The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
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The International Bar Association Conference and Carter-Ruck connection
The International Bar Association Conference and Carter-Ruck connection
Media Law Committee Sessions ibanet.org
Chair - Mark H Stephens Finers Stephens Innocent, London, England; Council Member, Human Rights Institute
International approaches to reputation management
Session Co-Chairs
Mark H Stephens Finers Stephens Innocent, London, England; Council Member, Human Rights Institute
Nigel Tait Carter-Ruck, London, England; Publications Officer, Media Law Committee
In this session leading media lawyers will explore the different approaches that can be adopted by lawyers in various jurisdictions to protect the reputations of their clients, whether individual or corporate.
Amongst the topics that the panel will examine during this lively interactive session are 'libel tourism', the challenges presented by online publication and the consequences for freedom of speech now that the European Court of Human
Rights has declared that reputation is a human right.
Mr Gerry McCann will be the keynote speaker. Mr McCann and his wife Kate found themselves facing the unrelenting glare of the world’s media following the abduction of their daughter, Madeleine, in May 2007. Mr McCann will speak about their fight to hold the press to account following the publication of defamatory allegations and their securing of unprecedented front page apologies from four national newspapers, together with £550,000 in damages (which were paid to the fund set up to search for Madeleine).
Keynote speaker
Gerry McCann Father of Madeleine McCann, England
Speakers
Herman Croux Marx Van Ranst Vermeersch & Partners, Brussels, Belgium; Chair, Copyright and Entertainment Law
Subcommittee
Roger Mann Damm & Mann, Hamburg, Germany;
Julian Porter QC Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Kelli L Sager David Wright Tremaine LLP, Los Angeles, California, USA; Vice-Chair, Media Law Committee
Paul Tweed Johnsons Solicitors, Belfast, Northern Ireland
*
Committee news would like to commend the superb quality of this edition of our Committee publication and convey thanks to our publications officer, Nigel Tait (and his colleague Athalie Matthews) of Carter Ruck in London for his efforts in producing such a great edition. I look forward to seeing many of you in Madrid where we have a full and lively programme including Mr Gerry McCann who will talk about the loss and search for his daughter, Madeleine, and the challenges of the media traducing his reputation in the wake of that loss. We are holding a networking dinner (together with the Technology Law Committee) in Madrid on Thursday 8 October at 9.30pm at Casino de Madrid (Glorieta Room) – which should allow you time to circulate round a few cocktail parties first. Do book early as we expect this event to sell out quickly. Further details about the Madrid conference are available on page 6.
Finally, please do send me any suggestions that you have for the IBA Annual Conference in Vancouver in 2010.
Best wishes
Mark Stephens
*
Lessons learned the hard way: the reporting of the Madeleine McCann investigation
The tragic disappearance of three year old Madeleine McCann from a holiday apartment in Portugal has without doubt been one of the most prominent news stories in the UK for many years, and attracted considerable media coverage around the world.
Madeleine was abducted on the night of 3 May 2007 while her parents Gerry and Kate McCann dined with friends in a nearby tapas restaurant. The alarm was quickly raised to try to find their daughter, and public interest in the story fuelled a voracious desire by the media to report on the investigation and on Madeleine's likely whereabouts.
Although the case of Madeleine McCann is in many ways – thankfully – unique, the reporting of the investigation highlights a number of interesting aspects of English media law.
Beyond the reach of contempt of court laws
When the story broke, the media was immediately faced with a problem: there was enormous public interest in Madeleine's fate, but Portuguese law forbade either the police or, to a considerable extent, the McCanns themselves from providing information to the press about the investigation.
Unlike in the UK, where the police routinely brief the press on major investigations (both officially and off the record), journalists found themselves in a complete vacuum of confirmed facts yet under enormous editorial pressure to get a scoop on the latest developments.
What ensued was increasingly wild speculation about what had happened to Madeleine, as the finger of suspicion was pointed at a number of individuals – including, most notably, Madeleine's parents.
