Madeleine McCann Category
News digests and reviews of the missing child in the news. Madeleine McCann vanished on Thursday, 3 May 2007 from a rented holiday flat in Praia da Luz, Portugal. Madeleine, on holiday with her twin siblings and parents Kate and Gerry McCann,became the biggest news story of the past decade. We’ve followed it closely ever since the story broke.
Madeleine McCanns: Police Will Solve Case, Or Not, Maybe
MADDIE WATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
DAILY MIRROR: “’We’ll get result on Madeleine McCann’, say Portuguese police”
Faro police chief Guilhermino Encarnacao promised the investigation would “bring results, whoever they hurt”… Dr Encarnacao said: “Everything’s going well. The inquiries carried out in the UK are progressing in the best way possible.”
Sow here is Madeleine McCann? Don’t keep us waiting…
Says the president of Portugal’s Bar Association, Antonio Marinho e Pinto: “They have reached a dead end and don’t know how to admit it.”
NEWS & STAR: “Leak was proof of McCanns’ innocence”
It has now emerged that Maddie sobbed for her mother the night before she vanished. “Mummy, why didn’t you come when we were crying last night,’’ said the little girl to her mother the night before she vanished.
It is Kate herself who told the police what her daughter had said. I doubt that a guilty mother would have dreamed of being so honest in her statement to the police.
The police leak may have been meant to damn the McCanns but Kate McCann’s admission was that of an innocent.
Case closed.
THE GUARDIAN: “Drugs firm attacks Sunday Express splash”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 17th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann | Comments (867)
Shannon Matthews: Karen Matthews’ Hair, Donovan’s Lair And Indira Swann
SHANNON WATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Shannon Matthews
DAILY MIRROR (front page): “SHANNON’S HIDEAWAY”
A look at the room at Michael Donovan’s flat where Shannon Matthews lived in secret for 24 days.
Pages 4 and 5: “The dirty flat that was Shannon’s home for 24 days”
Look at the “THREADBARE CARPETS, DIRTY WALLS, TARRY FURNITURE…” It’s a “scruffy bedroom containing cheap wooden furniture.”
Amazing! This must the be the only flat not to boast a feature wall and a wet room.
Anything else?
An electronic keyboard and, bizarrely, a glue gun lie on top of a metal framed double bunk. Underneath there is a CD by Busted, one of Shannon’s favourite bands, and a leaflet giving details of a range of Sold Out action PC games.
Near a smoke alarm case there is a copy of Arrive Alive, a colourful highway code book for youngsters. The booklet gives children tips about planning their journeys. Ironically, it also tells how to make sure they know where they are going and recommends that they always choose the safest route.
“’LIES’ MUM IN COURT” – “Judge Peter Collier told her she will stand trial on November 11 alongside Michael Donovan, 39, who is charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment.”
DAILY STAR (front page): “SHANNON SECRET KIDNAP CELLS REVEALED”
Pages 4 and 5: “SHANNON’S SECRET LAIR”. It’s an “EXCLUSIVE” (see Mirror).
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 17th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Reviews, Tabloids | Comments (6)
Madeleine McCann: Anjos Calls Mitchell A Liar And Madeleine One Year On: Campaign For Change
MADDIE WATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
THE SUN: “Cop: McCanns’ spokesman ‘lies’”
Carlos Anjos, president of Portugal’s Police Federation, says of Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman: “He lies with as many teeth as he has in his mouth.”
The accused the former BBC man of leaking police statements Kate and Gerry made within hours of Maddie disappearing last May. These were aired on Spanish TV last week. Anjos said the aim was to give the McCanns an excuse not to attend a reconstruction.
Says Mr Mitchell: “It is categorically untrue that I leaked them. There was absolutely no benefit for us to do that.”
THE TIMES: Andrew Billen on TV:
“It was going to be called Madeleine McCann, but now ITV1’s exclusive, has a longer name: Madeleine, One Year On: Campaign for Change. The programme will follow her parents as they campaign for an American-style Amber Alert system, in which law enforcement agencies are empowered to commandeer airtime when a child goes missing. Ah, lack of television coverage. That must have been the problem.”
Indeed.
