McCanns to tell Levenson [sic] Inquiry of family's ordeal at hands of media

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/McCanns-tell-Levenson-Inquiry-family-s-ordeal/story-13885561-detail/story.html

McCanns to tell Levenson [sic] Inquiry of family's ordeal at hands of media

Friday, November 18, 2011

Gerry McCann will tell a major inquiry into journalistic standards that the newspaper industry's system of self-regulation has been "hopelessly inadequate" in protecting his family from the excesses of the press.

The Mercury reported in September how Mr McCann would give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics, launched in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.



This week, David Sherborne, the lawyer representing victims of alleged press intrusion, told the inquiry how Mr McCann and his wife, Kate, from Rothley, found themselves at the centre of a media storm after their daughter Madeleine went missing in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in 2007.

Mr Sherborne said that the couple's privacy was pounced upon by editors "greedily waiting" for exclusive stories in order to sell more papers.

Speaking at the inquiry, he said: "When he gives evidence, Mr McCann will explain how it felt for him and his wife to be thrust from what one might call anonymity into the public limelight in the worst possible circumstances."

The lawyer added: "Mr McCann's evidence will be a perfect example of how hopelessly inadequate this (current) self-regulatory code is as a means of curbing the excesses of the press.

"He will refer to the blatant intrusion which he and his family suffered throughout, particularly when they were back in the United Kingdom, from the press camping outside their door to how his children were terrified as they were driven around by their parents."

The Leveson Inquiry was launched after it emerged that journalists at the News of the World had been involved in the illegal hacking of mobile phone messages.

The inquiry, however was given a far greater remit to explore the culture, ethics and regulation of journalists.

The media is currently regulated by the Press Complaints Commission, a body largely made up of media industry figures.

Mr Sherborne continued: "Moreover, Mr McCann will explain how in the months following the abduction of Madeleine, the behaviour of the press changed from an attitude of support to one of hostility.

"It was a change which he suspects was based on the commercial imperative to bring home exclusive stories for editors greedily waiting back in the United Kingdom watching the expenses bills of their journalists mounting up.

"Apparently, journalists were being told – he will say – that they had to get a front page story, or their job was on the line."

Mr McCann is expected to give evidence to the inquiry in the next fortnight.

The McCanns received £550,000 in a libel payout from the Express Newspapers, in March 2008.

In 2010, the McCann's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said in response to MPs' criticising the coverage of Madeleine's disappearance: "The problem Kate and Gerry had was with a number of national newspaper titles not the regional press.

"The Mercury's coverage has always been broadly fair and balanced and for that they remain grateful.

"Kate and Gerry are very pleased the Mercury continues to support them."

In 2010, the McCann's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said in response to MPs' criticising the coverage of Madeleine's disappearance: "The problem Kate and Gerry had was with a number of national newspaper titles not the regional press.

"The Mercury's coverage has always been broadly fair and balanced and for that they remain grateful.

"Kate and Gerry are very pleased the Mercury continues to support them.".

That's the McCann's version of 'balenced & fair' please note Lord Leveson - when the press supports their cause! BAH!!

"Kate and Gerry are very pleased the Mercury continues to support them."

should read

"Kate and Gerry are very, very, very pleased the Mercury continues to support them and does not ask or query a SINGLE teensy weeney piece of their spurious abduction THEORY"

Because, that's all it is unless the McCanns can PROVE, beyond doubt, otherwise.

This would be the same Mercury that had wristbands made up and were TOLD by the McCanns to STOP!
Because uncle John saw what a wheeze it was and decided that the McCanns could order their own and keep ALL THE PROFITS!

What have any of the UK media done except regurgitate the McCanns' statements almost word for word since November 2007?

God they make me so CROSS!!

This would be the very media they prostituted themselves to would it.? .When it suited them.

folks,
i've been following the leveson inquiry this morning,
i do hope thet the mccanns are faced with the same in depth questions
that the other witnesses have been put through,
non of it...imo...intrusive,
just very searching.
the dowler parents came across as very decent and close to each other.
no way will the mccanns match their dignity and composure.

blossom45 wrote: folks,
i've been following the levenson inquiry this morning,
i do hope thet the mccanns are faced with the same in depth questions
that the other witnesses have been put through,
non of it...imo...intrusive,
just very searching.
the dowler parents came across as very decent and close to each other.
no way will the mccanns match their dignity and composure.

