Madeleine McCann: McCanns’ Police Statements, Child Safety Appeal And Kate McCann Speaks
MADDIE WATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
DAILY EXPRESS (front page): “MADELEINE: WHY DID YOU LEAVE US TO CRY MUMMY?”
That was the “plea” Madeleine McCann made on the morning of her vanishing. The words are taken from a police interview with Kate McCann. It was Kate McCann who gave the police the insight.
Says a “furious friend”: “The minute you talk about Madeleine crying is the minute that the vultures will pile in, that’s why this has been leaked.”
The Daily Express is no scavenger, picking and picking and picking over the bones of a missing child. It leads with the quote – splashed across its entire front page – to show how awful it is and how cruel some people can be to bring it up on the very day Kate and Gerry McCann are talking about child safety.
Said Kate McCann to the police in Portugal:
“While we were having breakfast, Maddie said, ‘Mummy, why didn’t you come when we were crying last night?’ She added: “Gerry and I spoke for a couple of minutes and agreed to keep a closer watch over the children.”
THE SUN (front page): “Mummy, why didn’t you come when we were crying last night?”
This is “WHAT MADDIE ASKED PARENTS HOURS BEFORE SHE VANISHED”.
As ever there is “fury”. This time the fury is over how and why details of the McCanns’ police interviews were revealed by Spanish television station Telecinco TV.
The channel’s crime reporter Nacho Abad told how Kate’s police statement recalled the chilling moment she realised Maddie was missing.
She was said to have run back to the Tapas Bar screaming: “Maddie isn’t there. Someone’s taken her.” Spanish TV said this contradicted statements made by the McCanns’ friends, in which several claimed that GP Kate instead shouted: “Madeleine’s gone, Madeleine’s gone!”
DAILY MAIL (front page): “Mummy, why didn’t you come when we were crying last night?”
Page 7: “McCanns left Maddy sobbing the night before she vanished.”
Or what about the alternative headline: McCanns didn’t hear Madeleine crying and when she told them they promised to listen more carefully.”
Says Clarence Mitchell: “The timing of this is frankly suspicious”.
The leak was made as the McCanns visited the European Parliament to appeal for a Europe-wide child alert system.
Mr Mitchell goes on: “We would like an internal inquiry about why this piece of information has emerged on the very day that Kate and Gerry are doing a high-profile visit to Brussels to call for improvements in child welfare and safety.”
Oh, the irony…
Those leaked police statements:
KATE McCANN:
“I saw the door of the children’s room wide open and noticed a current of air. The same current of air closed the door but the window in the other room that backed onto the patio was closed.
“When I went to look for Madeleine I realised she wasn’t there.
“I looked through the apartment and I went back to the children’s room and then saw the curtains moving towards me so it became clear the window shutters were wide open.
“I went to the window and opened the curtains to see if she had climbed out but there was no sign of her. I don’t know if I closed the window at that moment.
“I ran to the tapas bar and screamed at Gerry, ‘Maddie’s not there, someone has taken her.'”
GERRY McCANN
“I saw the angle of their door had changed and it was open around 45 degrees.
“I thought perhaps Madeleine had woken up and left the room. Out of the corner of my eye I looked in our room and couldn’t see her.“Then I opened the children’s door 60 degrees and looked to the left and saw Maddie sleeping with her head on the pillow on the right hand side of the bed.
“She was breathing softly and I thought how beautiful she looked. I thought it was quite hot and I didn’t need to cover her up…
“Kate came running to the bar and said, ‘Maddie’s not there, someone has taken her’. I couldn’t believe it and ran towards the apartment along the same route I always took. I looked everywhere. I returned to the children’s room and I tried to think what could have happened.
“To my surprise I realised I could lift up the window shutters without effort and almost without making noise. When I entered I realised that Maddie’s bed was almost intact. The corner of the outside of the sheets was turned a little.
But the pillow, her Cuddle Cat and the blanket she had slept with were almost in the same place as I had seen them the last time.”
DAILY MIRROR (front page): “KATE SPEAKS”
Kate McCann is in Brussels. She is sat before a battery of cameras and hacks. Says she:
“It’s been totally devastating. This time last year we were an incredibly happy family and felt very lucky. But we certainly have hope Madeleine’s alive.”
DAILY STAR (front page): “MADDIE IS STILL ALIVE.”
The Star is certain. Well, not really. It’s what Kate McCann hopes is true. Still, it’s a good headline and offers some progress in the investigation.
Madeleine McCann: Speculation and sensation
Posted: 11th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann Comments (1,234) | TrackBack | Permalink
