January 2008 to 1st May 2008

January 2008

2/1Last night Murat’s lawyer, Francisco Pagarette, claimed that detectives now believe he is innocent and are preparing to lift his arguido status tomorrow – exactly eight months after Madeleine vanished.

3/1

Gerry returns to work

Gerry McCann returns to full-time work today - exactly eight months after his daughter Madeleine disappeared.

The McCanns hire a new detective

It emerged today the McCanns have hired a detective who investigated a 7/7 suicide bomber. Noel Hogan is conducting a "cold case" review. The former Met detective superintendent, who runs the agency Hogan International, in Farnham said: "I have been reinterviewing witnesses that were out in Portugal at the time." It is understood these include friends of the McCanns

3/1

 Irish family's Maddie quiz The Sun

From VERONICA LORRAINE in Praia da Luz

Published: 03 Jan 2008

PRIVATE detectives hunting for Madeleine McCann are to quiz an Irish family who may have been the last to see her alive.

7/1

Claims that blood traces were definitely Madeleine's

It is claimed that blood traces discovered in Kate and Gerry McCann's hire car were from Madeleine. A Portuguese newspaper alleges that tests conducted at the FSS in Birmingham show conclusively that the blood is that of the four-year-old.

O'Brien and Tanner named as two who wanted to change story . Dr Russell O'Brien and his partner Jane Tanner are named as the two friends reported last year to have told police they wanted to change their account of that evening.

8/1

Madeleine: The MovieIt is reported that Kate and Gerry McCann are in talks to turn the story of their missing daughter Madeleine into a movie. They are negotiating with one of the world’s largest talent and entertainment agencies, IMG, over the film in a deal which could be worth millions. The couple are also considering a book deal and selling interviews to television broadcaster with all proceeds going to the Madeleine Fund, the body set up to finance the search for the girl. It is understood the enormous costs of funding the continued search for Madeleine is proving a strain on the fund. There are fears that the £1.2 million raised from public donations will soon run out. A source close to the McCanns said: "We would only get involved with something done sensitively and considerately." The team that made Touching The Void, an award-winning drama-documentary about the fight for survival of two British climbers lost on a mountain, are the most likely to be involved in the Maddy film project.

It will be discussed at a meeting of the fund's directors, including Gerry, tomorrow night at the McCanns' home in Rothley, Leicestershire. It is reported that the meeting tomorrow follows the resignation of key board members, including the fund's spokeswoman Esther McVey. 

9/1

Madeleine's Fund running out of money?  It is reported that the search by Gerry and Kate McCann for their missing daughter may be grinding to a halt by the first anniversary of her disappearance because the Find Madeleine fund is running out of money. The fund, currently at £600,000, is spending £50,000 a month, mostly on the private detective agency Metodo 3.

As we know from the post here: Socratic questioning of the methods of Metodo, parts one and two, Metodo weren’t exactly getting that amount. What appears to be true however, was that they followed instructions. 1)

17/1

Concern mounts over delay by British authorities - Concern is mounting in Portugal over the time British authorities are taking to respond to official requests to interview the McCanns' friends and seize the couple's personal items, including 39-year-old Kate's diary.

French website, SOS Madeleine McCann, claims that an internal source from the British Home Office confirmed yesterday that the letters of request from the Portuguese authorities, calling for the interrogation of several British citizens, including friends of the couple McCann, indeed arrived, but the Secretary of State for the Interior, Jacqui Smith, had decided not to grant them an immediate response.

25/1  McCanns accused of wasting Madeleine's Fund money

Kate and Gerry McCann were accused today of wasting ''astonishing'' sums of money raised by public donations by looking for their missing daughter Madeleine in Morocco.

26/1

McCanns in talks for £1million chat show deal

The parents of Madeleine McCann are in talks to strike a £1million deal with two of America's biggest chat show stars. Kate and Gerry McCann are at the centre of a bidding war between Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters.

Both celebrities are desperate to land an exclusive deal for the couple to talk about their missing daughter. If it goes ahead, it will be the largest publicly-known amount ever paid for a broadcast interview.

The McCanns, both 39, say they have been forced to consider the bids because their £1.2million Find Madeleine appeal fund is expected to run dry by June. But the move, expected to earn them £1million, will horrify those who have already accused them of cashing in since their daughter, then three, vanished from their holiday apartment in Portugal last May.

The couple's representatives have already met with producers to discuss turning the eight-month investigation into the disappearance into a film and could earn up to another £1million from selling the film and book rights. Earlier this month, they faced widespread criticism over their decision to give an interview to glossy society magazine Vanity Fair.

Last night, their spokesman Clarence Mitchell confirmed that representatives of Mr and Mrs McCann had held talks with producers from both shows, which attract huge audiences in the U.S. But he denied they were selling their story to the highest bidder and said money would not be the deciding factor. The couple will appear on the show which can best help to search for Madeleine, he insisted.

