Madeleine McCann's parents

[meredith101]

I don't really want to get into a debate about culpability/missing Madeleine, etc. I just had a couple of questions about the case that came up:

1. Can the portuguese authorities actually force UK police to act/arrest/deport/ask questions under any kind of EU legislation?
2. Is a newspaper actually libelous if they say 'A police source said x/y'. They didn't themselves state it, did they?
3. Wasn't the movement of the McCann's followed every moment of every day after her disappearance?

[milliezoe]

1 there is now a European Arrest warrant so they could be forced to return if a Judge agrees

2 Not sure of the libel laws

3 i am sure they were under intense media scrutiny every day and found it very claustrophobic

[I.Don No]

but if they or a spokesperson speaking on their behalf says just once more that they are in no way responsible for Madeleine's disappearance I think I will have to scream

and just in case Mr or Mrs McC (or one of their spokespersons) reads this.......

A RESPONSIBLE PARENT NEVER LEAVES A YOUNG CHILD ALONE FOR ANY REASON

[netibiza]

With you on that one I:Don No whatever the outcome, that was the cause.

[meredith101]

that was the cause of her going missing? Her parents not being there? So if a child's parents leave them alone in an apartment, they'll go missing? Would seem to follow, logically, from what you're saying.
I think they made a mistake, yes, but the cause was in fact an abductor.

[teddybon]

the truth is out there. Be patient.

[I.Don No]

meredith

the only reason that Madeleine is missing is because her parents created the opportunity for that to happen. I do not for one moment think that this was the first time she and her brother and sister were left alone, just the first time they were caught out.

this was not a mistake, it was a deliberate action.

[I.Don No]

meredith

oooooops forgot this bit....

of course the abductor...if that is what happened...is also to blame but as is always the case in these matters it is the child who is paying the price for her parents' catastrophic inadequacy

[happyjo]

Libel laws are very difficult to negotiate...

Libel... in it's basic form .. means that their reputation has been lowered in the opinion of right/ like minded individuals....

The libel must be printed of course and be permanent in nature...

looking at the end game here.. ( assuming ... as i do, that they are totally innocent) then yes... libel is an option..

BUT..... the award for a successful libel action tends to be rubbish... Bruce Grobbelaar , former Liverpool player was awarded in his favour.. but was only awarded �1..!!!!!!!!!

[meredith101]

lol, #1 is a total slap in the face.

Re: leaving the kids alone. What is the most likely outcome of going to the restaurant and leaving the kids? That you return and they are there. The abduction wsa a totally freaky incident. Like 1:10 Million.
Kids have been abducted while in their baths with parents downstairs, attempts have been made to snatch them from prams; were these parents negligent also? Were they responsible to a large degree for the 'catastrophic outcome'? Nah, don't think so. Neither were the McCanns.

[chompu]

meredith
You state in your question that you don't wish to get into a debate over blame. Then in your last post you completely exonerate the McCanns. I cannot let that pass. For a start where is the evidence that she was abducted, I have not seen any apart from the fact she is missing.
Possible outcome from leaving your kids alone and going to a restaurant 100 yards away and out of sight.
Child has nightmare and screams for parents, wanders out of unlocked patio door searching for them.
Child vomits and chokes,
Child awakes, plays with small object, gets it stuck in throat.
Fire starts, child trapped.
Child falls out of bed, bangs head, knocked unconcious.
The list is endless. Criminal negligence, made worse by the training and experience they would have from their profession.
I'm also getting very cynical about the publicity being generated on their behalf by this ex government spin merchant.

[jodie73]

When my three children were smaller (i have the same age gap between the McCanns children my daughter was 4 and the twins were 2) i wouldn't even let them play in the garden without supervision let alone go and leave them to go to the pub up the road. I'd wonder if i did would i get positive press like the McCanns, i very much doubt it. I do think they neglected their children for a night out and i don't think it was the first time either.

[jodie73]

I now have 5 children and the eldest three are 12 and 14 and i still wouldn't leave them alone.

[meredith101]

chompu: kid being there, parents go back, kids not there, kid nowhere nearby=====pretty good suggestion that there was an abduction. Definitely the number one contender. Others? Parents did it: so unlikely that it's in OJ land. Peter Pan came and took her away on a rainbow, maybe.

Parents shouldnt have left her, but that doesnt make them responsible for her disappearance.

[chompu]

meredith
Abduction from a dwelling place,by a stranger, is extremely rare. I would have said, given the circumstances, that the child had most likely wandered off.
In my 30 years as a police officer I dealt with numerous missing children of all ages. Never once, even in scenarios similar to this, did a parent immediately jump to the conclusion that their child had been abducted. Maybe I'm an exception but I don't think so.

[meredith101]

Did you find in your 30 years that 4 year old children were prone to getting out of bed at night and wandering off on their own, maybe even getting in a taxi and going clubbing in the evening so that a search party of 60 (sixty) would be unable to find them during a 7 hour search?
She was abducted.

[4GS]

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