Kate and Gerry McCann were named as 'arguidos' by the Portuguese police on 7 September 2007 – which in fact meant they were 'persons of interest' to the Portuguese police, rather than that they were formally suspects, as the term 'arguido' was frequently mis-translated by the British press.
It was during this time that the McCanns were interviewed by Portuguese police, which sent the media into a frenzy of even wilder speculation.
Had the case concerned a criminal investigation in the UK, then the press would have been far more restricted by the laws of contempt of court. Section 2 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 makes it an offence of strict liability to publish anything which creates a 'substantial risk that the course of justice in the proceedings in question will be seriously impeded or prejudiced.' The provision applies only to 'active' proceedings, which in essence means after someone has been arrested for, or charged with, a criminal offence. Although the McCanns were not arrested or charged under Portuguese law, the Contempt of Court Act in any event applies only to criminal proceedings brought in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; as such the media were able to report on the police investigation into the McCanns' alleged involvement with scant regard for how their coverage may ultimately prejudice any prosecution.
Wrongly accused
Of course, no prosecution was ultimately brought against the McCanns; having protested their innocence throughout, the Portuguese Prosecutor finally exonerated them on 21 July 2008 when their 'arguido' status was lifted and it was confirmed that there was no evidence whatsoever to suggest that they had played any part in their daughter's disappearance.
But throughout the autumn and early winter of 2007, the McCanns had continued to be the focus of relentless, and at times hysterical media coverage which made various allegations to the effect that they had killed their daughter and had conspired to cover-up her death.
Pleas made to the press to exercise greater caution and balance in reporting the story fell on deaf ears, and when the onslaught of allegations continued the McCanns decided they had to take action – not least because they feared that the campaign to find Madeleine would be irreparably damaged for as long as the public was misled into believing (entirely wrongly) that her parents had killed her.
In January 2008, complaints in libel were sent to four national newspapers published by the Express Group – the Daily Express, the Daily Star and their sister Sunday titles. These newspapers more than any had published grossly defamatory articles about the McCanns, often under sensational front page headlines such as 'PARENTS' CAR HID A CORPSE' and 'MADDIE MUM "SOLD HER".'
Because of the news 'vacuum', many of the articles complained of appeared to be based on nothing more than speculation, information from purported (but unnamed) 'police sources', and allegations regurgitated from the Portuguese press.
It is open to a newspaper to defend a libel complaint on a number of grounds. The most obvious defence is that of justification – if a defendant can prove that the allegations it published were substantially true, then the libel claim will fail. However, given the lurid and utterly baseless allegations which the McCanns complained about, a defence of justification seemed out of the question.
A second defence open to media defendants in England and Wales is that of Reynolds qualified privilege – responsible journalism on a matter of public interest. This defence is in a state of evolution, but there is an increasing body of English law which suggests that neutral reporting of serious allegations over a long period may be defensible, especially on a matter of high public interest – even where those allegations turn out to be untrue. However, it was immediately apparent that on any analysis the Express and Star's journalism was anything but responsible. While their journalists may have hoped that including token references to the McCanns' denials of wrongdoing may have been sufficient, it was clear that this did nothing to provide the balance necessary for a Reynolds defence to succeed.
It was perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that the Express Group responded to the McCanns' libel complaints by admitting liability for the libels it had published about them.
Righting the wrong
The volume of the libellous coverage published – over 100 articles were complained about, many of them front-page – was unique in the history of English libel law. In the circumstances, the Express Group were forced to agree to take the equally unprecedented step of publishing prominent apologies on the front pages of the four newspapers in question.
The highly unusual nature of the complaints also had an effect on the damages which were claimed from the Express Group.
Under English libel law, general damages have for some time been effectively 'capped' in the region of a £200,000 to £250,000 maximum for awards made at trial, amounts which would of course be reduced where cases settle out of court.
