He writes in his blog: “We believe
this child was Madeleine . . . Someone else may be aware of a man
matching this description who has behaved suspiciously at any time
since the beginning of May.”
The Moroccan tip offs seem to be paying
off, as Metodo’s ‘elite’ announced that they were “closing
in” on a farm where Madeleine was being held captive in a lawless
Moroccan mountain range notorious for drugs and child trafficking.
TEN witness sightings had led them here! Unfortunately, we can only
conclude that the lawless child traffickers and drug dealers sneaked
out of the back door, because the next big news to develop was by way
of that friend to the media, Philomena McCann, who states that M3,
have “extended their search to Saudi Arabia“!! Philomena explains
that M3 believe that Madeleine “may have been snatched by a
millionaire paedophile” from Saudi Arabia.” They are searching
everywhere for her and Saudi Arabia is the latest destination - we
don't know why”. Perhaps Metodo’s expense account will hold a
clue.
However, before our intrepid heroes can
unpack their suitcases a NEW sighting has been made . In Medjugorje
in BOSNIA!! The witness, an Irishman, (Bosnia presumably not a
popular Spanish tourist destination), says “I got very close to
her, right up beside them and was about to speak to the child when
the man put his hand over her mouth and shoved her into the car”.
And, for added effect, “"But my blood ran cold when I heard
her cry, 'I want my daddy'." Which either explains something
about the astuteness of Irishmen or the multi-lingual capabilities of
3 year old Bosnians because in as short a time as it took to identify
the Moroccan girl as NOT being Madeleine McCann, the latest sighting
is revealed to be 3 year old local, Tea Dedic.
Of this, and other ‘sightings’ the
Portuguese police refuse to comment. Presumably they are still bent
over double with mirth. I feel it surely only a question of time
before some entrepreneur starts selling ‘T’ shirts for blonde
haired children worldwide, emblazoned ‘RELAX, I’m NOT Madeleine!’
Si quelqu'un en a eu l'idée, il a dû être rapidement découragé par une initiative vraiment "not helpful".
As I write this, a few weeks before
Christmas, I have scanned the leaders of much of the British tabloid
Press. The Star, ‘Simply the Best’, explains that M3 have narrowed
their search down to a ‘hit list’ of ten paedophiles. It adds
that the “ M3 agency are blitzing locations in Europe and Africa to
find the known sex offenders”. I can only presume that whoever is
footing the bill for this ‘elite Spanish Agency’ is hoping that
they’re not expecting a Christmas bonus.
The Sunday Express tells us “A MAN
who looks like Robert Murat tried to climb into the apartment where
Madeleine McCann went missing at a time when another child was alone
inside”. My suspicions on this are aroused when I see that the
‘witness’ is a NANNY who worked at the Ocean Club in Praia da
Luz!! And that the incident happened 6 Months before the McCanns came
to the Algarve! Whether it occurred on a Thursday or not was not made
clear.
As in the previous six and a half months, not one paper, periodical or TV programme gives the slightest
consideration to the possibility of the McCann’s involvement in the
disappearance of their daughter. EXCEPT……………………………..
A rather curious documentary that was
aired a few days ago. ‘Panorama‘, the flagship for so many years
of the BBC’s Current Affairs programmes, and rightly deemed by many
in the past to be the epitome of excellence when it comes to
Investigative Journalism. Their contribution to this case resulted in
a documentary ‘Madeleine McCann - separating fact from fiction’.
Except it didn’t do so. Nor did it explain which was which. It gave
a lot of time to an interview with Jane Tanner, without questioning
her on the wide ranging discrepancies both in her testament, and that
of other witnesses there at the time, therefore allowing her to
reiterate that she ’saw’ Madeleine being abducted. The programme
also included lots of ’private’ home footage of the McCanns in
the aftermath of losing Madeleine, said to have NEVER been intended
for public viewing, except its obvious staging and choreography
suggested otherwise. Friend and ’Cameraman’ Jon Corner was also
permitted to make a ’Camcorder’ snippet towards the end of the
programme, accompanied by Gerry McCann at the site of the Ocean Club,
showing and explaining how and where the ’abduction’ most likely
took place. Nothing new here then. EXCEPT……………..