Agree with you but l think it's only Gerry going. Kate's a loose cannon....

margaret,
i didn't realise that it would be gerry going solo,
it seems that they are joined at the hip most times....or rather joined at the crotch...
is it really that kate can't be trusted to keep her mouth closed at the appropriate time>

Blossom, thanks for mentioning the crotch......

I've been following it too, blossom, and I agree with all you say.

The witnesses today have made outstanding contributions, and I think Gerry McCann is going to have to raise his game considerably to come anywhere near them.
After all, this is not like facing the usual posse of TV breakfast presenters on a cosy sofa with pre-arranged questions and the usual sycophancy.
It's not even like facing a parliamentary sub-committee, with Clarence Mitchell holding his hand and Adam Tudor holding the other one.

I think the McCanns will be treated in much the same way as the Dowlers - not. in my view, because of any 'fix' or 'whitewash', but out of good old British decency in respect of their perceived 'loss' - and because, at this stage of the game, no-one can legally prove who were the perpetrators and instigators of that 'loss'.

Will a thunderbolt come down when he takes the oath? I suspect not, but that oath must surely make him think very carefully about what he says on record in an official inquiry.
And should he not, in any instance, be accorded quite the level of sensitivity to which he thinks he is entitled, he will not be able to storm off in a huff. Or reply with flippant sarcasm. Or lose it completely and bawl "Let me finish!" in someone's face.

All I ask of the inquiry is that it ascertains the true nature of the relationship between the McCanns and the press. How many stories were generated by press intrusion and how many by the McCanns themselves and their hangers-on? How much money went into the coffers of thr 'fund' as a result of the press coverage? Why didn't Gerry McCann go down the PCC route when Sir Christopher Meyer (former chairman) suggested it to him? Why is it 'mental rape' only when the McCanns haven't made any money out of it?

Oh, and who did leak that diary?
Perhaps that's a question for someone from the defunct News Of The World rather than Gerry McCann.

Will Gerry lay into the Media he will be on the "big" stage????, it must be very tempting for him to put on the best performance of his life, but could this be one step to far I wonder, as Amaral says it has been a snowball that has just got bigger and bigger, and by past experiances the McCanns are not really bothered about what has been said previously, imo they just say it has they feel fit at the time and at the moment they are desperate...........
So Gez take a bow because the stage is yours. (to hang yourself once and fall all)

My hubby thinks that the media are NOT protecting the McCanns, there just holding back because they no that these two will be locked up eventually.

Almostgothic...Brilliant post

Perhaps Gerry McCann can explain to Leveson how, after saying his wife Kate McCann had been 'mentally raped' in the News of the World,(owner NI) Kate McCann then returned to (begged?) her former "mental rapists", News International, for her 'EXCLUSIVE' booooook serialisation in The Sun. (owner NI)!!!!

jeanmonroe wrote:Perhaps Gerry McCann can explain to Leveson how, after his wife Kate McCann had been 'mentally raped' in the News of the World,(owner NI) Kate McCann then returned to (begged?) her former "mental rapists", News International, for her 'EXCLUSIVE' booooook serialisation in The Sun. (owner NI)!!!!

Did she really say that? If she did l hope someone is closely monitoring her mental state because that is a dreadful, flippant thing to say. Truly shocking, and coming from this pair that says alot!

Mind you coming form someone who wrote the disgusting piece on Pg.129 and who says herself in the foreword that she gathered much from the diaries she kept after Maddie disappeared....

I guess 'mental rape' only works one way?

The publication of this material, under the headline
Page 28
1 "Kate's diary in her own words", with a picture on the
2 front page suggesting she had provided this herself,
3 left her feeling "mentally raped", her husband says, and
4 is it any wonder? At if the McCanns didn't have enough
5 to deal with.

David Sherborne, QC. at Levenson Inquiry.

Presumeably when he said 'as if the McCanns didn't have enough to deal with' he meant all the court cases they are pursuing at present to stop the UK public querying THEIR account of Madeleines disappearance!

guys,
the more i watch this inqury continuing,
the less i can imagine the mccanns coping with this gentle probing,
polite questioning,
where behind all the words of the examiner i can feel a steel fist in the velvet glove.
hugh grant is doing well...he's a consumate player..knows his audience.
mccann is as polished and poised as a farm yard donkey.
the similarities will be outstanding when it comes to mccanns turn.....can't wait!