However, quite apart from the fact that Gerry and Kate McCann were each entitled to claim separately for the damage they had each suffered, their case appeared to be in the territory of a potential exemplary damages claim.
Exemplary, or punitive, damages are available only in limited circumstances under English law – in libel proceedings the claimant must prove that the defendant has published the articles complained of 'with guilty knowledge, for the motive that the chances of economic advantage outweigh the chances of economic penalty' (Broome v Cassell 1972 A.C. 1027 at 1079). In practice, this can be a very difficult hurdle for a claimant to overcome, as not only does it involve demonstrating that the defendant was, at the very least, reckless as to the truth or falsity of the allegations complained of, but also that it acted in the hope or expectation of material gain.
Newspapers of course contain a large number of articles, so it will usually be impossible to prove that when the defendant took the decision to publish the article complained of, it expected this would lead to an increase in sales.
However, the sheer number of Express Group articles containing allegations about the McCanns – together with anecdotal evidence to the effect that a front-page article about Madeleine McCann added as many as 70,000 copies to the circulation of the Daily Express – suggested that a credible case for exemplary damages may be made out by the McCanns.
In the end, the question did not have to be decided in court, as the parties were able to agree an out of court settlement. However, the total amount agreed – £550,000, which was donated at the McCanns' request to the Find Madeleine Fund – suggests that the Express Group may have accepted that there was a real risk of an exemplary damages award being made against them if the matter did ever come to court.
The front page apologies and damages paid to the McCanns on 19 March 2008, together with the subsequent exoneration of the McCanns by the Portuguese prosecutor, have not only gone a long way to repairing the damage caused to the McCanns' reputations by the press, but have also undoubtedly caused the press to question their reporting methods in ongoing criminal investigations. Such are the repercussions of the case that it forms a central part of an ongoing UK Parliamentary inquiry into press standards, privacy and libel – indeed Mr McCann has recently given evidence to a government committee hearing on his family's experiences of the media.
As Kate and Gerry McCann's search for their daughter continues, it is to be hoped that the press as a whole has learned from what proved to be a very expensive lesson for the Express Group
http://www.mccannfiles.com/id232.html
Media Law Committee Sessions ibanet.org
Chair - Mark H Stephens Finers Stephens Innocent, London, England; Council Member, Human Rights Institute
International approaches to reputation management
Session Co-Chairs
Mark H Stephens Finers Stephens Innocent, London, England; Council Member, Human Rights Institute
Nigel Tait Carter-Ruck, London, England; Publications Officer, Media Law Committee
In this session leading media lawyers will explore the different approaches that can be adopted by lawyers in various jurisdictions to protect the reputations of their clients, whether individual or corporate.
Amongst the topics that the panel will examine during this lively interactive session are 'libel tourism', the challenges presented by online publication and the consequences for freedom of speech now that the European Court of Human
Rights has declared that reputation is a human right.
Mr Gerry McCann will be the keynote speaker. Mr McCann and his wife Kate found themselves facing the unrelenting glare of the world’s media following the abduction of their daughter, Madeleine, in May 2007. Mr McCann will speak about their fight to hold the press to account following the publication of defamatory allegations and their securing of unprecedented front page apologies from four national newspapers, together with £550,000 in damages (which were paid to the fund set up to search for Madeleine).
