Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The McCann Connection: Now I See

At the very end of the article below, the writer, Peter Burden, asks:

If the MPs had asked Yates if he knew who sponsored the Annual Police Bravery awards, I wonder if they would have been surprised to hear that it is in fact the Screws stable-mate, the Sun,

Well, I can't speak for the MPs, but I'm most certainly surprised to be made aware of this little nugget. And having been made aware of it; my, how things do drop into place.

What am I talking about? Probably the most singular bizarre incident in the whole of the Madeleine McCann affair, even more bizarre than Jim Gamble's unequivocal support of Kate and Gerry McCann, the appearance as guest of honour of Gerry McCann, at the NPIA's Annual Police Bravery awards; sponsors, as we now know, News International.

Pray forgive me if this is common knowledge, as you will have no doubt gathered, this is a revelation to me.



Before the article in question, two brief histories.

Madeleine's father hails UK police Friday, 13 Jul 2007

The father of missing four-year-old Madeleine McCann has praised the "sterling work" of police officers and detectives in the UK.

Speaking at the National Police Federation annual bravery awards last night, Gerry McCann said the role of police forces was "often not appreciated until you really need their help".

Leaving his wife Kate and two young twins behind in Portugal, Mr McCann has flown to Britain to talk to police involved in the search for his daughter. She remains missing after being abducted from her bed while she slept at a holiday resort in Praia da Luz, the Algarve, on May 3rd.

He will also visit the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre later today to discuss their role in aiding Portuguese police find Madeleine.
At last night's award ceremony, attended by Prince Charles, Mr McCann received a standing ovation from police officers, which he described as a "humbling" experience.

"The vast majority of [police officers] that I managed to speak to are, like us, very optimistic that we will find Madeleine safe and well," he wrote later on his online blog. more
- - -

And this from the inimitable Blackwatch.


Grooming the McCanns: Amber Alert, the Prüm Treaty and Government Interference in the McCann Case
Author Blackwatch 12/08/2009

How The Madeleine Case Supported the Extension of Amber Alert System and the EU's Prüm Treaty To The Remaining 27 Member States - And How Downing Street Obliged

In response to the question, how will the McCanns be remembered, one Mirror Forum member wrote:

“they will become a leading force in the world to get rid of the hidden evil in our society, and to out those who try to cover up for the tragedies these criminals can cause”.

For a couple who were at this time suspects in their daughter's disappearance, the statement brokered something of a paradox; just how could these two ordinary individuals who had been openly pilloried for their routine negligence transform themselves into credible figureheads for law-enforcement overnight? Within the time it took to finish one glass of wine and discover one of your children missing, the McCanns exchanged their prison-issue denims for outfits tailored to a more 'practical' design.

And what at first had sounded like a most absurd suggestion by one deluded forum member steadily acquired some semblance of authority.

GERRY IS HONOURED AT POLICE BRAVERY AWARDS FOR A LIFETIME (WELL 6 WEEKS OR SO) OF SERVICES TO … MISSING KIDS AND STUFF ... JULY 2007

Retracing our steps to mid-July 2007 and we find ourselves standing alongside hundreds of dumbfounded uniformed officers at the Dorchester Hotel, invited from our seats by senior personnel to applaud one Gerald P McCann at the Police Bravery Awards. First we’d had the poignant video of his daughter, then the speech praising both UK Officers and the Polícia Judiciária, now we had the standing ovation. And for what? Just what were we honouring? Gerry’s contribution to ‘what’ exactly? One of the serving South Yorkshire officers receiving an award there that night described it as one of the most surreal events of his life. Sitting at his table was none other than Gerry McCann, 1500 metre junior running medallist and celebrated kidnap personality. And he wasn’t just down on the guest-list; Gerry was guest of honour. It was like having Mark Stanley - the man responsible for shutting the doors on the Herald of Free Enterprise as it left Zeebrugge - guest-of honour at the annual Maritime and Coastguard awards.

Naturally, not even this prepared us for what was to come. But just how did we get to this stage?

I HAVE A DREAM – GERRY’S EPIPHANY – FIRST WE TAKE MANHATTAN THEN WE TAKE BERLIN

In mid-June, in an interview given to the Catholic newspaper, The Tablet, Gerry McCann told of an "extraordinary experience" inside the church in Praia da Luz just days after Madeleine's disappearance:

"I had this mental image of being in a tunnel and instead of the light at the end of the tunnel being extremely narrow and a distant spot, the light opened up and the tunnel got wider and wider and went in many different directions .... I can't say it was a vision because I am not clear what a vision is but I had a mental image and it certainly helped me decide. I became a man possessed that night. The next day I was up at dawn, making phone calls."

