According to the diary, it all looked very promising for the next trip home:
KATE’S DIARY -SUNDAY, JUNE 17: Cherie Blair (then the Premier's wife) phoned to find out how we were.
We talked about everything in general, including about them leaving Number 10. She agreed as well to make a 20-second video clip for our broadcast on YouTube about Madeleine and children who have disappeared.
I also had the chance to speak to Tony (then Prime Minister) who told me that we weren't to hesitate to ask him if there was something he could do to help. unquote
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19th June 2007:
Gerry McCann arrives just before midday at Gatwick, London.
This visit to the UK lasts some 36 hours which are full of interest and incident.
First: Dr. McCann saves the life of an octagenarian midway on the flight from Faro to Gatwick. Reports vary: the man fainted and Gerry offers assistance or the man was given oxygen and Gerry saved his life.
Gerry’s Blog: Day 47 - 19/06/2007 - Tuesday
Flew in to London to for a series of meetings. Helped a passenger on the flight who collapsed. He was ill enough to require a full assessment on arrival and went off to hospital in an ambulance.
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The Irish Independent ran the story on the 21st:
The father of Madeleine McCann helped to save the life of a fellow passenger who had collapsed on his flight to London - then had his wallet stolen shortly after landing. unquote
No report of an ambulance awaiting the stricken passenger.
No other passengers getting their bit of publicity in ‘because they were there!’
No airline honoured to have had the life-saver on board.
No captain or steward/stewardesses telling the media anything at all.
The only source for this event is Gerry’s blog.
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Second: (From the same blog entry)
Unfortunately shortly after arriving in London I had my wallet stolen which meant I was running late. I did manage to get to all my meetings which ran late into the evening.[..]
Questions:
Waterloo Station is definitely not where one arrives from Gatwick, one arrives at Victoria Station. However, the Law Courts are just across the bridge and I believe the Ward of Court issue would certainly have needed the presence of at least one parent to discuss the matter, so that is one possibility.
The Evening Standard reported that London police had said they 'had no record of the theft being reported to officers'. In addition, Clarence Mitchell confirmed that Gerry had attended a meeting at London's foreign office, on Tuesday, but 'could not immediately confirm details of the theft'. ( source: Mccannfiles.com)
According to Philomena, Gerry took £ 100,- out of the ATM and lost it when putting something in his rucksack.
Although according to Mrs. Healey, ‘Gerry is not clear exactly how his wallet was stolen’.
Dr. Roberts 1) has pointed out that the sequence of events makes no sense. Not a strong point in any of the McCann stories.
Furthermore, losing your bank- and credit cards means notifying your bank and police at the very least and this is quite time-consuming as anyone who has ever lost a wallet will know.
But then the PJ were notified that they had no credit or debit cards. 2)
But from the summary of the ‘Truth of the Lie’ (McCannfiles.com):
74 - The time of the questioning of the McCanns is close and Stuart Prior seems nervous. The PJ also wished to re-question the whole group. Very little info on the McCanns arrives regarding their financial situation. According to UK authorities the McCanns have no credit card or ATM cards. However, the flights had been paid with credit cards so the PJ knew they had them. unquote
Day 57 - 29/06/2007 - Friday [...]
Our friends brought back my wallet which had been returned, needless to say minus the Sterling, although all my cards and €30 were still in it! It is good to have my driving license back and one or two other important things.
The timeline of the return of the wallet is a little strange - it involves several postings (London to Queeniborough then on to Rothley). Normal procedure for most pickpockets is to post the wallet in any postbox, the post office passes them to the police. Who eventually find the owner. Or not.
But supposing a posting by mail, supposing a second posting to Rothley, supposing friends from Amsterdam on their way to Portugal to play golf (several flights a day from Schiphol to Algarve) - and coincidentally, the two precious photos are from Amsterdam: John McCann: ‘Gerry had his wallet stolen en there were two pictures of Madeleine taken when they lived in Amsterdam’ - that would all have to happen within 9/10 days.
Those 30 Euros, definitely worth twenty pounds at the time and Marks & Spencers do not charge commission. Unless this was a subtle way to remind the faithful that Euro (rubbish from rubbish country) wasn’t even worth stealing but Sterling! (note the capital letter) was. 3)
The only source is Gerry’s blog, subsequently his relatives and Mitchell who didn’t know exactly...
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The blog informs us further:
We are exploring the use of new media and using local advertising, particularly in Europe.
Unquote
Would this be the occasion when Bell Pottinger were paid half a million to keep Maddie on the front pages? Considering that the incidents were something for the press to work with (Dr. McCann saves life and Dr. McCann is robbed of precious - photographs of Maddie stolen!) they did not appear on all the front pages and front pages were what Lord Bell appears to have promised and achieved. ( see post 13th May: Press and the McCanns).
Day 48 - 20/06/2007 - Wednesday
Another busy day of meetings this time in Leicester. No mishaps thankfully.The main meeting was that of Maddeleines(sic) fund where we discussed implementing a strategy to maintain our campaign to find Madeleine. [..] We are delighted with the response to the 50th day balloon launch which will truly be a global event. There will be a few variations to the release of balloons however. In Ventura, Southern California, 50 white doves will be released and in Afghanistan kite racing, an activity banned under the Taliban, will be the order of the day. Unquote
The 50 day ‘global’ event may not have been that global, but we are informed about far-flung parts of the world such as Afghanistan where the wording gives the impression that there is a political link to this kite-flying. Certainly a plug for a successful liberation of oppressed Afghanistan and surely New Labour would have approved of this pat on the shoulder from the great man. Another interpretation is that they were flying kites in Afghanistan anyway, because that’s what they like to do. The number 50 isn’t mentioned and I for one cannot believe hat Afghanistan kite-flyers were that well informed. Which would have made it an ideal country to visit with the left-over posters in Arabic from Morocco.