Press intrusion, what a joke! Immediately after Maddie was 'whooshed,' Gerry McCann wanted his so called "mentally raped" wife to pose for the paparazzi in a swimsuit.... something even sleazy Clarence Mitchell baulked at. What a sick request under the circumstances.... in yet nobody seemed phased, not even Kate, who I reckon would have complied if it weren't for stern advice from the pink pimp.

The McCanns have courted the press non stop for four + years, and Sky news have given them non-stop headline status, hence assisting them with their endless money hustling schemes. They have some bloody nerve hopping on this bandwagon.

pennylane wrote:Press intrusion, what a joke! Immediately after Maddie was 'whooshed,' Gerry McCann wanted his so called "mentally raped" wife to pose for the paparazzi in a swimsuit.... something even sleazy Clarence Mitchell baulked at. What a sick request under the circumstances.... in yet nobody seemed phased, not even Kate, who I reckon would have complied if it weren't for stern advice from the pink pimp.

The McCanns have courted the press non stop for four + years, and Sky news have given them non-stop headline status, hence assisting them with their endless money hustling schemes. They have some bloody nerve hopping on this bandwagon.

They remind me of a certain type of kid from my childhood. When there was a wedding at the local church, word soon went round the local kids and we'd be outside the church waiting for the happy couple to emerge. Not to applaud them or wish them happiness, but for the 'scrammle.' (Read 'scramble for English viewers!) The bride would throw a large amount of coins, mostly silver sixpences from her window of the car and the kids would dive. Most kids just grabbed a few coins and played fair. Then there were kids who'd stand on your hand to get the sixpence you were just lifting. That's the ones the McCanns remind me of!

"He will refer to the blatant intrusion which he and his family suffered throughout, particularly when they were back in the United Kingdom, from the press camping outside their door to how his children were terrified as they were driven around by their parents."

And so they should be.Seems the twins are growing up !

AnnaEsse wrote:

pennylane wrote:Press intrusion, what a joke! Immediately after Maddie was 'whooshed,' Gerry McCann wanted his so called "mentally raped" wife to pose for the paparazzi in a swimsuit.... something even sleazy Clarence Mitchell baulked at. What a sick request under the circumstances.... in yet nobody seemed phased, not even Kate, who I reckon would have complied if it weren't for stern advice from the pink pimp.

The McCanns have courted the press non stop for four + years, and Sky news have given them non-stop headline status, hence assisting them with their endless money hustling schemes. They have some bloody nerve hopping on this bandwagon.

They remind me of a certain type of kid from my childhood. When there was a wedding at the local church, word soon went round the local kids and we'd be outside the church waiting for the happy couple to emerge. Not to applaud them or wish them happiness, but for the 'scrammle.' (Read 'scramble for English viewers!) The bride would throw a large amount of coins, mostly silver sixpences from her window of the car and the kids would dive. Most kids just grabbed a few coins and played fair. Then there were kids who'd stand on your hand to get the sixpence you were just lifting. That's the ones the McCanns remind me of!

Very good parallel, Anna.

I'm afraid I won't be able to watch much of Gerry on Wednesday. These two are decidedly bad for my health, and I can no longer stomach the crass, unchallenged distortions they spew out any longer.

I will have to get my summary of information from my colleagues here.

pennylane wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

pennylane wrote:Press intrusion, what a joke! Immediately after Maddie was 'whooshed,' Gerry McCann wanted his so called "mentally raped" wife to pose for the paparazzi in a swimsuit.... something even sleazy Clarence Mitchell baulked at. What a sick request under the circumstances.... in yet nobody seemed phased, not even Kate, who I reckon would have complied if it weren't for stern advice from the pink pimp.

The McCanns have courted the press non stop for four + years, and Sky news have given them non-stop headline status, hence assisting them with their endless money hustling schemes. They have some bloody nerve hopping on this bandwagon.

They remind me of a certain type of kid from my childhood. When there was a wedding at the local church, word soon went round the local kids and we'd be outside the church waiting for the happy couple to emerge. Not to applaud them or wish them happiness, but for the 'scrammle.' (Read 'scramble for English viewers!) The bride would throw a large amount of coins, mostly silver sixpences from her window of the car and the kids would dive. Most kids just grabbed a few coins and played fair. Then there were kids who'd stand on your hand to get the sixpence you were just lifting. That's the ones the McCanns remind me of!