Madeleine McCann: A show with punch
Posted: 16th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann | Comments (1,584)
Madeleine McCann: Clarence Mitchell’s Gloves, Portuguese Police Deny And Kate McCann’s Tears
MADDIE WATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
THE SUN: “McCann cops deny ‘smears’”
Those stories on Spanish television about what Kate and Gerry McCann are supposed to have said to the Portuguese police?
But last night, in only their fifth declaration since the case began, cops said it was “entirely false” to suggest they had been responsible.
But Clarence Mitchell, who has made a few more statements than five, senses a smear camping. Says he: “I am not retracting a word. The criticism of me doesn’t explain how confidential material came to be made public with curious timing.”
FERGUS SHANAHAN: “NO PEACE FOR POOR KATE”
“Never has such a terrible personal ordeal been played on so public a stage. Yet, every night, after the backbiters have done their worst, Kate must stand in Maddie’s silent bedroom and shed her tears in private.”
DAILY STAR: “MADDIE COPS: WE DIDN’T LEAK STORY”
“The Policia Judiciaria would like to make it clear that it is entirely false to suggest the content of the news item in question reproduces material from the inquiry, which is the subject of judicial secrecy.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 15th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann | Comments (1,162)
Talk Of The Town: A Tabloid Guide To Dewsbury
“IT HAS BECOME the town that dare not speak its name,” announces the Daily Mirror.
“People outside must shudder at the thought of living in or even visiting Dewsbury in West Yorkshire. It has become a byword for everything that is bad about Britain – the Dewsbury bomber, the veil row, the toddler who nearly died after being strung up from a tree, the story of a man crucified… and now the Shannon Matthews saga.”
Strong words. But what of those who live there. Do they shudder too?
Being a good, reliable newspaper, the Mirror has tracked down an (anonymous) Dewsbury resident….
“A barman said yesterday: ‘I’m ashamed to say I’m from Dewsbury. Now, I say I’m from Leeds instead. It’s horrible living here.'”
OK, so he’s not happy. But take another look at that first paragraph. In particular, take a look at the bit that says people “must shudder”. Is that an opinion or an order?
A bit of both, it seems. The Mirror seems to have reached an opinion, and now it’s ordering us to follow its lead.
But what of the incidents from which the paper has constructed its case against Dewsbury?
Yes, Mohammed Sidique Khan was one of the London bombers. But as far as we at Anorak are aware, every other bomber (of whatever persuasion) throughout British history has come from outside Dewsbury.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 14th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Reviews, Tabloids | Comments (4)
Faces Of Evil: Karen Matthews And Amy Winehouse
THE Sun has also decided that Karen Matthews looks a bit rough, and in its normal classy way it has managed to find former partners to dish the dirt.
“Ex-boyfriends yesterday revealed the full horror of Matthews’s lifestyle, which have left her looking worn and wrinkled,” the paper announces. “According to them, the mum-of-seven has knocked back cheap wine by the bottle, gorged on junk food and puffed her way through up to 60 cigarettes a day for years.”
All that knocking back and puffing reminds us of another person whose appearance is widely commented upon by the ladies and gentlemen of the press corps. We speak, of course, of Amy Winehouse.
Here at Anorak, we Comfy-Slax-wearing types rather like Amy, We like her sense of humour. We like her attitude. We like her lovely voice. We like her retro music (“Now THAT’s more like it – it’s got a tune!”) And we don’t like the ungallant way the newspapers pick on her appearance.
However, there could be a connection here between the tired appearance of both Karen and Amy. Not booze, not fags, but housework.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 14th, April 2008 | In: Celebrities, Madeleine McCann, Tabloids | Comment (1)
Karen Matthews to Have Her Features Rearranged
AS the police turn a Dewsbury Estate into a gated community, the Star looks at Kate Matthews and her £100,000 makeover.
We are no longer looking at Shannon Matthews, nor are we looking for her; but we are looking at Karen Matthews, “Public Enemy No.1”.
The Star says Shannon Matthews is to “get plastic surgery just like Maxine”. That’s Maxine Carr, the former most hated woman in the UK who was jailed for lying to cover up her lover Ian Huntley’s murder of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells.