Some
rather curious incidental music that punctuated various scenes in the
documentary, firstly the theme tune from ‘Twin Peaks’, an
American award winning serial drama that was hugely popular in the
UK, about a young girl who was murdered by her father and whose
plastic-wrapped body is found on a river bank and secondly, ‘HEROIN’
by the ‘Velvet Underground‘. A rather popular theory doing the
rounds of the internet to accompany the PJ’s ‘sedation’ claims.
There was also some shots of Pampas grass, which I am reliably
informed by those more conversant in such matters, is the plant of
choice of ‘Swingers’ as a means of advertising their adventurous
lifestyles to like minded couples. Appropriate given that the
documentary also featured former Chief Inspector with the Portuguese
Police, José
Barra da Costa and his claim on
Portuguese television that the McCanns rather enjoyed such practises.
Subliminal messages from the BBC? Wild
imagination? Maybe. Perhaps someone at the BBC simply wanted to break
the Pro-McCann mould. David Mills, the producer of the Panorama
Documentary in question, quit the project before it was transmitted,
citing the fact that the programme to be screened did not fit the
script that he originally presented. An obvious supporter of the
McCanns, he states in his written complaint, “the programme drips
innuendos against the McCanns, it does not put a single challenging
question to anyone in the Portuguese Police”. Suffice to say that
he believes the PJ to be incompetent, and that Madeleine was
abducted.
“You can fool some of the people all
of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not
fool all of the people all of the time“. At least, according to
Abraham Lincoln. However, it seems to me that the British Government
and the press rather favours a quotation made by George W. Bush: “You
CAN fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you
want to concentrate on.”
Because anyone who could possibly be
fooled into believing that a paltry, inconsequential Spanish
detective agency is on the threshold of, not only arresting the
culprits involved in abducting Madeleine McCann, (as is now reported
in the press on a daily basis), but also presumably recovering the
girl herself given that are “100% certain“ that she is alive; are
truly, FOOLS.
But the real question is WHO is doing
the fooling ? And WHY ? Are we really supposed to believe that every
single editor, producer, commentator, ex-policeman, celebrity and
journalist are all singing from the same song sheet, citing opinions,
notions and editorial policies that are completely free from external
influences ? Are we really expected to believe and share their
opinions and conclude that, indeed, not only are the Polícia
Judiciária incompetent, bumbling and inadequate, but also that they
are deliberately framing the McCanns for crimes that they didn’t
commit ? Are we really duty bound and morally obliged to accept that,
not only are the McCanns entirely innocent of any wrong doing
whatsoever, but that the whole country of Portugal, its Police,
authorities and its people are all scheming, lying, fabricating third
world inhabitants, as some of our more ‘colourful’ commentators
have opined ?
Because if that is the case, then those
expectations are not going to be fully met. Not by a long shot.
Throughout history, the role of the media has played an integral part
in influence peoples lives and opinions, especially in times of
conflict. Herman Goering once said, “it's always a simple matter to
drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist
dictatorship, a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no
voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the
leaders. That is easy”
What Goering did not have was the
benefit of hindsight, because if he had foreseen the INTERNET, he
might have not being quite so adamant with his statements.
In August of this year, the COI, the UK
government’s communications agency, was reported to be working on a
way to monitor what people say about policy on blogs and internet
forums. As well they might. There are innumerable Forums, Blogs and
discussions on the internet concerning Madeleine McCann. Some of them
are pretty ridiculous, providing armchair detectives with a means to
voice their theories, a bit like a virtual ‘Cluedo’. (‘It was
Mr. O’Brien in 5a, at 20.45, with the sedatives‘). However, the
majority DO appear to concur that the case is NOT as is being
reported in the Press.