Keynote speaker
Gerry McCann Father of Madeleine McCann, England
Speakers
Herman Croux Marx Van Ranst Vermeersch & Partners, Brussels, Belgium; Chair, Copyright and Entertainment Law
Subcommittee
Roger Mann Damm & Mann, Hamburg, Germany;
Julian Porter QC Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Kelli L Sager David Wright Tremaine LLP, Los Angeles, California, USA; Vice-Chair, Media Law Committee
Paul Tweed Johnsons Solicitors, Belfast, Northern Ireland
*
Committee news would like to commend the superb quality of this edition of our Committee publication and convey thanks to our publications officer, Nigel Tait (and his colleague Athalie Matthews) of Carter Ruck in London for his efforts in producing such a great edition. I look forward to seeing many of you in Madrid where we have a full and lively programme including Mr Gerry McCann who will talk about the loss and search for his daughter, Madeleine, and the challenges of the media traducing his reputation in the wake of that loss. We are holding a networking dinner (together with the Technology Law Committee) in Madrid on Thursday 8 October at 9.30pm at Casino de Madrid (Glorieta Room) – which should allow you time to circulate round a few cocktail parties first. Do book early as we expect this event to sell out quickly. Further details about the Madrid conference are available on page 6.
Finally, please do send me any suggestions that you have for the IBA Annual Conference in Vancouver in 2010.
Best wishes
Mark Stephens
*
Lessons learned the hard way: the reporting of the Madeleine McCann investigation
The tragic disappearance of three year old Madeleine McCann from a holiday apartment in Portugal has without doubt been one of the most prominent news stories in the UK for many years, and attracted considerable media coverage around the world.
Madeleine was abducted on the night of 3 May 2007 while her parents Gerry and Kate McCann dined with friends in a nearby tapas restaurant. The alarm was quickly raised to try to find their daughter, and public interest in the story fuelled a voracious desire by the media to report on the investigation and on Madeleine's likely whereabouts.
Although the case of Madeleine McCann is in many ways – thankfully – unique, the reporting of the investigation highlights a number of interesting aspects of English media law.
Beyond the reach of contempt of court laws
When the story broke, the media was immediately faced with a problem: there was enormous public interest in Madeleine's fate, but Portuguese law forbade either the police or, to a considerable extent, the McCanns themselves from providing information to the press about the investigation.
Unlike in the UK, where the police routinely brief the press on major investigations (both officially and off the record), journalists found themselves in a complete vacuum of confirmed facts yet under enormous editorial pressure to get a scoop on the latest developments.
What ensued was increasingly wild speculation about what had happened to Madeleine, as the finger of suspicion was pointed at a number of individuals – including, most notably, Madeleine's parents.
Kate and Gerry McCann were named as 'arguidos' by the Portuguese police on 7 September 2007 – which in fact meant they were 'persons of interest' to the Portuguese police, rather than that they were formally suspects, as the term 'arguido' was frequently mis-translated by the British press.
It was during this time that the McCanns were interviewed by Portuguese police, which sent the media into a frenzy of even wilder speculation.
Had the case concerned a criminal investigation in the UK, then the press would have been far more restricted by the laws of contempt of court. Section 2 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 makes it an offence of strict liability to publish anything which creates a 'substantial risk that the course of justice in the proceedings in question will be seriously impeded or prejudiced.' The provision applies only to 'active' proceedings, which in essence means after someone has been arrested for, or charged with, a criminal offence. Although the McCanns were not arrested or charged under Portuguese law, the Contempt of Court Act in any event applies only to criminal proceedings brought in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; as such the media were able to report on the police investigation into the McCanns' alleged involvement with scant regard for how their coverage may ultimately prejudice any prosecution.
Wrongly accused
Of course, no prosecution was ultimately brought against the McCanns; having protested their innocence throughout, the Portuguese Prosecutor finally exonerated them on 21 July 2008 when their 'arguido' status was lifted and it was confirmed that there was no evidence whatsoever to suggest that they had played any part in their daughter's disappearance.
But throughout the autumn and early winter of 2007, the McCanns had continued to be the focus of relentless, and at times hysterical media coverage which made various allegations to the effect that they had killed their daughter and had conspired to cover-up her death.
Pleas made to the press to exercise greater caution and balance in reporting the story fell on deaf ears, and when the onslaught of allegations continued the McCanns decided they had to take action – not least because they feared that the campaign to find Madeleine would be irreparably damaged for as long as the public was misled into believing (entirely wrongly) that her parents had killed her.