McCanns try to 'play down' bidding war 

Sky News reports that Kate and Gerry McCann have been approached to appear on the Oprah Winfrey show and for an interview with American network ABC. The couple's spokesman confirmed that they had been approached by US TV executives.

McCanns discuss new documentary

It is reported that Kate and Gerry McCann are holding talks with broadcasters about a second TV documentary on their daughter's disappearance, a spokesman for the couple said on Saturday. The couple would request a ''donation'' to the Find Madeleine appeal fund in exchange for their involvement.

The McCanns hope the documentary will put pressure on European countries to adopt an alert system similar to one used in the United States to provide rapid notification to all states when a child goes missing. The AMBER system, standing for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response, is named after Amber Hagerman, a Texas girl kidnapped and murdered in 1996.

29/1

Police say McCanns hindering investigation

Police in Portugal claim Kate and Gerry McCann are hindering the probe into missing Madeleine by releasing sketches of the possible kidnapper. Detectives say officers have checked out several sightings of the "creepy" stalker that came to nothing, wasting their time.

Portuguese police accuse Home Secretary Jacqui Smith of stalling the investigation

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith was yesterday accused of stalling the Madeleine McCann investigation. Portuguese police said the nine-month case had reached "a stalemate" because the Home Office had failed to respond to a list of demands sent almost a month ago.

Investigators sent a formal letter of appeal to Whitehall on January 7, asking that the seven friends who dined with Kate and Gerry McCann on the night of May 3 should face fresh police interrogations. Three weeks have passed and the Home Office has yet to make any response to the letter, the Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha reported.

30/1   McCanns warn over libel action

Madeleine McCann's parents have not ruled out suing newspapers and websites that they believe have libeled them.

Fresh blow for McCanns as Portuguese legal advisors rule out lifting 'arguido' status

Kate and Gerry McCann have stopped reading the "tittle-tattle" written about them in the press - but their representatives are keeping an eye on any "rubbish" printed in the press they believe to be defamatory.31/1McCanns 'not suspects in UK' according to Clarence Mitchell

British police do not consider Madeleine McCann's parents suspects in her disappearance, according to the couple's spokesman. Clarence Mitchell said officials, including child protection workers, had assured him in private briefings that they were treating the case as one of "rare stranger abduction".

Note: This is what Clarence Mitchell actually said:

'I've also had briefings privately from the police and CEOP, Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre', before I went out the first time, that also gave me complete reassurance that the authorities in this country, certainly, are treating this as a case of rare stranger abduction - as they call it'.

Notice these private briefings happened 'before I went out the first time' - Clarence is talking about briefings that happened in May 2007 when most people knew very little of what had actually happened.  

February 2008

Media report Kate stops work (although in fact she hasn’t worked since 4/07) to concentrate on working for children’s charities.

The word ‘ambassador’ is mentioned again. Amber Alert System and Missing Children Europe as well as International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children and CEOP are all mentioned frequently in the media.

Despite the statements in December, Metodo3 contract is renewed.

4/2  Divers search remote reservoir for Madeleine's body after underworld tip-off

7/2  The letters rogatory for the purpose of re-questioning the McCanns and their seven friends who dined with them at a restaurant in the Ocean Club, Praia da Luz, Algarve, have now been forwarded for the second time to the British Home Office,

 9/2 [..]

Police are to give Kate and Gerry McCann the chance to clear their names over daughter Maddie’s disappearance. The couple, who have been official suspects in the case for five months, will be asked by Portuguese detectives to respond to 40 questions. Sources say that unless there are “screaming contradictions” the couple will be cleared.

17/2 Meanwhile, it is understood Kate McCann is quitting her job as a locum GP to devote her life to children's charities. Mrs McCann has not returned to work since Madeleine's disappearance in May and has reportedly told friends she feels she has a lot to offer charity organisations. 

The couple want to campaign for a Europe-wide alert system for missing children, like the amber alert system in place in the U.S. The McCanns attended a lunch for Missing Children Europe last week and they have both met with officials from the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children and the Centre for Child Exploitation and Online Protection.

7/3

The McCanns have made official complaints to Richard Desmond's newspaper group about its coverage in the Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday through London law firm Carter Ruck, which specialises in high profile libel cases.

12/3

Forbidden to write about Madeleine Jornal de Noticias

The journalists of Express Newspapers, the British media group that holds four tabloids, are forbidden to write about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

26/3

Kate and Gerry McCann are taking part in an ITV documentary to mark a year since their daughter Madeleine went missing, it has been revealed.

March 2008:

From the start of the month the McCanns make official complaints about the Express group through Carter Ruck.

