STAR: McCanns' Horror at holiday ad (merged)

MADELEINE MCCANN WEB AD APPALLING SAY PARENTS

This is an appalling use of Madeleine’s picture and whether it is a result of hacking or a mistake it must be removed immediately

Spokesman Clarence Mitchell
8th May 2012
By Jerry Lawton

MADELEINE McCann’s parents were “horrified” last night after discovering her photo being used to sell trips to Portugal.

The snap of Maddie at the age of three is shown on a website boasting: “£20 off: Great discount on holiday bookings.”

It plugs breaks in a self-catering family apartment in Albufeira, Algarve, just 25 miles from the Praia da Luz resort where Madeleine vanished five years ago.

The photo, on discount website VoucherDigg, was snapped hours before the youngster disappeared from the apartment.

The treasured poolside image was the last photo of her taken by parents Kate, 44, and Gerry, 43, who have been desperately searching for her since May 2007.

Last night the couple’s spokesman Clarence Mitchell branded its use “appallingly insensitive”.

Top London law firm Carter-Ruck has been called in to demand the removal of the picture with “immediate effect”.

Mr Mitchell told the Daily Star: “This is an appalling use of Madeleine’s picture and whether it is a result of hacking or a mistake it must be removed immediately.

“Kate and Gerry are fully aware of this and are horrified. We understand it has been on the website for 24 hours.”

Underneath her picture are the words “best value’’. When users click on it they are taken to a page featuring the same image and deals from lowcostholidays.com.

Bizarrely, the advert urges holidaymakers: “Hurry up for time is limited. Take the ones you loved and enjoy your life.’’

Lawrence Hunt, boss of lowcosttravelgroup, told the Daily Star he was “outraged” the photo had been linked to his company.

He said initial inquiries had sourced the picture to a Chinese marketing firm.

He added: “We have broken all the links from their site to ours and have contacted them to remove this content.”

No-one at VoucherDigg was available to comment last night.

bb1 wrote:The Star says:


You would need a pretty sick sense of humour to be amused by it.

Moronic pitchforkers say:

They missed a trick there, they could have sold some of those holiday packs they were selling the other year, you know the luggage tags?

------------
This must be very good publicity for the holiday company, all this extra advertising.

-----------

I spot a 'kerching' opportunity.....settlement out of court etc


I do hope the Star decides to let its millions of readers see who the trolls behind the sick posts are, as they did with LaffinThug.

muratfan wrote:Think i may send The Star everything i have on little Miss Chucky Misspell.

bb1 wrote:

ETA, don't forget to include the screenshot of her using the 'f' word to describe Madeleine McCann.

muratfan wrote:

bb1 wrote:

ETA, don't forget to include the screenshot of her using the 'f' word to describe Madeleine McCann.

Oh i have that one as well. I have most of her vile postings where it is obvious she doesn't care about Madeleine .

EVEN HAVE THE ONE WHERE SHE HOPES MADELEINE IS DEAD

bb1 wrote:If this is correct:


Voucher Digg website is registered to a registrant at the University of East Anglia

Then it shouldn't be too hard to track down the sicko who did this. And the forkers who have been capering, shrieking and generally enjoying this cannot complain if people in the real world take a long, hard look at who went out of their way to draw attention to it.

Especially people who started gloating, LOOKAMEE!!!! threads.