In January 2008, complaints in libel were sent to four national newspapers published by the Express Group – the Daily Express, the Daily Star and their sister Sunday titles. These newspapers more than any had published grossly defamatory articles about the McCanns, often under sensational front page headlines such as 'PARENTS' CAR HID A CORPSE' and 'MADDIE MUM "SOLD HER".'
Because of the news 'vacuum', many of the articles complained of appeared to be based on nothing more than speculation, information from purported (but unnamed) 'police sources', and allegations regurgitated from the Portuguese press.
It is open to a newspaper to defend a libel complaint on a number of grounds. The most obvious defence is that of justification – if a defendant can prove that the allegations it published were substantially true, then the libel claim will fail. However, given the lurid and utterly baseless allegations which the McCanns complained about, a defence of justification seemed out of the question.
A second defence open to media defendants in England and Wales is that of Reynolds qualified privilege – responsible journalism on a matter of public interest. This defence is in a state of evolution, but there is an increasing body of English law which suggests that neutral reporting of serious allegations over a long period may be defensible, especially on a matter of high public interest – even where those allegations turn out to be untrue. However, it was immediately apparent that on any analysis the Express and Star's journalism was anything but responsible. While their journalists may have hoped that including token references to the McCanns' denials of wrongdoing may have been sufficient, it was clear that this did nothing to provide the balance necessary for a Reynolds defence to succeed.
It was perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that the Express Group responded to the McCanns' libel complaints by admitting liability for the libels it had published about them.
Righting the wrong
The volume of the libellous coverage published – over 100 articles were complained about, many of them front-page – was unique in the history of English libel law. In the circumstances, the Express Group were forced to agree to take the equally unprecedented step of publishing prominent apologies on the front pages of the four newspapers in question.
The highly unusual nature of the complaints also had an effect on the damages which were claimed from the Express Group.
Under English libel law, general damages have for some time been effectively 'capped' in the region of a £200,000 to £250,000 maximum for awards made at trial, amounts which would of course be reduced where cases settle out of court.
However, quite apart from the fact that Gerry and Kate McCann were each entitled to claim separately for the damage they had each suffered, their case appeared to be in the territory of a potential exemplary damages claim.
Exemplary, or punitive, damages are available only in limited circumstances under English law – in libel proceedings the claimant must prove that the defendant has published the articles complained of 'with guilty knowledge, for the motive that the chances of economic advantage outweigh the chances of economic penalty' (Broome v Cassell 1972 A.C. 1027 at 1079). In practice, this can be a very difficult hurdle for a claimant to overcome, as not only does it involve demonstrating that the defendant was, at the very least, reckless as to the truth or falsity of the allegations complained of, but also that it acted in the hope or expectation of material gain.
Newspapers of course contain a large number of articles, so it will usually be impossible to prove that when the defendant took the decision to publish the article complained of, it expected this would lead to an increase in sales.
However, the sheer number of Express Group articles containing allegations about the McCanns – together with anecdotal evidence to the effect that a front-page article about Madeleine McCann added as many as 70,000 copies to the circulation of the Daily Express – suggested that a credible case for exemplary damages may be made out by the McCanns.
In the end, the question did not have to be decided in court, as the parties were able to agree an out of court settlement. However, the total amount agreed – £550,000, which was donated at the McCanns' request to the Find Madeleine Fund – suggests that the Express Group may have accepted that there was a real risk of an exemplary damages award being made against them if the matter did ever come to court.
The front page apologies and damages paid to the McCanns on 19 March 2008, together with the subsequent exoneration of the McCanns by the Portuguese prosecutor, have not only gone a long way to repairing the damage caused to the McCanns' reputations by the press, but have also undoubtedly caused the press to question their reporting methods in ongoing criminal investigations. Such are the repercussions of the case that it forms a central part of an ongoing UK Parliamentary inquiry into press standards, privacy and libel – indeed Mr McCann has recently given evidence to a government committee hearing on his family's experiences of the media.