If comparing Karen Matthews of Maxine Carr is not enough, the Star burnishes her status by hearing from John Bretton, father to Karen’s first child. Says he: “She must have spent a fortune on cigarettes over the years. It’s the one thing she does love.”
Who knows, Matthews may even take up the offer of ten Lambert & Butler fags her fellow lags are being offered for “her head”.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 14th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Reviews, Tabloids | Comments (10)
Madeleine McCann: ‘Creepy’ Robert Murat Sues Media, FBI Investigates And Hating Kate McCann
MADDIE WATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
THE SUN: “McCanns want an FBI probe”
The FBI is America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation. Madeleine McCann is British child who went missing in Portugal.
Says the McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell: “We believe Portuguese police have been found wanting. We are asking the British Government to call for such an inquiry. It’s important for Madeleine and other missing children.”
But what of the FBI?
Kate and Gerry want a panel of missing children experts, including former US and Met police, to look at how the inquiry team handled itself.
So not an FBI probe, rather an investigation by a group of which some may be American. Read all about it!
THE GUARDIAN: “McCann case suspect issues record number of libel writs.”
One of the formal suspects in the Madeleine McCann case is to sue 12 media outlets in what may be one of the largest libel claims in the history of the British media.
It’s “creepy” “oddball” Robert Murat:
Robert Murat is demanding damages from 11 newspapers and one TV station. It is the largest number of claims ever made against different British media outlets on the same issue.
Simons Muirhead and Burton, a London-based law firm, confirmed it was “representing Robert Murat in respect of a number of libel actions”.
The case is being brought against Sky, the Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star, Daily Mail, Evening Standard, Metro, Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, News of the World, Sun and the Scotsman.
The Mirror’s Lori Campbell told the police of the “creepy” Murat. But why did she tell the press?
Watching Robert Murat
THE HERALD: “Madeleine suspect Murat could win £2m suing UK media”
Caroline Kean, of media law specialists Wiggin, said that if Mr Murat successfully argued the papers inferred he was involved in Madeleine’s abduction or murder, he could win a record payout.
She said: “You could expect £200,000 per paper, per claim, and that would clear £2m.”
DAILY TELEGRAPH: “Madeleine McCann ‘suspect’ Robert Murat sues British media for libel”
He and his family are believed to be particularly aggrieved by a number of reports in the aftermath of his being made an arguido – or official suspect – which repeated claims made by Portuguese media.
In at least one case – the false allegation that there were pornographic images on his computer – the Portuguese media later published corrections.
THE TIMES: “Brits love to torture a ‘bad mother’”
Says Melanie Reid: “In a long media career, the persecution of Kate McCann is the cruellest thing I have seen.”
Crueller than the media’s take on Robert Murat?
How many centuries of accumulated spite and misogyny, I wonder, went into the latest twist in the Madeleine McCann saga.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 14th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann | Comments (1,055)
Shannon Matthews: Benefit Fraud And Karen Matthews’ Life For Ten Lag’s Fags
SHANNON WATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Shannon Matthews
THE SUN: “Shannon mum’s claims shame”
Karen Matthews, 32 – accused over the abduction of her nine-year-old daughter – told officials she was looking after four of her seven children on her own.
But at the time that Shannon vanished for 24 days in February, she had been living for four years with her supermarket fishmonger boyfriend Craig Meehan, 22. He has been earning around £16,000 a year.
Meehan had bragged at the time of Shannon’s disappearance: “I earn the money. I put the food on the table.”
DAILY STAR: “PRICE ON HEAD OF SHANNON’S MUM – HANDFUL OF FAGS IS PRISON BOUNTY”
£16,000?
SHANNON Matthews’ mum was banged up on a prison’s isolation wing last night after lags put a bounty on her head – of 10 cigarettes.
The promise of the Lambert & Butler fags was enough to have most of the 442 queueing to attack Karen Matthews.
Which mega-bucks lag offered the reward?
DAILY MIRROR: “People of Shannon Matthews’ Dewsbury defend its reputation”
“It has become the town that dare not speak its name.”
Dewsburg.
People outside must shudder at the thought of living in or even visiting Dewsbury in West Yorkshire.
