Bebo

Gerry Denies Receiving Mystery Texts
Updated:09:02, Thursday May 29, 2008

Gerry McCann has denied he received a string of mystery texts the day before his daughter disappeared in the Algarve.

According to court documents issued by Portugal's supreme court, police applied to seize his phone records after learning of the alleged messages.

Investigators claim 18 text messages were sent to Mr McCann from an unidentified number around the time Madeleine vanished in Praia da Luz on May 3 last year.

It is alleged that 14 messages were texted on May 2 and four more on May 4.

But the McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said Gerry had no knowledge of the texts and received a handful of calls on his mobile in the days before his daughter disappeared.

The documents reveal that public prosecutor Magalhaes e Meneses also sought access to text and phone messages from 10 mobile telephones thought to belong to the McCanns and seven of their friends.

He also asked for a full list of all the calls made between the group from when they arrived in Portugal on April 28 and when the McCanns left on September 9.

But the supreme court issued a detailed ruling rejecting the application.

It also revealed that Kate and Gerry McCann could face charges of neglecting their daughter on the night she disappeared.

The police inquiry also covers possible abduction, homicide and concealment of a corpse, the documents say.

But Mr Mitchell emphasised the court papers did not mean such a charge would materialise.

He said the couple vigorously denied neglecting Madeleine and welcomed the fact that abduction was also being considered by detectives.

Madeleine went missing last year

He said: "This court document outlines the areas of the investigation and in no way suggests Kate and Gerry will be facing any such charges.

"Equally we have heard nothing officially to suggest any such area of investigation is being considered.

"However, we do note that abduction is apparently one of the parameters and we welcome that because that is what Kate and Gerry and their friends have said and that is what happened.

"If there is any suggestion of neglect charges being considered that will be vigorously denied because the legal advice that Kate and Gerry have received both in Portugal and Britain is that legally speaking everything they were doing that week was well within the bounds of responsible parenting."

A neglect charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years. But it is understood for such a charge to stand up the prosecutors would have to show the McCanns intended to neglect Madeleine.

UK Release Of Toddler Abduction Film

Matt Smith
Entertainment correspondent
Updated:08:58, Thursday May 29, 2008

A film that was shelved because of its likeness to the Madeleine McCann case is finally getting a UK release.

Plot centres on abducted child

The fictional tale of an abducted four year old, 'Gone Baby Gone' was pulled last September because it was thought too sensitive for British audiences.

The story centres on a girl who gets kidnapped from her bed after her mother leaves her alone in the house.

Madeleine McCann, also four, vanished from a holiday apartment in the Algarve on 3 May 2007 while her parents ate at a nearby tapas restaurant.

It was that similarity that led bosses at Disney to cancel its UK release until now.

The film's director is former actor Ben Affleck. Although frustrated at the delay, he backed the decision to postpone the release.

"I frankly felt proud to be involved with a company that made a tasteful choice rather than a crass choice. I figured people can eventually see the movie.

"That's not quite as important as making a choice based on discretion, good taste and being respectful," he told Sky News.

In the thriller, two detectives - played by Affleck's younger brother Casey and Michelle Monaghan - search for the abducted girl after she vanishes in Boston.

Ben Affleck directed the film

Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris also star in the drama, which was produced, directed and co-written by Affleck.

At the time of the film's delay, Madeleine's parents, Gerry and Kate McCann publicly thanked Ben Affleck for postponing the film - even though it had no connection with their daughter's disappearance.

The film and the book it was based on were both produced before Madeleine went missing.

Casey Affleck told Sky News: "The movie was filmed two years ago, way before anything ever happened so obviously it has no bearing, it wasn't based on the case at all."

The film has already been a critical hit in the US - now it has been decided the time is right for British audiences to finally see it.

It goes on release across the UK on June 6.
- - - - - -

Film Held Up By McCann Case Released
A film that was shelved because of its similarity to the Madeline McCann case is finally getting a UK release. The fictional tale of an abducted four year old, 'Gone Baby Gone' was held back from cinemas last September. Sky's Matt Smith reports
- - - - - -

Madeleine Reconstruction Called Off
Updated:23:44, Tuesday May 27, 2008

A reconstruction of the night Madeleine McCann disappeared has been scrapped after members of the so-called "Tapas Seven" refused to take part.