On September 10th a BBC Radio 5
phone-in on the McCanns had to be abandoned after a flood of critical
calls. The station was apparently deluged and surprised because of
the unexpected degree of anti-McCann feeling voiced by callers. Some
newspapers reported this ‘abandonment’ as having been as a result
of callers rebuking the BBC because of holding a debate about a
couple who are part of a continuing legal process. That didn’t stop
innumerable OTHER Radio programmes from subsequently conducting such
phone-ins. None ever had to be abandoned however. Any anti-McCann
sentiments were dealt with in an entirely different manner. Such
callers were simply disconnected, even for asking whether it was
acceptable for the McCanns to leave their children alone while they
dined in a Restaurant nearby.
And the Leicester Mercury, the journal
serving the home Town of the McCanns who had previously raised money
for the ‘Find Madeleine’ fund, had to withdraw a website opinion
page that was bombarded with comments deemed unsuitable.
In November, I wrote a letter to the
former leader and Home Secretary of the UK Conservative Party,
Michael Howard. In the letter, I explained that I was concerned that
conflict and potentially irreparable damage was being caused between
the two countries concerned, Britain and Portugal, much of which
appears to have been effected by the Press and Government of this
country. I further questioned the use of the British Government Media
Monitoring Unit Director, Clarence Mitchell, as not only a spokesman
but as an apparent mentor of sorts; resigning from his Government job
and allying himself with the McCanns when they were made Arguidos. I
suggested this to be somewhat an unprecedented and unusual state of
affairs.
I also explained my concerns that
Gordon Brown had not only personally intervened in the case by
persuading the Portuguese authorities to permit the McCanns to make
an appeal for information concerning the ‘abductor’, as
‘witnessed’ by Jane Tanner, (even though the Portuguese placed NO
significance or, more likely, credibility in this ‘sighting’),
but that some factions of the credible Portuguese Press were
suggesting that ‘Government Pressure’ was being brought to bear
on the case. Certainly, I considered it inappropriate and unusual for
Gordon Brown to have made the personal communications and offered the
assistance that he did to the McCanns. Clarence Mitchell himself had
already confirmed that he, via the Prime Minister, had been
instrumental in not only co-ordinating the visit to the Vatican, but
also visits to other world leaders and dignitaries. My letter
concluded that I felt it essential that the Prime Minister clarified
his position and involvement with regards to the McCann’s case.
The response I received was a positive,
if not unexpected one, advising me that the letter would be forwarded
to the Prime Minister for his comments, which would be communicated
to me if and when he made them.
I published my letter on an Internet
Forum, inviting any like minded individuals to either use it as a
template or to modify it for their own purposes and forward it to
their own local, Members of Parliament. A lady from Bristol did just
that, and the response that it elicited made headline news, both here
and in Portugal.
Piers Merchant, assistant to Member of
the European Parliament Roger Knapmann wrote an astonishing and
despicable letter that firstly warned the author to be ’careful’
of what she writes, referring to the laws of Libel. It then goes on
to state, somewhat pompously, that “One of the first duties of the
British government is to support its citizens abroad. It is therefore
entirely correct that the government should do this in the case of
Kate and Gerry McCann”. He then sensationally declares, “The
Portuguese police and judicial system is known to be suspect.
Elements of the police are corrupt and indeed in this case the senior
detective involved has been charged with corruption”.
He continues; “The Portuguese
judicial system does not assume innocence before guilt in the way the
British system does and operates an interrogatory process in which
people are denounced as suspects without any proof”. Merchant
explains why this shocking state of affairs is so: “It is important
to realise that Portugal has no real history of citizen's rights and
liberties or democracy. From the 1920s to the mid 1970's Portugal was
ruled by a fascist dictatorship, first under Salazar and then
Caetano. Political opposition was repressed and the police and
judicial system was used to achieve this. A stable multi-party
democracy only came into existence in the late 1970's and is still very young. Many of
the police were trained under fascism and the institutions still bear
the impact of this long period of dictatorship.”