Dewston.
Cancel the summer holidays to Dewsbury, mother. We’ll have t’make do with Disneyland this year.
A barman said yesterday: “I’m ashamed to say I’m from Dewsbury. Now, I say I’m from Leeds instead.
It really is that bad.
Shannon Matthews: Where is she?
Posted: 12th, April 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Madeleine McCann, Reviews, Tabloids | Comments (50)
Madeleine McCann: McCanns Admit, Liverpool Echo Wins And A Missing Child
MADDIE WATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
DAILY EXPRESS (front page): “MADELEINE – McCANNS: OUR MISTAKE”
The paper says that Kate and Gerry McCann admit being wrong in leaving Madeleine in their holiday apartment.
THE SUN: Leaks, smears … now plane lies”
MADELEINE McCann’s parents yesterday blasted claims they and the Tapas Seven had demanded a private jet and five-star hotels to return to Portugal.
So the Mail on Sunday was wrong?
McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell angrily denied the paper’s report. He said: “No such demands have been made. All talk of private jets and five-star hotels is complete rubbish.”
DAILY MAIL: “Portuguese police leaks are ‘shameless smears’ to discredit us, say McCanns”
Police in Portugal supposedly operate in total secrecy and officers, suspects and even witnesses face jail if they speak out about ongoing investigations. But behind the scenes, officers have briefed selected journalists with a series of sensationalised claims about the 11-month hunt for Madeleine.
The McCanns have endured wild allegations that they could have drugged their children or even dumped Madeleine’s body during a publicity visit to Spain. But they are especially furious about the timing of the latest leak, which derailed a planned trip to the European Parliament to call for an improved alert system for missing children.
DAILY MIRROR (front page): “THE GLOVES ARE OFF.”
“Kate and Gerry McCann’s fury over ‘blatant’ Portuguese police leaks”
Madeleine was crying.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 12th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann | Comments (129)
Madeleine McCann: Tapas Seven, Private Jet and Rollerskating To The Moon
MADDIE WATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
MAIL ON SUNDAY: “‘Tapas Seven demanded private jet and 5-star hotels to return to Portugal for Maddie reconstruction,’ Portuguese police claim”
Tapas Nine. Sangria Seven.
Portuguese police trying to stage a reconstruction of the night Madeleine McCann disappeared are now making allegations in the Portuguese press about the McCann’s friends. They allege the “Tapas Seven” – the friends dining with Gerry and Kate McCann last May – have refused to travel unless extravagant demands, such as private jet travel and five-star hotel accommodation, are met.Judicial sources in Portugal told the tabloid newspaper 24 horas that the families had demanded the ultra-expensive flights to the Algarve for them and their children as a condition of returning.
Reporting on the reports. In any case, how else should the “Tapas Seven” get to Portugal? And should they pay for themselves?
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 11th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann | Comments (1,511)
Shannon Matthews Is Underbelly Porn
SHANNON Matthews comes from a big underclass family:
Why do so many appear obsessed with the Shannon Matthews case? It has been turned into a public exhibition of prole porn, where respectable folk can get a thrilling glimpse of society’s “dark underbelly” – and without scouring the internet.
Better than EastEnders…
Posted: 11th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Reviews | Comments (15)
Conservative MEP Accuses Kate And Gerry McCann Of ‘Gross Negligence’
THE McCanns are campaiging for improved child safety. Their daughter Madeleine McCann is missing.
They have not been charged with committing any crime. Yet an Anorak reader sends us this missive from Struan Stevenson, MEP:
Here is my reply to a letter of complaint to Struan STEVENSON MEP
———————————————‘Thanks for your email. I have agreed to join a number of prominent Euro politicians in launching a written declaration which seeks to create an amber-alert system in the EU, similar to that which exists in the US. While such a system will not stop child abduction it may help with the speedy recovery of dozens of children before they are spirited across borders. This has been the experience in the US.
As far as the McCanns are concerned, they are simply a focus for the launch of our initiative. No one, least of all they themselves, denies their gross negligence in leaving their babies unattended, however briefly, while on holiday. However, they have paid a heavy price for their mistake and I can only hope that people will have sympathy with their on-going plight.
