Madeleine spokeswoman urges travel industry to take paedophile threat seriously

**bb1** Tue Jun 04, 2013 4:32 pm

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2013/06/04/44271/madeleine+press+spokeswoman+urges+industry+to+take+paedophile+threat+more+seriously.html

Madeleine press spokeswoman urges industry to take paedophile threat more seriously

By Lee Hayhurst | 04 June 2013 at 14.02 GMT

The travel industry should do more to combat the threat from paedophiles, the press spokeswoman for the family of Madeleine McCann told the ITT conference.

Justine McGuiness, giving her first ever public address on her experiences of managing the press campaign to find the missing five year old, said the sector should take the issue more seriously.

She praised the operator Mark Warner from whose resort in Praia da Luz in the Algarve Madeleine went missing from six years ago for its reaction.

But speaking about the travel industry in general she said she felt more should be done to counteract problems before incidents occur.

“When you take people to safe places to have family holidays and there is a risk there then actually I think the travel industry should take it more seriously than it does.

“Preparation is the key. I always said to clients prepare for the worst, the likelihood is it won’t happen but then at least you are prepared for it.”

McGuiness said the rise of social media means firms have to react quicker than ever to any incident and that a speedy and effective response was likely to pay dividends.

She said she was grateful the disappearance of Madeleine happened before the days of Twitter because the micro-blogging site has speeded up the flow of information.

“We had a clear strategy. We wanted to change certain things so that if a similar case occurred the police response would be quicker. There was a public affairs strategy as well as a media relations.”

McGuiness said she felt the Portuguese police did not understand the McCann family’s need to stay in Portugal while the hunt for Madeleine got underway following the disappearance.

And she believed the police and the local authorities started to take the view that they wanted the McCanns to go home.

“They felt if they went home this problem would go home with them. Of course you would want to know what happened to your daughter.

“For some of the policemen, and they were all men, I do not think they really understood that. They wanted them to go home and started applying the pressure by briefing the Portuguese media and then the UK media.”

And of Mark Warner’s response, McGuiness said: “They were prepared for dealing with the crisis. They did not know what crises may happen, but they were prepared.

“That’s the real trick in terms of a corporate dealing with a crisis, is preparation. They did a really good job and were supportive of the McCanns and were really helpful.”

Asked what she now believes happened to Madeleine, McGuiness said it was highly unlikely she was kidnapped to order as some theories suggested or just walked out of the apartment herself.

But she said her experience of the case made her realise that many paedophiles appear to be upstanding members of communities not thought capable of carrying out that sort of crime.

But she said often when the police find out what pornographic material they have half have material involving children under the age of 10 and 20% material involving under three year olds.

McGuiness said she feared as more time passes the chance of finding Madeleine fades.

“I hope it has a very positive outcome and that Madeleine is found. They are still looking for her but the longer than goes on the more likely it is that there won’t be a resolution.

“My heart really goes out to Kate and Jerry [Madeleine’s parents], to go for six years without knowing what happened to your daughter really is brutal.”

**bb1** Tue Jun 04, 2013 4:34 pm

Makes you wonder why, to this day, Team Gonc still push the 'no paedophiles in Portugal' line, despite ample evidence to the contrary.

**Sabot** Tue Jun 04, 2013 5:05 pm

Of course Portugal wanted The McCanns to go home. Their plight was an embarrassment.
Such a pity that The McCanns didn't just shut up about it.

**bb1** Tue Jun 04, 2013 5:12 pm

“For some of the policemen, and they were all men, I do not think they really understood that. They wanted them to go home and started applying the pressure by briefing the Portuguese media and then the UK media.”

Refreshing to see someone come straight out and say it, though. And I'm sure no-one needs further proof that the PJ were deliberately misleading the media.

I wonder if she's heard any whispers about the direction the review is taking? Like, who in the PDL area had nasty material on their computers?

**Pedro Silva** Tue Jun 04, 2013 5:15 pm

I disagree with: "McGuiness said she feared as more time passes the chance of finding Madeleine fades."

the recent case of Ohio / Clevelabnd proves exactly the opposite, together with the cases of Shawn Hornbeck, Jaycee Dugard, Natascha Kampusch.

**Sabot** Tue Jun 04, 2013 5:31 pm

Pedro Silva wrote:I disagree with: "McGuiness said she feared as more time passes the chance of finding Madeleine fades."

the recent case of Ohio / Clevelabnd proves exactly the opposite, together with the cases of Shawn Hornbeck, Jaycee Dugard, Natascha Kampusch.

I agree with you, Pedro.

**bb1** Tue Jun 04, 2013 7:17 pm

Agree.

Interesting to see her 'take' on it all, though, as she was very much an insider. It's hard to escape the impression that protecting the tourist industry was taking priority, though

**bb1** Tue Jun 04, 2013 7:49 pm

Oh FFS!

e: Justine McGuiness urges industry to take paedophile threat more seriously
Iris Today

If justine is so keen to do the best for wee maddie then maybe she can make public, those incriminating documents she left under the settee before they all did a runner from portugal.

I thought the entire world knew by now that that was yet more carp invented by one D. Levy. I didn't think ANYONE was stupid enough to still believe that rubbish.

Clearly, I over-estimated the McCann-haters.

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