At this point in time Madeleine has been missing, presumed abducted, for little more than 3 weeks. But in what can only be described as an epiphany or profound breakthrough, Gerry McCann is sufficiently inspired and transformed enough to pursue a totally new direction. At a time when most people in his position are coming round from the effects of a mild sedative Gerry decides to resign his position at Glenfield Hospital and spearhead a campaign on behalf of missing and exploited children everywhere. His mission starts modestly enough; a meeting with SOS Crianca, the main child welfare non-governmental organisation in Portugal and then to London for a meeting at the Headquarters of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre. And then things start getting a little giddy. Gerry visits the National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children in Washington, bonds with the US attorney general Gonzales at the justice department, grapples at the White House with the First Lady's deputy chief of staff, Sarah Armstrong and follows it up with a mid-afternoon jog up Capitol Hill for meetings with Democrat congressman Nick Lampson and Republican Senator Robert Shelby.

And then, of course, we have that ill-timed appointment in Edinburgh with Kirsty Wark who interviews Gerry at the Edinburgh International TV festival, shortly before he and his wife are declared formal suspects.

Not bad for a couple from Leicester who were presumed reckless enough to leave their daughter unattended for several nights of the week on a jolly old Summer Holiday with their mates in Portugal. There is a great deal more to this article which can be found here.

- - -

The article in question, from 2009 no less. And only discovered in researching an article to come, on Yates of the Yard misuse of public funds in hiring Carter-Ruck in an attempt to gag solicitor Mark Lewis. But more of that later.


MET ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER JOHN YATES DENIES THE BLEEDING OBVIOUS
September 7th, 2009

A curious, alarming anomaly was revealed last Wednesday during a session of the Commons Culture, Media, Sport Committee. A very senior police officer told the committee that while investigating the News of the World phone-tapping incident, an unequivocal piece of evidence had not convinced his officers that it required further investigation.

This evidence was the now infamous email sent from junior screws hack, Ross Hall (AKA Hindley) to contract private investigator, Glenn Mulcaire, which said: ‘This is the transcript for Neville,’ with the transcript of a message left on the voicemail of Gordon Taylor, boss of the PFA, intercepted and recorded by Mulcaire.

Mulcaire pleaded guilty to hacking into Taylor’s voicemail after he’d also admitted to hacking into the voicemails of members of the Clarence House staff. He was jailed for these offences (which the News of the World encouraged him to commit by giving him a special contract signed by former Screws news editor, Greg Miskiw), and he served his sentence.

The Metropolitan Police investigation, headed by Detective Chief Superintendent Philip Williams, decided that despite the email’s clear reference to senior Screws hack, Neville Thurlbeck, clearly connecting him to an illegally acquired phone message, there was no basis for questioning Thurlbeck. There was, they said, no evidence to put to him or any other News of the World staff whose names had cropped in connection with this entirely unroyal-related hacking.

If this seems strangely lacking in diligence on their part, it seems even more so after hearing evidence given to the committee, after the police had appeared, by Mark Lewis, the lawyer who successfully sued the News of the World on behalf of Gordon Taylor. We learned from him that after he had acquired a court order requesting documentary evidence of Taylor’s complaint from the Metropolitan Police, Detective Sergeant Mark Maberly told Lewis that he “wasn’t having everything, but we’ll give you enough to hang the News of the World over Gordon Taylor”.

This statement, as reported by Lewis is unequivocal, and it’s out of the question that he would dissemble in front of a Parliamentary Committee. Besides, the Screws offered a £1m to shut Taylor up before the case got to court, so the evidence clearly was damning (for they had denied any knowledge of the offence until Lewis produced the Met’s evidence).

Why on earth didn’t the Met choose to prosecute the paper themselves when they had such a clear case? Lewis’s evidence makes a nonsense of what Asst Com Yates had told the committee only half and hour before. He should be called in again to explain himself.

The police had been asked by one of the MPs about their relationship with the News of the World. Not surprisingly Yates offered some weasel stuff about needing to a have a relationship with such an “important newspaper”.

If the MPs had asked Yates if he knew who sponsored the Annual Police Bravery awards, I wonder if they would have been surprised to hear that it is in fact the Screws stable-mate, the Sun, and the News International top brass all attend this lavish ceremony each year, including of course Rebekah (née Wade) Brooks now CEO of News International, and, no doubt, a good friend of the Met brass-hats. [see: http://www.peterburden.net/archives/280 ] And I’ve long wondered why the Met have so often gone along with some of the absurdly fanciful ‘criminal investigations’ spun out of nowhere by Screws star, Mazher Mahmood. Peter Burden.net


21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gerry McCann told of an "extraordinary experience" inside the church in Praia da Luz just days after Madeleine's disappearance. "I became a man possessed that night. The next day I was up at dawn, making phone calls."