As Kate and Gerry McCann's search for their daughter continues, it is to be hoped that the press as a whole has learned from what proved to be a very expensive lesson for the Express Group
http://www.mccannfiles.com/id232.html
Annabel- Platinum Poster
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Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
So we are back to Madeleine being abducted.
How soon before the distance between the apartment and the Taps Bar is back to 50 yards?
No disagreement to these statements is now allowed.
How soon before the distance between the apartment and the Taps Bar is back to 50 yards?
No disagreement to these statements is now allowed.
Guest- Guest
Annabel- Platinum Poster
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WHY DONT CARTER RUCK TAKE ON THE PJ TO FORCE THEM TO RE-OPEN THE CASE...
Cart Ruck seem to be feared by everyone, they seem to steam roll any case they take on, IF and I mean IF they are so confinced of the Mccanns innocence why dont they prove it by taking on the PJ, remember Brian Kennedy is paying their legal bill, so come on CR earn your money!!!!
Your happy to take on the Papers, Mr Amaral, Tony and Debbie and anyone who calls your clients, well what about taking on the BIG BOYS!! remember Gerry and Kate say she is still alive "unharmed" why are you wasting valuble time.........Why are CR not persuing this :Spy:
Your happy to take on the Papers, Mr Amaral, Tony and Debbie and anyone who calls your clients, well what about taking on the BIG BOYS!! remember Gerry and Kate say she is still alive "unharmed" why are you wasting valuble time.........Why are CR not persuing this :Spy:
Lillyofthevalley- Platinum Poster
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Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
the Portuguese Prosecutor finally exonerated them on 21 July 2008 when their 'arguido' status was lifted.
exonerated my arse. I really despair every time I read the ramblings of yet another pink disciple
Last edited by frankie stein on Wed 7 Oct - 14:12; edited 1 time in total
frankie stein- Platinum Poster
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Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
But Carter Ruck are employed for no other reason than to protect the reputation of their clients.
They have absolutely no interest in the search for Madeleine. It is not in their remit. The search is a completely academic subject as far as Carter Ruck are concerned. It is all about how the media treats Kate & Gerry.
If only Kate & Gerry would put the same effort spent on their reputation, into the search for Madeleine. But it's been the same story for two and a half years now, top class lawyers and PR for their reputation, third rate detectives for the search. Now that screams out to me that something is wrong. Why the press don't see it, God only knows.
P.S. I think I'm being generous referring to M3, Oakley (Red Defence) and Edgar as third rate. As far as I can tell, they are still having trouble finding out where Portugal is.
They have absolutely no interest in the search for Madeleine. It is not in their remit. The search is a completely academic subject as far as Carter Ruck are concerned. It is all about how the media treats Kate & Gerry.
If only Kate & Gerry would put the same effort spent on their reputation, into the search for Madeleine. But it's been the same story for two and a half years now, top class lawyers and PR for their reputation, third rate detectives for the search. Now that screams out to me that something is wrong. Why the press don't see it, God only knows.
P.S. I think I'm being generous referring to M3, Oakley (Red Defence) and Edgar as third rate. As far as I can tell, they are still having trouble finding out where Portugal is.
curious george- Reg Member
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Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
My impression though, is that instead of doing any serious investigating or honest reporting - and as we know there was plenty to investigate and report regarding the McCanns and the Tapas 7 - many papers did in fact merely print a load of speculation and lurid fantasy presented as fact to drive up sales. At least on the Mirror and 3 Arguidos forums people made it plain they were speculating about various scenarios if they were not fact based, on the whole.
The real question to ask it just what is at the base of the media's reluctance to even touch the McCann case with serious reporting?
