CARTER RUCK BLOG - LEVESON AND THE MCCANNS

The Leveson Inquiry – victims of the media turn the tables on the press

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Isabel Hudson

The Leveson Inquiry has been making headline news on an almost daily basis since it began to hear the evidence of a number of victims of the media. While the Inquiry was largely prompted by the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, it is considering evidence on far wider issues of press conduct, of which the testimony of Kate and Gerry McCann has proven a powerful example.

After their daughter Madeline was abducted in the Algarve, the McCanns were the subject of an unprecedented number of highly defamatory and utterly baseless articles. These ranged from allegations that the couple had killed their daughter and disposed of her body, to the equally abhorrent suggestion that they had sold Madeleine into white slavery in order to pay off debts. Yet due to Portuguese laws of judicial secrecy, the McCanns were forbidden from speaking out. “We were being tried by the media and unable to defend ourselves” Gerry McCann told the Inquiry.

The McCanns explained that they were ultimately able to obtain some redress through the libel complaints which Carter-Ruck brought on their behalves, and which led to front page apologies in a number of newspapers as well as donations of substantial damages to the Find Madeleine fund.

The couple explained to the Inquiry, however, that their victimisation by the press went much further than this. They had repeatedly been ‘doorstepped’ and harassed by photographers who had caused considerable distress to their younger daughter and son, while a journalist had also managed to deceive Mr McCann’s mother into handing over a private photograph of the family.

For Kate McCann, the worst moment came in 2008 when lengthy extracts of her personal diary were splashed over the front page of the News of the World, without any warning. The diary had been seized by Portuguese police who subsequently handed it back. Mrs McCann told the Inquiry:

“I felt totally violated. I had written these words at the most desperate time of my life, and it was my only way of communicating with Madeleine…I just recently read through my diary entries at that point in that week, and I talk about climbing into a hole and not coming out because I just felt so worthless that we had been treated like that.”


The Inquiry is expected ultimately to make recommendations as to how the culture, practice and ethics of the press may be improved and better regulated, and in light of the evidence from the McCanns and the many other media victims it is difficult to see how the Inquiry could conclude that anything short of a full overhaul in press regulation is necessary. In the meantime the Inquiry is clearly providing an important platform for the victims of egregious press behaviour, who have previously struggled to have their voices heard against the might of the media machine.

Here's something else to get the 8RS frothing and foaming, from Alistair Campbell at Leveson:

http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16120673

Campbell describes the treatment of the McCanns as inhumane.
by skyfixer69 via twitter 8:30 AM


#Campbell : I could see what was happening and I should have warned the McCanns. Why did nobody from the PCC stand up and put a stop to it?

Campbell said it was clear that the #McCanns thought they were using media when the reverse was true. They were becoming news commodities.

The media was putting them in the same catagories as big celebs like Diana or Britney Spears. They became "anything goes people." #Campbell

He's angry about the PCC's lack of reaction to the #McCann case. They sat there, watched their code being broken hourly and did nothing.
by skyfixer69 via twitter 10:33 AM

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Read it and weep, pitchforkers - you're the suckers who STILL believe all the merde that was being churned out.

Good grief.

It is quite extraordinary. I should go over and look at the anti sites. But really dont have the heart!!!

I don't have much time for the likes of Britney Speares or Diana for that matter, but no one deserves to be treated like this. The Media were like a pack of ravening beasts in the search for "Truth", according to them, when in fact nothing was more absent than Truth itself.

What they did to The McCanns will forever remain a blot on Britain. But don't imagine that these people will feel sorry for what they did because they won't.

sans_souci wrote:Good grief.

It is quite extraordinary. I should go over and look at the anti sites. But really dont have the heart!!!

It's fairly pointless these days, sans, there isn't a word of sense to be found on them - increasingly, they are following Textusa down the rabbit hole.

It's amusing that they don't get the irony of the situation - they call themselves 'Truthseekers', but they are the ones clinging desperately to these discredited old news stories, even though the journos themselves are admitting they made the stories up.

Don't ask me why - maybe they have so much invested in their hatred, they can't face the truth? It's ironic, though, that it's the Truthseekers still believe all this tabloid trash - they're the perfect target market, aren't they?

My friends, this was taken from Myths:

http://www.carter-ruck.com/Blog/?p=104

Thanks for posting the link, Pedro, I seem to have managed to forget it....

http://www.carter-ruck.com/Blog/?p=104

Why have none of the Truthseekers had the nerve to comment on the CR blog? They are usually eager to post hatespam at a minutes' notice, but all we have are pointed comments like:

Brit. says:
November 30, 2011 at 1:21 pm
How did these diaries find there way from the Portuguese police into the Portuguese media and later to the NOTW.

This should be investigated and made known.

and mention of a certain 'retired' PJ officer's habit leaving confidential info on his desk when Portuguese female journos were around - what, did Team Gonc think no-one knows about that?

More scorn being poured on the cowardy custards here:

http://regretsandramblings.com/2011/12/01/all-mouth-no-trousers/

From:

http://stopthemyths.prophpbb.com/post46173.html#p46173

Nice bunch of 8RS talking carp somewhere or other:

Suzanne Winter
Whatever side Viv's on (and it's not always clear) she's made a couple of interesting observations on Twitter today...

anotherviv Viv McCanns did attempt to sue Daily Mail in July 2008 but they REFUSED to remove the articles, so they are accurate.

Daily Mail also REFUSED to print any apology about their coverage of the case, McCanns backed down!