Best wishes,
Struan
Struan STEVENSON MEP
Vice President of the EPP-ED Group
Conservative Member for Scotland
European Parliament
Was it gross negligence? A legal definition of it here and here.
Posted: 11th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Politicians | Comments (77)
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”.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 11th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann | Comments (1,234)
Shannon Matthews: Three More Family Arrested
SHANNON WATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Shannon Matthews
YORKSHIRE EVENING POST: “Shannon Matthews: Three arrested”
THREE members of Shannon Matthews’s extended family were arrested by detectives investigating the nine-year-old’s alleged abduction.
Three more. Is there room in station for them all? Might be cheaper to just turn it into a gated estate?
Amanda Hyett, 25, her sister Caroline Meehan, 29, and their mother Alice Meehan, 49, were all held on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.
The three women were questioned at Dewsbury police station.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 10th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann | Comments (5)
Karen Matthews: Mum’s Gone to Matalan, Off With Her Head And Kids Go Free
SHANNON WATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Shannon Matthews
THE SUN: “PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER 1”
No, it’s not Osama bin Laden. It’s Karen Matthews.
Metal plates covered doors and windows at the empty home of Shannon Matthews’s mother last night amid fears of attacks by vigilantes.
Says Richard Verity, 42, a joiner: “If she is found guilty I’d like to rip her head off. We’re all feeling very bitter.”
No, it really isn’t not Osama bin Laden, nor one of his henchman. It’s a joiner from Dewsbury.
And what of Karen Matthews? How did she look?
Matthews, wearing cut-price clothes specially bought for her from a branch of Matalan, was also charged with “wilfully neglecting or abandoning” the child in a manner likely to cause “unnecessary suffering or injury to her health”.
Mum’s Gone To Matalan – (note to copywriters – call me)
“Yes, yes, yes,” comes the cry from the public gallery.
DAILY MIRROR (front page): “STOP THE MOB”
“Police warn against vigilantes as Shannon mum is refused bail”
Fears for Kate Matthews that people who love kids might hurt mum-of-seven.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 10th, April 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Madeleine McCann, Tabloids | Comments (17)
McCann, Keeling, Matthews: Keith Waterhouse Plays Tabloid Bingo
McCANN, MATTHEWS. McKEOWN. Keith Waterhouse plays Anorak’s Tabloid Bingo
– the game that’s taking the press by storm.
The aim of the game is to get the names ‘McCann’, ‘Matthews’ and ‘MacKeown’ into your article.
In “As Pa Larkin used to say, it’s all perfick” Keith Waterhouse plays tabloid bingo.
A family of eight, living entirely on benefit allowances, managed to get as far as Goa for an extended holiday, where one of their number was murdered.
Scarlett Keeling. Tick.
But I find I have stubbed my toe against one of those sink estate dynasties for which the term “sub judice” might have been invented.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 10th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Tabloids | Comments (9)
Kate And Gerry McCann: Amber Alert, Spotted in Belgium And No More Foreign Holidays
MADDIE WATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
DAILY EXPRESS (front page): “MADELEINE – Kate and Gerry McCann set off on new mission”
Having donated considerable monies to the fund to find Madeleine McCann, Express Newspapers will not now abandon the McCanns. The Express is “The world’s greatest newspaper”.
The only tabloid to feature the story on its front page, the Express says: “Kate finds courage”.
“Kate McCann put on her bravest fact yesterday as she travelled to Brussels to highlight the plight of missing children.”
Madeleine McCann was, of course, spotted in Belgium, of which Brussels is the capital city. Katleen Sampermans is the “child therapist” who saw Madeleine McCann dining in a Belgian restaurant with two adults. Ms Sampermans was “100 per cent sure”. She spoke to the Express.
Kate McCann is brave in the Daily Express. The “40-year-old GP smiled as she waited with husband Gerry, 39, for a train”.
Gerry and Kate McCann have travelled to Brussels to make the case for an EU-wide alert system for missing children. A child goes missing and police, media, border controls are alerted. A warning is flashed on motorway gantries.
Could an immediate pan-European response have made a difference in their case?