The real question to ask it just what is at the base of the media's reluctance to even touch the McCann case with serious reporting?
scarf1- Newbie
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Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
But that Evening Standard headline on Photon's post is factually correct. The police did suspect the parents. Even Kate & Gerry agree this was the position of the police at the time. It's why they scarpered. Whether, the police were right or wrong is another subject. But it just shows how Gerry will twist anything to suit his game.
If that headline was so damaging, why is he not suing the Evening Standard?
If that headline was so damaging, why is he not suing the Evening Standard?
curious george- Reg Member
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Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
Correct, Curious George, when a headline or reporting was fact based, then the McCanns could not sue! There are plenty of FACTS for the papers to get their teeth into, to investigate and report, so why resort to rubbish that can be sued over? I have my theory, which I will keep to myself.
scarf1- Newbie
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Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
Clarence has made it very clear that the McCanns do not want to go along that route.
Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
Ambersuz wrote:Clarence has made it very clear that the McCanns do not want to go along that route.
Of course they don't. Imagine if the truth came out???????
fred- Platinum Poster
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Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
curious george wrote:But Carter Ruck are employed for no other reason than to protect the reputation of their clients.
They have absolutely no interest in the search for Madeleine. It is not in their remit. The search is a completely academic subject as far as Carter Ruck are concerned. It is all about how the media treats Kate & Gerry.
If only Kate & Gerry would put the same effort spent on their reputation, into the search for Madeleine. But it's been the same story for two and a half years now, top class lawyers and PR for their reputation, third rate detectives for the search. Now that screams out to me that something is wrong. Why the press don't see it, God only knows.
P.S. I think I'm being generous referring to M3, Oakley (Red Defence) and Edgar as third rate. As far as I can tell, they are still having trouble finding out where Portugal is.
Fair point CG, it just dosen't sit right Gerry and Kate informing us constantly the case is NOW closed, CR suing all and sundry, imo the public would start asking questions if they knew what was going on with the MF and TB, that is why we dont have them shouting their mouths off about it, talking of shouting their mouths off were the hell is Clarence Mitcell I would like to know!!!!
You are been more than generous regarding them as third rate detectives. : :Counting:
As far as the papers are concerned I believe its just about timing its going to be like a avalaunch when the papers are FREE to write the truth, imo that day will come.
Lillyofthevalley- Platinum Poster
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Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
If the public raised enough cash could they ask detectives to investigate independently? I know that not all of the investigation info. is on the DVD, but surely, a proper detective agency who specialise in tracing missing people could come up with something more 'helpful' than Morph the 'abductor' and caves near PDL. Since the case is shelved, would that be allowed?
Alfiefinn- Platinum Poster
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The International Bar Association Conference and Carter-Ruck connection
I do get the impression that 'Lessons learned the hard way' was written by Mr Clarence Mitchell. Surely nobody else would dare to write such s@@@e !
louiseh- Reg Member
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Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
louiseh wrote:I do get the impression that 'Lessons learned the hard way' was written by Mr Clarence Mitchell. Surely nobody else would dare to write such s@@@e !
You are right, it does seem to contain a lot of lines I have read before. But somebody with a brain obviously helped Clarence with the big words.
curious george- Reg Member
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Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
Alfie it would be very interesting if enough money was raised by a fund, would C R have threatened MF and Tony like they did.
Lillyofthevalley- Platinum Poster
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Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
Its amazing isn't it? The Mccanns have got everyone wrapped around their little fingers with their "conferences" bar the most important person of all which is of course the illusive "ABDUCTOR". The McCann can pack a conference room full of dignitaries and reporters but can they hell find a trace of anyone that allegedly abducted their daughter,there again, whatever the McCanns do in these self obsessed conferences has NEVER been about their daughter has it, but has ALWAYS been about themselves.
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Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
How come Gerry McCann can swan off to such conferences like this when he is supposed to be working for the NHS? I could understand them allowing him to go to conferences if it had to do with health matters and/or the research he is supposed to be doing/has done(?), but this conference was a personal matter and presumably he only got the invite as the major speaker or what ever he was billed as, because of his tie up with Carter-Ruck and his other 'well to do' lawyers he has had in place since his daughter went missing and/or the pink thing doing some spinning to get him invited.