The letter concludes by stating, “In
all the circumstances it is entirely right that British citizens
should be protected against an unreliable foreign system. In any
event I think you can rest assured that the
British police and intelligence services have long had a better grip
on the facts of this case than the Portuguese police”.
A simpler synopsis is as follows: The
Portuguese Police are incompetent, they are trying to frame the
McCanns and Kate and Gerry are innocent.
Of course, Knapmann and/or Merchant
tried to suggest that the email had been modified or altered in some
way. I have the original email’s together with their headers and I
am entirely satisfied that the response is both genuine and was how
it was written. Conversely, it would take all of a minute to
establish beyond all doubts the exact response that was made by
Merchant, but it requires his computer or his Web Based server to be
examined. To date, he has elected not to permit such an examination.
The only positive aspect of this
particular debacle was that Prime Minister Gordon Brown was made to
deny giving Gerry McCann VIP treatment over his missing daughter. One
of the very few occasions when he was forced to make a statement on
the case. Of course, given that there isn’t another recorded
example in history where some poor unfortunate, let alone the
official suspects in a missing child case, have been afforded the
privileges, opportunities, attention, Ministerial guidance and
support shown by the Government and press of this country, it rather
makes a mockery of his statement.
As to what really happened at the Ocean
Club resort on or around that day in May, perhaps we shall never
learn. How this sad case will conclude, IF it ever concludes at all,
remains to be seen. Madeleine McCanns disappearance has become,
perhaps, the most famous and mysterious missing person case of all
time. But it needn’t have been. For both the British Police and the
Polícia Judiciária are rightly regarded as being amongst the finest
crime fighting units in the world.
Whatever crimes that took place
involving Madeleine may forever go unsolved.
Whatever crimes that threaten to
alienate and divide two countries, whose shared beliefs, mutual
respect and loyalty is, since 1373 the oldest alliance in the world,
must NOT be allowed to remain unsolved; for the sake of both
countries, for Madeleine McCann and for us all.
06.052014
Dear
Portugal.
The world is watching.
Awaiting, with bated
breath.
For whatever reasons, you
have allowed the masquerade to go on for far too long.
You permitted an obvious
and tangible interference, from the British Security services and its
Government right from the start of this case, from the very night
Madeleine McCann was reported as missing.You allowed its mandarins to
dictate the course of the investigation.
You allowed the main
suspects in a criminal case in your land to return to their home,
free to negotiate, construct, compile and invent a fable; all under
the guidance and supervision of wealthy, powerful and skilled PR
companies, Lawyers and Government advisors.
You allowed British Home
Office Ministers to procrastinate and disrupt your Rogatory process
and allowed its Prime Minister to dictate if, how and when you could
visit British lands to pursue your inquiries.
You sat by and watched
while the world laughed, ridiculed and joined in the disparaging of
your seemingly inept, inebriated and unprofessional Police Service,
as described by the British Media and its entourage of Breakfast TV
‘personalities’ and day time chat show hosts.
You suffered the sneers,
the vitriolic asides, the accusations, the defaming and derogating.
You endured the abuse;
“Boozy Porto Plod”, ”Bungling Porto Cops”, ”
stupid, sardine-munching
mouths”, ”haven for paedos”, ”Fascist
Dictatorship, Police State”,“peasants”.
Everything Portuguese was
vilified. Its Government. Its Police.
And its people.
People who should have
been working or sleeping, instead spending hours on their hands and
knees; sifting through soil and dirt for clues as to the whereabouts
of a missing, three year old girl.
The world is watching.
And waiting.
For Justice.
For Portugal.
For Goncalo Amaral.
For an Anglo-Portuguese
relationship that dates back to the Middle Ages and is the oldest
such alliance in the world.
For a 3 year old child who
never questioned anything in her short life.
But who deserves to tell the world the answer it
needs............