“Kate finds new courage” appears on page 7, one page on from: “Sterling’s collapse sends your holiday bills soaring”.
The paper’s front page features the McCanns and the headline “SHOCK £700 INCREASE ON FAMILY HOLIDAYS”.
Madeleine McCann went missing in Portugal. The message seems clear.
THE GUARDIAN: “Kate and Gerry McCann”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 10th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann | Comments (1,359)
Karen Matthews: Red-Brown Hair, The Ducking Stool And Jailed
SHANNON WATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Shannon Matthews
DAILY TELEGRAPH: “Shannon Matthews’s mother accused of perverting the course of justice”
The mother of nine year old Shannon Matthews has been remanded in custody for her own safety after appearing in court in connection with her alleged kidnap. Neighbours of Karen Matthews packed into the public gallery to see her in the dock during a 13-minute hearing.
To the ducking stool.
What of the facts?
The charge against her are: On a day between Feb 18 and March 15 she wilfully neglected or abandoned Shannon in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering to her or injury to her health.
That between Feb 18 and March 15, with intent to pervert the course of public justice, did a series of acts which had a tendency to pervert the course of public justice by repeatedly concealing information in relation to the whereabouts of Shannon in interviews and other contacts with police and claiming to have no knowledge of her whereabouts.
And:
Miss Matthews, who has seven children to five men, was arrested on Sunday evening and underwent two days of questioning by detectives.
How did she look?
Throughout the hearing her face was shielded from the public by her long red-brown hair, but briefly glanced over at that point looking tearful.
DAILY MIRROR: “Shannon Matthews’ mum Karen remanded in custody after court appearance”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 9th, April 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Madeleine McCann, Tabloids | Comments (23)
Madeleine McCann: Back To The Fore, Back To Portugal And Back To The Scene
MADDYWATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
DAILY STAR (front page): “MADDIE MUM TO RELIVE SNATCH AGONY”
After the generous donation to the McCanns’ fighting fund, the Star now keeps missing Madeleine in the public eye.
DAILY EXPRESS (front page): “MADLEINE…”
She’s back…
“…POLICE WANT PARENTS BACK IN PORTUGAL”
Express gets Madeleine back on front page. Well, it does have a libel bill to pay…
THE HERALD: “Plan to reconstruct Madeleine’s disappearance ‘upsets’ Kate McCann”
Kate McCann is “upset” at a decision by police to invite her and Gerry back to Portugal to take part in a reconstruction, a friend of the couple said yesterday.
Portuguese officers have invited the McCanns to participate in a reconstruction of the night Madeleine vanished from their holiday apartment in the resort of Praia da Luz on May 3 last year…
The friend added: “The family will consider it. If it’s felt there’s a chance of it helping to find Madeleine then, of course, they will do it. But given it is a year on, you have to wonder about the value of it.”
But everything must be done to find Madeleine. And what of the facts?
Kate, 40, a GP, has not returned to work and has remained at home in Rothley, Leicestershire, since her daughter disappeared. Gerry, 39, has returned to work as a heart surgeon.
Such are the facts. And the reconstruction?
Says Clarence Mitchell, the McCanns’ spokesman: “However, Kate and Gerry would very much welcome a Crimewatch-style reconstruction which is broadcast for millions of people to see and could generate important new leads and fresh information.”
THE TIMES: “New anguish for Gerry and Kate McCann over police tactic”
Says Clarence Mitchell: “It’s untrue to say that Kate and Gerry have been called back or summoned back.”
Robert Murat, the other official suspect in the case, will take part in the reconstruction if he is asked to.
THE INDEPENDENT: “Portuguese police want McCanns to return”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 9th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann | Comments (936)
Shannon Matthews: Karen Matthews Arrested, Sentenced To Life In Jail And Counting The Kids
MADDYWATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Shannon Matthews
DAILY EXPRESS: “SHANNON: NOW HER MOTHER IS CHARGED WITH CHILD NEGLECT”
The mother of kidnapped schoolgirl Shannon Matthews was charged last night with perverting the course of justice and child neglect. Karen Matthews, 32, was dramatically charged after two days of questioning by detectives.
She will appear before Dewsbury Magistrates’ Court this morning. If found guilty, the mother-of-seven could face a maximum penalty of life behind bars.