"I was desperately hoping that Madeleine would be back before the cat got washed. In the end Cuddle Cat smelt of suntan lotion and everything. I forgot what colour it was."
Talking about the night she went missing, she said: "I can't remember when I picked Cuddle Cat up. I don't think I did touch Cuddle Cat. I knew straight away a crime had been committed, we had no doubt about that."
"I look back sometimes and think 'you didn't do that badly. We were very conscious of not touching things." (Kate McCann)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/
news/uk/article2188493.ece

Yes and Jesus loves kitkat; such an unforgettable week, our holiday too, à suivre.

Anonymous said...

Jordan R‏
@JordyR

Why does Gerry McCann, a useless doctor who lost his child, think his opinion is worth anything when it comes to politics?

https://twitter.com/JordyR/status/275209488947085312

Anonymous said...

The relationship between Church and State is an on-going balancing act but the day before the interview, the new First Minister had phoned O’Brien to put him in touch with the family of Madeline McCann, after Alex Salmond had met Maddie’s aunt at a Celtic match and she had asked for the cardinal’s number. She clearly believed that the church held the balance of power in that particular heartwrenching struggle.

The irony is not lost on O’Brien. “Sure, that’s the way that politics and religion can come together. Just to help people.”


http://www.holyrood.com/2013/02/from-the-archive-interview-with-cardinal-keith-obrien-11-06-07/

Anonymous said...

12 May 2007

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6649971.stm

Anonymous said...

Mavis.......
‏@mavisMacCruet
@DodgyDrPayne GOD told gerry #mccann to set up the 'fund'.. they used it to pay for the house- rather than sell house to contribute to fund!

Annys
‏@mentalcatlady1
@mavisMacCruet @DodgyDrPayne ps was it actual God, or is that an acronym? :-)

http://bit.ly/Xohsz0

I go for an acronym. M

Anonymous said...

OT (I think)

Gordon Darroch
‏@synthjock

Why was Lord McAlpine trending? #EtonExamQuestions

http://bit.ly/ZiTRBS

Himself said...

Careful now! LOL

Anonymous said...

However, if news reports from Berlin are true, Germany has had enough. The catalyst was Edward Snowden’s revelations that Washington spies on everyone including its allies, both Germany and the EU in particular. Moreover, Washington uses Britain as the Trojan Horse within the EU as a backup spy in case NSA misses something.

http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/

Anonymous said...

We [Kate and Gerry McCann] want to work with law enforcement agencies and non-governmental organisations to try to make Europe safer for all children.

http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2007/08/23/mps-back-europe-wide-sex-offenders-register

The irony.

Anonymous said...

24 Jul, 2007

IT was 81 days, an ocean and continent away from the place where his daughter was abducted but Gerry McCann found a strange reassurance here yesterday.

http://bit.ly/Ig3naI

Anonymous said...


21 Jul 2007

MISSING Madeleine McCann's father is flying to America tomorrow to meet Laura Bush.

Gerry McCann, 39, is hoping to meet US President George Bush's wife at the White House during his three-day trip.


http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/maddys-dad-to-meet-first-lady-492636

Anonymous said...

http://www.mccannfiles.com/id187.html

Anonymous said...

Gerry's blogs
06 Jun 2007

(...) There has also been a little bit of criticism in the German press about the amount of media coverage but this did not seem to diminish the level of interest. The German interviewers are a little more direct with their questions but I was still surprised by the question as to whether Kate and I may be involved in Madeleine's abduction! (...)

http://www.mccannfiles.com/id187.html

Anonymous said...

(...)These individuals are from a number of European countries and we are now at an advanced stage of dialogue with each country.(...)

http://bit.ly/19WaQLt

European countries, by coincidence.

Himself said...

What hope is there Maren, faced with such blatant corruption?

I have Ma'ma tomorrow, she has changed her day, be good to get away from this thing for a while.

Peace sweetheart.

Anonymous said...

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/cardinal-keith-obrien-investigated-over-3371628

John Johnston
it should be the police who are investigating !!!!



Himself said...

I think the cops like a quiet life.

Good morning my little tulip, do let me serenade you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_PLWqnfFgU


From the same page; bless her.

https://www.thedodo.com/community/RoseMcCoy/why-i-got-arrested-for-protest-386811176.html?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=seaworld

Anonymous said...

@JimGamble_INEQE please explain how a prime suspect in a missing child case comes to be at the police bravery awards #McCann

http://bit.ly/1eD3CNq

That - & how is Kate #mccann who left 3 babies alone for 5 nights resulting in loss ambassador for @missingpeople

Himself said...

malign agenda

You couldn't make it up.

https://twitter.com/JimGamble_INEQE/status/455476721161359361

Anonymous said...

https://twitter.com/1matthewwright1/status/526447836507172864

Himself said...

Good morning Maren.

Try opening some of the other conversations in his timeline, quite funny in places.

Jim Gamble: unelected sheriff of the internet.