Missing: Madeleine McCann

Portuguese police had invited Gerry and Kate McCann back to Praia da Luz to take part in the event later this week along with the friends they were dining with when Madeleine vanished on May 3, last year.

The McCanns' spokesman said the decision had been taken by all of the couple's friends.

Clarence Mitchell said: "The friends had a number of serious questions about the value of the reconstruction and what it would do to help find Madeleine.

"After some discussion, they have informed the Portuguese authorities that they do not intend to go back."

He added: "Gerry and Kate have not refused to go back. They were aware of their friends' view and they are now not needed for the reconstruction."

Mr Mitchell said there were questions over the usefulness of a reconstruction more than a year after the event and how it would help find the four-year-old if it was not to be televised.

"Frankly," he insisted, "the police and the authorities in Portugal did not answer the simple question: What will this do to help find Madeleine? And that is why this proposal did not have legs."

It is the second time it has been put off and the McCanns have always been reluctant to take part.

The couple are still considered official suspects or 'arguidos' in the c

Madeleine: Cops Question 'Key' Witness

Martin Brunt
Crime correspondent Updated:18:53, Thursday May 01, 2008

Police have re-interviewed a woman who may prove to be a key witness in the Madeleine McCann case.

Madeleine has been missing for nearly a year

She was quizzed by police in the UK and her new statements passed to Portuguese detectives.

The young British woman, whose identity we are not revealing, saw a man "hovering" around the family's Algarve apartment on the morning of May 3, hours before Madeleine vanished.

She was asked back for more questioning last week, according to Sky sources.

The witness was sitting on a balcony overlooking the holiday complex in Praia da Luz when she spotted the man acting suspiciously.

She thought little of his behaviour at the time and returned to the UK later that day.

When she heard of Madeleine's disappearance she reported it to her local police force and was interviewed for the first time.

She gave detectives a detailed description of the suspect and helped an artist compile a computer-generated image of him.

It is not clear whether that image was ever released.

The woman was among 60 or so names given by the Algarve detectives last month to Leicestershire police, who are conducting interviews on behalf of the Portuguese authorities.

The woman was asked back for a second interview last week in a bid to identify any discrepancies or similarities in witness statements.

The McCanns' friends, the so-called Tapas 7, were among those re-interviewed.
- - - - - -

'Something Like This Could Destroy You'
Updated:17:56, Thursday May 01, 2008

The parents of missing toddler Madeleine McCann have told Sky News that the disappearance of their daughter has "wreaked havoc" on their family.

Two days before the first anniversary of the four-year-old's disappearance, Kate and Gerry McCann told Sky's Dermot Murnaghan that without support something like this "could destroy you".

And they told how their "fantastic" twins Sean and Amelie were helping them through the tough times.

"You often wonder where we would be if it wasn't for them," Mrs McCann said.

Madeleine went missing on May 3 last year, while the family was on holiday in Portugal.

The couple say they are now desperate for new leads in the case and they will leave no stone unturned in searching for their little girl.

"We need that key piece of information and we believe it is out there," Mrs McCann said.

"You cannot give up. Madeleine deserves that. There is no evidence she has come to any harm."

The cases of Elisabeth Fritzl and Natasha Kampusch in Austria have also given them hope that Madeleine could be alive - and they can even imagine her growing up in a different place, surrounded by different people, and simply adjusting to her new situation.

But they refuse to give up their hunt, injecting new energy into the campaign with a fresh hotline number and a plan to change tactics in their dealings with the media, adding that the past year's coverage is simply "unsustainable".

"It led to a lot of rumour, myth and innuendo," Mr McCann said. "What we want is responsible reporting."

Madeleine's case sparked an international media storm after she vanished from the family's holiday villa in Praia da Luz.

There has been talk of a possible reconstruction of the events leading up to Madeleine's disappearance - but although the McCanns are not ruling out a return to Portugal, they said they are worried about how helpful it would be for the police investigation, given the immense media interest.

"How can you do a reconstruction with what will be undoubtedly be a media event?" Mr McCann asked.

"It is under discussion. It is back to what additional information will help the search."

The McCanns are still considered suspects - or 'aguidos' - by police in Portugal, and will remain so until someone is charged in connection with the case.

Sky News' crime correspo