Life?
DAILY TELEGRAPH: “Shannon Matthews’s mother charged by police”
The most serious charge of perverting the course of justice carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, although 10 years is the largest sentence passed in the last 100 years.
100 years?
THE TIMES: “Mother of Shannon Matthews charged with neglect”
Ms Matthews was criticised yesterday by her sister, Julie Poskitt, for apparently not knowing how many children she had. “When Shannon first went missing, Karen told everyone that she had six children,” Mrs Poskitt said. “It took her days to remember she had seven. I remember screaming at the telly, because even though I’m not their mother, I knew she had seven.”
THE SUN: “Estate is like a nastier Beirut”
One resident on Moorside Road, where Karen Matthews lived, told how cops who raided his home uncovered a stash of adult porn.
He said: “There’s nowt wrong with that. We’ve all got porn. Tell me a man who hasn’t porn in his house.”
“Shannon’s far better in care”
Anila Baig, the Sun’s sometimes-woman –in-a-hajib, is looking at the matter:
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 9th, April 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Madeleine McCann, Tabloids | Comments (18)
Shannon Matthews: The McCanns, A Shameless Scam And Paul Donovan
MADDYWATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Shannon Matthews
THE STAR: “SHANNON SNATCH ‘SCAM’”
A scam? Who would have thought it?
The mum of Shannon Matthews has allegedy confessed that her daughter’s abduction was just a Shameless scam.
Sobbing Karen Matthews, 32, was arrested on suspicion of perverting justice after reportedly telling a woman detective she had known where Shannon was all along.
Shameless? Ashamed?
In an episode of the Channel 4 comedy drama Shameless, screened just four weeks before Shannon vanished, family head Frank Gallagher’s teenage daughter Debbie staged the fake kidnap of her younger brother Liam in a bid to pocket a £500,000 ransom.
“Missing” Liam – played by Johnny Bennett, nine, – was hidden by Debbie (Rebecca Ryan, 16) at a pal’s home just down the road.
Missing children are a form of entertainment.
DAILY EXPRESS: “MUM: ‘I ALWAYS KNEW WHERE SHANNON WAS’”
The mother of kidnap girl Shannon Matthews has allegedly told police: “I knew where she was, right from day one.”
And the McCanns..?
A spokesman for the McCanns confirmed they had received approaches from “people purporting to be members of Shannon’s family” for donations from the Find Madeleine Fund, but said it had been decided not to get involved.
But the McCanns did get involved.
Gerry and Kate were “deeply concerned” at the plight of Shannon’s family. Kate, 39, said: “My heart goes out to them. We always hoped and prayed that no other family would have to suffer like we have.”
And singer Leona Lewis seized the moment to make an appeal.
THE SUN: “’Family’ beg from McCanns”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 8th, April 2008 | In: Broadsheets, Madeleine McCann, Tabloids | Comments (202)
Madeleine McCann: Tapas Nine, Tapas Seven, Three Arguidos And One Child
MADDYWATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
DAILY EXPRESS (front page): “MADELEINE: McCANN FRIENDS QUIZZED TODAY”
Madeleine McCann is returned to the Express’s front page for the first time in weeks – the first time since the paper and its siter title the Daily Star donated money to the McCanns’ fighting fund.
THE SUN: “Kate shrink facing quiz”
A top psychologist who has been treating Kate McCann is to face questioning by the Portuguese police.
Alex Pike flew to Portugal to help distraught Kate, 39, hours after daughter Maddie vanished last May and she is still his patient.Kate and husband Gerry, 40, asked cops to interview Manchester-based Mr Pike to counteract officers’ belief she behaved “suspiciously” following the disappearance.
Can the word of a therapist clear Kate McCann?
THE TIMES: “Lawyer of the Week: Adam Tudor a partner at Carter-Ruck, represents the parents of Madeleine McCann”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 8th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann | Comments (1,498)
Madeleine McCann: Paulo Rebelo Arrives And McCanns To Brussels
MADDYWATCH – Anorak’s at-a-glance guide to press coverage of Madeleine McCann
DAILY TELEGRAPH: “Madeleine McCann police due to arrive in UK”
The Portuguese police are coming.