Papillon- Newbie
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Registration date : 2009-09-24
Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
I honestly think that if it wasn't just a little bit too OTT even for the McCanns, we'd have Carter-Ruck suing the PJ for releasing the DVD giving details of the investigation and thereby possibly lowering the reputation of the McCanns in the eyes of those who've learnt what it contains. They could claim that being made arguidos and suspected of knowing more than they were telling about Madeleine's disappearance caused the McCanns anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, or whatever else was in their action against Mr Amaral. I mean, why stop at one member of the PJ who put down in writing what he learnt about the case while co-ordinator? Why not sue the whole force for suspecting them of anything in the first place and daring to make them arguidos and then having the unbounded cheek to let the whole world read about the investigation, including reading things that don't show them in a particularly good light?
The compensation would have to be pretty high - several millions euros, I imagine - and all the DVS's would have to be collected worldwide and brought to Rothley to be burned with the banned book(s). Luckily DVD's do burn pretty well, especially if they're in those little hard plastic cases, so they'd make a nice blaze that all the locals could dance around, maybe even have a few fireworks as well.
And all would be well: the last piece of truth about the case and the investigation would be gone, the McCanns would have lots of money for the life-long 'search' - there'd be nothing left for them to worry about.
Madeleine who?
The compensation would have to be pretty high - several millions euros, I imagine - and all the DVS's would have to be collected worldwide and brought to Rothley to be burned with the banned book(s). Luckily DVD's do burn pretty well, especially if they're in those little hard plastic cases, so they'd make a nice blaze that all the locals could dance around, maybe even have a few fireworks as well.
And all would be well: the last piece of truth about the case and the investigation would be gone, the McCanns would have lots of money for the life-long 'search' - there'd be nothing left for them to worry about.
Madeleine who?
Dimsie- Platinum Poster
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Registration date : 2009-08-20
Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
They do what their pay-masters tell them ! As does that clown Edgar !
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Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
browneyes wrote:Why aren't the people of Leicester bombarding their MPs, councillors and local NHS Trust with this very question?
Why IS he allowed to parade himself at all these medically-unrelated conferences, press gatherings, trips to Lisbon for God-only-knows-what-mischief, one-sided mockumentaries and the like?
What about his research work?
What about his consultant's job?
Are other doctors p*ssed off at having to fill in?
Are patients sliding down the waiting lists because of his absences? People with heart conditions?
Can anyone think of any other company or organisation which would allow a member of staff to do this on a seemingly regular basis?
Taxpayers are shelling out good money for his services, and for what? Don't they deserve an answer to these questions?
Wake up, Leicester!
Didn't he go back as part time? Just someting I read somewhere.
Christine- Golden Poster
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Registration date : 2009-08-01
Re: The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
Before we get too irate we need to know how many weeks annual leave a consultant in his position is allowed?
.We also need to find out if at this time he is still working for the NHS . How much time has he actually spent galavanting this last year as it might fall well within what he is allowed ??
If not then I agree with all that has been said !
.We also need to find out if at this time he is still working for the NHS . How much time has he actually spent galavanting this last year as it might fall well within what he is allowed ??
If not then I agree with all that has been said !
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The International Bar Association Conference and Carter Ruck Connection
frankie stein wrote:the Portuguese Prosecutor finally exonerated them on 21 July 2008 when their 'arguido' status was lifted.
exonerated my arse. I really despair every time I read the ramblings of yet another pink disciple
We should have guessed that Carter Ruck were behind Gerry McCann's appearance at the conference. And apart from 'exonerated', what about 'wrongly accused'!!!! And no mention whatsoever of the fact that there is officially no evidence of an abduction either! AAARRGGGHHHH!!!
Catalina- Rookie
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Registration date : 2009-09-23
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