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KATE’S DIARY: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20: [..]Went to pick up Gerry from the airport. It was so good to see him. Just before we reached the apartment we saw a man lying in the middle of the street, so we stopped the car and got out. It was no surprise to see that he was drunk (we've all been there!) but he recognised Gerry and me immediately. Gerry walked him round to his apartment.
11 - Processo Vol 11 Page 2945 to 2956.
In a letter direct to Goncalo Amaral from DCCB dated 27th September 2007 (Vol 11 Page 2945 - pt5):
[..]
- With regard to the possible sighting of arguido Gerry McCann next to a pink coloured block of apartments at a site opposite the Luz cemetery, we can inform you that this is an establishment called ‘St. James Portuguesa Lda’, lots 1 and 2 being situated in the positions mentioned, from the outside the spaces corresponding to Lot 1 can be seen of a total of apartment designated as floors: 101-104, 111-114, 121-124, 105-109, 115-119, 125-129.
in Lot 2 there are some apartments with T3 typology.
the buildings in question have 3 pavements, whose access to the different areas is visible from the outside, as they consist of an open perimeter and there are several commercial establishments at ground level.
In view of the number of buildings and given the scarce information provided it does not seem to us to be viable, immediately, to take measures to prove or disprove the elements provided.
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Returning from Faro airport, the most likely route is A22, N120, N125 from there take a left on M537-1. turn right into R. do Cemiterio or carry on over the crossing on R. Primero de Maio where the OC is almost immediately on the left.
Is it possible that the drunk in the road was the explanation given before the question is asked? From the above quoted letter it seems clear that the PJ had fairly detailed information, that is: type of apartment, the location and the access being visible from outside appear to be part of the information given to the PJ.
Gerry went to the UK to find another Press officer, but we hear nothing about Justine McGuinness from the blog until later. The meeting of the directors of the Ltd.Co. however is interesting in view of the fact that the publicity seems to have been dying down. No photographs of the trip, no witnesses to a life-saving event interviewed by anybody.
Despite the claims that the McCanns were constantly surrounded by photographers and press, there is not one photograph of this trip.
Perhaps that arrangement with Bell Pottinger was very necessary, only 50 days into the new lifestyle and the press seemed to have lost interest. There was no follow-up from the press ( e.g. interview with Dr. McCann on his life-saving technique) no front page news.
Of interest is that - despite having been told to ask the Blairs for help anytime - there is no mention of a meeting between Gerry and Blair, although the Evening Standard has Gerry’s wallet stolen in Whitehall, not Waterloo.
Surely this was a golden opportunity to plead with them to let them have Clarence Mitchell on indefinite loan?
Further reading:
Gerry McCann used two credit cards according to information from DI Gary Watts, from Leicestershire Constabulary, to Frances Kennah, head of UK Central Authority, a Home Office department in charge of the cooperation with foreign police forces [..] A previous report about the financial situation of the McCann couple and their friends, produced by the Economic Crime Unit from Leicestershire Constabulary, found no records of credit cards or loans from Kate and Gerry McCann. A request sent by PJ to British Authorities, asking for details about Gerry McCann’s credit card transaction for a period of six months, starting on April 1, six weeks before Madeleine’s disappearance, was considered disproportionate by Frances Kennah, the Head of UK Central authority.
Gerry mentions on 19th that he and Kate will be less public on the campaign front to ensure the twins privacy, something that must have been discussed at some point during the day. He also mentions that some large companies are prepared to help with the campaign - something that never seemed to materialize.
ReplyDeleteQuite a change from the 17th of May, when Michael Wright read out a statement to the press which stated:
ReplyDeleteWhilst none of us are experts in campaigning, the situation we have found ourselves in has galvanised us into action and made us think creatively. We are leaving no stone unturned and we have a huge number of campaign partners who are helping us to do that from sporting celebrities to big business.
Top of the list are the UK and Portuguese media, in particular, who have played a huge part in maintaining the profile of this case and the awareness of Madeleine. We need your continued support and now need to increase the coverage right across Europe.
Our campaign has started with an expansive poster distribution across Europe and our partners include multi-nationals from the oil, banking, telecoms and retail sectors. Other multi-national companies have already started to include Madeleine's image on every outgoing e-mail.
The response to yesterday's launch has been huge. The official website has received over 5 million hits today and the scale of response has brought some difficulties and they are being dealt with.
But this is just the start. Each day brings more offers of help and new ideas. We are open to anything that will bring Madeleine home. If anyone wants to offer practical help we can be reached at 'campaign @ bringmadeleinehome . com'.
Thank you."
unquote -
I particularly like this part:
our partners include multi-nationals from the oil, banking, telecoms and retail sectors. Other multi-national companies ..unquote
Just remind me, this was a four year old girl abducted by paedophiles they were looking for or did I miss something? The above sounds like a big business Enterprise - which didn't come off in the end. Would have loved to hear all those 'partners' names, Shell, BP?....ah well.