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Saturday, April 26, 2008

The Three Suspects


The Three Suspects

On the one hand, the genuine case of a child abduction, for example, that reported in today's Daily Telegraph, "Ed Smart, whose 14-year-old daughter Elizabeth was abducted at knifepoint from her bed in Salt Lake City, Utah, in June 2002, was found - along with her abductor - the following March after a sustained and high-profile campaign".

On the other hand, also reported in today's Daily Telegraph, the question is asked: When is your baby too old for a sitter? I hope the McCanns and their spin doctor Clarence Mitchell, pause long enough to take a reality check: "It was all so simple when they were younger. You left them, bright and shining, in the capable hands of a trusted babysitter". The article hits the nail on the head with this observation: "Parents can be prosecuted if they wilfully neglect or abandon any child under the age of 16, in the words of the 1933 Act, 'in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health'". In a recent Radio 4 programme, Rachel Oldfield (one of the Tapas Bar 9), claimed "There was just no way that they [the McCanns] were involved in anything to do with Madeleine’s disappearance. Anyone with an ounce of common sense really would be able to see that they couldn’t have done it". Her reasoning was based upon them both being doctors, and the fact that there were 4 other doctors in the group, and they are skilled in resuscitation. However, as the article goes on to point out "What you have to remember is that emergencies can blow up within seconds", therefore, it is commonsense not to leave a 3 year old and 2 year old twins unattended. Indeed, the article concludes with advice the McCanns should have heeded "Never leave babies or young children alone, whether sleeping or awake, even for a few minutes".

To date, the McCanns have so far failed to satisfactorily justify their decision to leave such young children alone for night after night whilst they went out binge drinking. Whilst Ed Smart is experienced in his own case, these comments of his, in my view, should be taken with a pinch of salt: "There is no question in my mind that they didn't have anything to do with Madeleine's disappearance...Kate is a wonderful mother and cares about her children and would do anything to bring Madeleine home".

Sadly, what is missing from this profile Clarence Mitchell, master of the Madeleine McCann media circus is the fact that Clarence Mitchell, whilst working for the British government, perverted the course of justice in tipping off the McCanns to the electronic surveillance by the Portuguese police.

This case might start to move forward again if Robert Murat was eliminated from the police investigation and his suspect status removed. In his place, whilst not involved in Madeleine's disappearance, Clarence Mitchell should be made a suspect for his involvement in the serious crime of perverting the course of justice. One can only wonder why the Attorney General, Baroness Scotland, has so far failed to bring Clarence Mitchell to justice for his role in this whole affair?

3 comments:

James Higham said...

Wonder how much there is in the Stockholm Syndrome?

Barnacle Bill said...

You don't think it was the Mccanns off for a little talk with the Met?

Julie said...

Yes - it may not be illegal technically, to leave kids of any age unattended but as leaving them exposes them to many risks and as prosecution is likely to follow any serious harm befalling an unattended child, most parents interpret leaving kids, especially very young children, as illegal and a serious abandonment of duty, etc. Incredible that doctors continue to bang on about it being 'within the bounds of responsible parenting'.,etc. when they must be well aware that as doctors they would be professionally bound to report that sort of conduct to the appropriate authorities if it concerned their patients.

Clarence Mitchell has sometimes given the impression that he is 'intimidating' or interfering with the Tapas witnesses through the media- it's all very odd.

That's an interesting thought from James re Stockholm Syndrome...also of interest today is that the McCanns are now writing their own book, according to the Telegraph.