An article still online says: a Portuguese newspaper claimed police had 'intercepted' emails and phone calls between Kate and Gerry McCann and their friends.
These, the newspaper reported, provided 'decisive proof' that Madeleine was not kidnapped, but died in the family's holiday apartment in Portugal.
Police say there are discrepancies between the timings given by the McCann party and staff and other diners in the restaurant that night.
One Portuguese newspaper yesterday, which quoted 'police sources', said: "If everything happened as the English holidaymakers say, in terms of their checking the children, it would be almost impossible for a kidnap to have taken place."
Mystery of Madeleine parents' secret emails 'intercepted by police'
www.dailymail.co.uk

Lynne Susan Riley wonder why they didn't mention the emails and phone calls at the leveson inquiry

Frances Mc Carthy So there is evidence then ? Wonder if these can be brought up in court by Amaral and Pat Browen in February. Amaral did always say that there was evidence.

Claire 'bear' Smith So ffs, whyyyyy ain't they ever gone to trial??? How much more bloody evidence does anyone need nowadays? When will it enddddd?!!!

Claire 'bear' Smith Ok wot about this...they intercepted emails & phone calls but cos Gordon brown got chatting to Gerry about the importance of the secret act casting over op ore, Portugal had to shelve the case because of that alone?!

Nikki Page-Broughton Yes but we knew this anyway didn't we that the PJ had the info, the problem is is that under PT law, it cannot be used as evidence.

Frances Mc Carthy Was just about to say that Nikki ..can the law be changed? They changed the law to releaase the PJ files......?

Liz Newman The more you look at the files and the old reports it does make you wonder more and more how they never got charged. I have seen others get charged with less than what was on these two!

==================

Has it really not sunk in with them yet? That a Portuguese newspaper claimed means one of Gonc's lot fed them a load of rubbish in a bar?

Pathetic, delusional idiots.

How odd - the 8rs are strangely reluctant to tell Carter Ruck what they think of them directly:

http://www.carter-ruck.com/Blog/?p=104

What's happened to all that bravado?

Poor, stupid old 8rs, wrong as usual, as pointed out by Myths...


Daily Mail also REFUSED to print any apology about their coverage of the case, McCanns backed down!

They seem to have missed the bit about the Mail coughing up, how odd!

I'm told, at page 25, and there were similar reports in the Daily Mirror. But so there's no doubt about it, the Sun and the Daily Mirror are not the
defamers. They are reporting what's happened in relation to proceedings brought by other organs of the press.
Paragraph 78 to 80, Associated Newspapers, please.
You made a further libel complaint in July of 2008 in relation to coverage in the Daily Mail and the Evening Standard. Can we be clear which articles these relate to, since you don't specify it in paragraph 79? Do I have this right? Are you referring back to the article at paragraph 40 of your witness statement, Dr McCann?

A. There had been a large number of articles, similar tone to the ones that we had complained of previously, so it was more again about DNA, blood, suspects, Madeleine being killed, et cetera, rather than anything else.
Paragraph 40 --
Q. You identify one article in the Evening Standard published on 7 September 2007.

A. Sure. There were many similar articles like that, particularly in the Evening Standard at that time.

MRS McCANN: The corpse in the car was the Evening Standard, I think.

Q. In a nutshell, what was the outcome of these libelproceedings?

MR McCANN: We did settle. They paid damages and there was an apology published in the Evening Standard. The Daily Mail did not publish an apology.


They paid damages

What was that they were saying.......

I'm surprised B$own hasn't gone on the Carter Ruck blog to ask them about her Amazon problem.........

Oh yes, what a good idea, Lily - shouldn't be all that hard for B$own to grow up and ASK what the problem is.

I'm sure all her fans would be very interested too. She could possibly clear up the problem and continue selling. That IS what she wants, isn't it?

Has anyone noticed that it is only Brown who has been shouting about her alleged law suit?
Does anyone remember the McCanns shouting at Bennett or Brown....no?
That is because, the McCanns left all the shouting up to their lawyers. That's professionalism for you.

crazytony wrote:Has anyone noticed that it is only Brown who has been shouting about her alleged law suit?
Does anyone remember the McCanns shouting at Bennett or Brown....no?
That is because, the McCanns left all the shouting up to their lawyers. That's professionalism for you.

Grasshopper says...

Litigant who mouths off on internet about their lawsuits is having trouble getting legal representation

Oh, I know why they won't post on the Carter Ruck blog! They're scared to let CR see their ips

Wise Grasshopper.

bb1 wrote:Oh, I know why they won't post on the Carter Ruck blog! They're scared to let CR see their ips

That shouldn't stop B$own though?

Any fule knowe that people who are involved in legal matters simply never, ever blab about it, Tony - especially to a world-wide audience on the internet.

bb1 wrote:Oh, I know why they won't post on the Carter Ruck blog! They're scared to let CR see their ips

Bonny, they don't have to post, they just have to visit for their ip to be harvested

Oh dear, Tony, that should set them off again, knowing CR can see their ips, ISPS, etc. Makes you wonder what they are scared of, doesn't it?

Why would they be worried, unless they knew they had done something wrong?

None of us are bothered about CR seeing our ips or email addies - but they all are. Tells it's own story, doesn't it?

bb1 wrote:Oh dear, Tony, that should set them off again, knowing CR can see their ips, ISPS, etc. Makes you wonder what they are scared of, doesn't it?

Why would they be worried, unless they knew they had done something wrong?

None of us are bothered about CR seeing our ips or email addies - but they all are. Tells it's own story, doesn't it?

I wonder what the fools Internet providers would do if Carter Ruck proved to them what the 8rs do with their service?

But....but...they say they are Truthseekers, Tony. Surely they shouldn't let a little thing like that scare them off posting on a blog? Anyone would think they were ashamed of what they are doing!

bb1 wrote:But....but...they say they are Truthseekers, Tony. Surely they shouldn't let a little thing like that scare them off posting on a blog? Anyone would think they were ashamed of what they are doing!

I'd love to see them explain to their families why they no longer have Internet service