Very good parallel, Anna.

I'm afraid I won't be able to watch much of Gerry on Wednesday. These two are decidedly bad for my health, and I can no longer stomach the crass, unchallenged distortions they spew out any longer.

I will have to get my summary of information from my colleagues here.

I won't be watching him either. I like to live a quiet, peaceful life, enjoying my time at home and my good food. He makes me feel ill.

AnnaEsse wrote:

pennylane wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

pennylane wrote:Press intrusion, what a joke! Immediately after Maddie was 'whooshed,' Gerry McCann wanted his so called "mentally raped" wife to pose for the paparazzi in a swimsuit.... something even sleazy Clarence Mitchell baulked at. What a sick request under the circumstances.... in yet nobody seemed phased, not even Kate, who I reckon would have complied if it weren't for stern advice from the pink pimp.

The McCanns have courted the press non stop for four + years, and Sky news have given them non-stop headline status, hence assisting them with their endless money hustling schemes. They have some bloody nerve hopping on this bandwagon.

They remind me of a certain type of kid from my childhood. When there was a wedding at the local church, word soon went round the local kids and we'd be outside the church waiting for the happy couple to emerge. Not to applaud them or wish them happiness, but for the 'scrammle.' (Read 'scramble for English viewers!) The bride would throw a large amount of coins, mostly silver sixpences from her window of the car and the kids would dive. Most kids just grabbed a few coins and played fair. Then there were kids who'd stand on your hand to get the sixpence you were just lifting. That's the ones the McCanns remind me of!

Very good parallel, Anna.

I'm afraid I won't be able to watch much of Gerry on Wednesday. These two are decidedly bad for my health, and I can no longer stomach the crass, unchallenged distortions they spew out any longer.

I will have to get my summary of information from my colleagues here.

I won't be watching him either. I like to live a quiet, peaceful life, enjoying my time at home and my good food. He makes me feel ill.

We are very much alike, Anna

I do hope at least one of our members has got the stomach to make a few observations, especially if he is asked something awkward and has some itchy, squirmy moments whilst attempting to heap more bs on the nation. YUK!

pennylane wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

pennylane wrote:

AnnaEsse wrote:

pennylane wrote:Press intrusion, what a joke! Immediately after Maddie was 'whooshed,' Gerry McCann wanted his so called "mentally raped" wife to pose for the paparazzi in a swimsuit.... something even sleazy Clarence Mitchell baulked at. What a sick request under the circumstances.... in yet nobody seemed phased, not even Kate, who I reckon would have complied if it weren't for stern advice from the pink pimp.

The McCanns have courted the press non stop for four + years, and Sky news have given them non-stop headline status, hence assisting them with their endless money hustling schemes. They have some bloody nerve hopping on this bandwagon.

They remind me of a certain type of kid from my childhood. When there was a wedding at the local church, word soon went round the local kids and we'd be outside the church waiting for the happy couple to emerge. Not to applaud them or wish them happiness, but for the 'scrammle.' (Read 'scramble for English viewers!) The bride would throw a large amount of coins, mostly silver sixpences from her window of the car and the kids would dive. Most kids just grabbed a few coins and played fair. Then there were kids who'd stand on your hand to get the sixpence you were just lifting. That's the ones the McCanns remind me of!

Very good parallel, Anna.

I'm afraid I won't be able to watch much of Gerry on Wednesday. These two are decidedly bad for my health, and I can no longer stomach the crass, unchallenged distortions they spew out any longer.

I will have to get my summary of information from my colleagues here.

I won't be watching him either. I like to live a quiet, peaceful life, enjoying my time at home and my good food. He makes me feel ill.

We are very much alike, Anna

I do hope at least one of our members has got the stomach to make a few observations, especially if he is asked something awkward and has some itchy, squirmy moments whilst attempting to heap more bs on the nation. YUK!

Yes, I'm going to depend on other members being made of sterner stuff!

The repugnant low lifes,otherwise known as the mccanns, need to look at the suffering of the Dowlers if they really want to know what press 'intrusion' is about.
That the establishment can allow these awful parents to have a voice at this enquiry devalues the whole thing sadly.

I want to watch gerry mccanns face when he says......'I swear by almighty god that the evidence I give, will be the truth...the whole truth and nothing but the truth' whilst holding the bible .