From the 12th of March journalist of that group are forbidden to write about the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

By the 19th a pay out of 550.000 is agreed.

Preparations and slow negotiations with Jaqui Smith enabled the PJ to finally set a date for the Rogatory Interviews. The McCanns are not part of the RI and will not be required to answer  the 40 questions which still haven’t been answered.

Eventually a total of 11 newspapers were sued by Murat, the T7 and the McCanns.

The media published almost only favourable reports on the McCanns from then on. As by that date the public suffered a Pavlovian reaction – buying a paper whenever the iconic photo was displayed - the newspapers didn’t suffer financially.

April 2008

The Rogatory Interviews take place in London. The PJ attend most of these.

During the time these interviews take place the McCanns are in Brussels, promoting their ambassadorial ambitions and Amber Alert. Despite the fact that this scheme was already under discussion in 2006 and several countries had signed an agreement, the media reported this as an initiative of the McCanns.

Early in the month the result of the Arade dam search is prominent.

Amaral comes in for a lot of bad press as do the PJ in general. The media now have only one thing to report, the innocence and persecution of the McCanns.

The McCanns are asked to take part in a reconstruction. Returning to Portugal may be ‘dangerous’. The press agrees.

Newspapers are full of articles on Kate’s emotional state, the Amber Alert and demands by TM to have the FBI investigate the ‘botched’ work of the PJ. Near the end of the month the run-up to the inevitable ‘first year’ remembrance performance is widely published.

The anti-PJ publicity is at its height. Articles on PJ leaking information to ‘smear’ the McCanns. Amaral resigns from the PJ. The xenophobic press is having a field day.

April 27, 2008

By Lori Campbell:

‘Anguished Kate and Gerry McCann are to write a book about their year of hell since little Madeleine disappeared. (So not a book about Madeleine then…).

The couple are desperate to tell the truth of their ordeal and plan to publish a tell-all book with the help of a ghost-writer - with all proceeds going to the Find Madeleine Fund.’

Amaral’s book has not been announced in the press. As far as I know the first time it is reported is in July 2008.

In short: by the end of the first year the hatches are battened down, the McCanns are more secure. Amaral is gone but the bad news is that he is publishing a book.

At this fairly early stage - from January onwards  there are plans for:

a full feature film

a second documentary

a US talk show

a book - all with hefty price tags.

Security:

the media are gagged - a payment of 550.000 by Express Newspapers is agreed.

no interviews of the McCanns by the LP or the PJ will take place

witnesses and ‘friends’ have been brought into line.

Careers:

Kate has ‘given up work’ to be ‘ambassador’ for children’s charities.

Gerry is working full time - although taking a full and active part in the presentation of Amber Alert Europe in Brussels. There is still hope that the ambassadorial roles for both the McCanns will eventually be realised.

The drive to obtain some kind of official position as ambassadors for children’s charities is at the forefront here, whilst no doubt negotiations and further damage limitation goes on behind the scenes - in effect a firewall has been  created.

And finally something so familiar: The Sun’s headlines on 31^st August 2016

maddie cash crisis

Kate and Gerry McCann desperate for new donations as search fund is down to last £46k

More than £4.2million has been donated since Maddie disappeared in Portugal in 2007. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1701671/kate-and-gerry-mccann-desperate-for-new-donations-as-search-fund-is-down-to-last-46k/

by sam christie

31st August 2016, 12:09 pm

 and so it goes on ... 

1) (from Amazon comments)  Cyr Jimenez Says: 
February 8th, 2012 at 12:06 pm

I have said that the McCanns NEVER looked for Madeleine because, while their friends were knocking on doors waking up the dead that evening asking everybody to look for the little girl that ‘had been abducted’, it was later established that her parents never moved from their apartment but were busy deleting compromising calls from their mobiles. (This is on record too).
When it was generally felt that the McCanns were not doing enough to find Madeleine and no Portuguese detective agency would touch them, they resorted to a well-known Barcelona Agency to which they paid a substantial sum (€50,000 from memory. It was not their money, was it?). The Agency immediately made a big song and dance of informing the world that they knew Madeleine was being held in Morocco and they were going to get her. I was furious.

It took me a while but in the end I managed to speak to the Managing Director in clear Spanish. I asked how was it that a Detective Agency of their standing could make such a ridiculous assertion making it known ‘they knew Madeleine was held in Morocco and they were going to get her’. He tried to wriggle out of it but in the end he said ‘DON’T ASK ME. THAT’S THE PARENTS STRATEGY’.
I am in no doubt that the truth will be known and Justice will be done IN THE END. It is doubly unfortunate that the ‘incident’ took place at the start of the Algarve tourist season so crucial for the Portuguese economy. Otherwise the Judiciária would have cut out all the pussyfooting from the outset.
Unquote