Portuguese police are due to arrive in Britain today to observe as the friends of Kate and Gerry McCann are interviewed about the night Madeleine went missing.
And Kate and Gerry McCann?
The McCanns will not be in Leicestershire for the duration of the visit by Mr Rebelo and his team. On Wednesday, they travel to Brussels to lobby MEPs for better co-ordination between European countries when a child goes missing.
They will return to Leicestershire on Thursday evening before the Portuguese officers fly home.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: 7th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann | Comments (992)
Shannon Matthews: Karen Matthews ‘Arrested’, Michael Donovan’s Suicide And A Scam
SHANNON Watch: Anorak’s look at the case of Shannon Matthews in the media
THE SUN (front page): “SHANNON SUSPECT SLASHES WRISTS”
Page 5: “There was blood everywhere.. his life was hanging by a thread”
Unconscious Mike Donovan, 39 – who also took a drugs overdose – was saved by quick- thinking prison officers who raced to give first aid as he lay in a pool of blood.
A jail source said grimly: “His life was hanging by a thread. There was blood everywhere. He would have died but for the prompt action of staff.
“It was a deadly serious suicide bid.”
“KIDNAP QUIZ GRAN’S GRIN” – Alice Meehan is the “grinning mum” of Craig Meehan. The policeman behind her is also smiling. But he is not mentioned.
“GIRL’S SNUB STUNS MUM” – Shannon would rather play with her kitten than go home. Karen Matthews is on “suicide watch”
Karen Matthews is in a secret location. Although, the police know where she is:
“Shannon’s mum Karen is nicked” – Karen Matthews, 32, was being held on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.
PA NEWS: A West Yorkshire Police spokesman says: “Police investigating the alleged abduction of a nine-year-old girl have arrested a 32-year-old woman in Dewsbury on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.”
DAILY MIRROR (front page): “SHANNON ACCUSED SLITS HIS WRISTS – Warders foil suicide bid”
Shannon Matthews’ accused kidnapper Michael Donovan has slit his wrists.
What of Shannon’s family?
Fishmonger Craig is accused of possessing 130 indecent images of children on his computer. His mother Alice Meehan and sister Amanda Hyett were both arrested and freed on bail in connection with Shannon’s kidnap.
Alice, 49, Donovan’s sister, was quizzed on suspicion of perverting the course of justice. Amanda, 25, who lives next door to the house Craig shared with Shannon’s mum Karen was questioned on suspicion of assisting an offender. Karen, 32, is mother of six other children.
DAILY EXPRESS (front page): “SHANNON SUSPECT SLASHES WRISTS”
Page 9: “MAN ACCUSED OF SHANNON’S KIDNAP TRIES TO KILL HIMSELF”
Michael Donovan:
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said it was a “serious case of self harm” and that the warders who found him had acted “with great professionalism”.
A jail source said: “His condition is being assessed by a psychiatrist who will try to determine how serious a bid it was to end his life.
“He has apparently tried to claim it was more of a ‘cry for help’. But he will now be viewed as a genuine suicide risk and watched extremely closely.”
And Shannon?
During a three-hour visit on Wednesday – only the second time Karen had seen Shannon since she was found – the mother-of-seven broke down and begged her daughter to come home.
Shannon is said to have replied: “No. I don’t want to come home. I want to go back to my kitten.”
Karen’s mother, June Matthews, who is planning to launch a custody bid for Shannon, said: “During the meeting both Karen and Shannon seemed quite happy but Karen broke down when it was time for Shannon to leave and begged her to come home.
“That must have been devastating for Karen. But it is good news that Shannon is so happy.”
DAILY STAR (front page): “SHANNON SNATCH SUSPECT SLASHES WRISTS”
THE man accused of snatching little Shannon Matthews was rushed to hospital yesterday after trying to kill himself in jail.
Not big Shannon, then?
Detectives are probing claims the youngster’s “abduction” was a family scam to rake in cash after they had seen public donations pour into a fund set up to help find missing Madeleine McCann.
A scam?
Posted: 7th, April 2008 | In: Madeleine McCann, Tabloids | Comments (112)
