To think the Met spending £5 million on Maddie McCann is unfair on others who have missing children

[Ilovemyself]

I know how retched I would feel if I were in the McCanns position, and would want no expense to be spared in the hunt for answers.

But I can't help but think that this case has been so high profile that other cases must have funding cut or not even be followed up as the budget is limited.

I honestly don't know what the answer is, but it does seem this case has benefitted in ways others wouldn't.

I feel bad for thinking its unfair on others, but just can't help wondering how other victims of serious crime feel.

Freudian. If the NMcCanns were given the oppertunity of a 2 year review of the case then why shouldn't the Needhams. Or anyone else with an unresolved missing persons case, which is what this is.

The police are still investigating Ben Needham. It just doesn't get that much publicity as not that many people are aware of the case now.

I agree Bridget

Not sure Kate admitted as much as a witness stated Madeleine has been distressed calling for her father for an hour the night before.

recently a team of police from the uk went out to greece to examine land where building work was taking place at the time of his disappearance the investigation is still on going

I don't care what the McCanns did or didn't do. I don't care what the Jones did or didn't do.*

I don't care what any parent of an abducted child did. That's my point.

When I was a baby, my gran took me to the shops on the bus and parked my pram outside the shop (as was the norm in the 1960s). Not only did she not go and check on me, she forgot about me entirely and got the bus back home on her own. It was only when she got back and my grandad asked where I was that she realised she'd forgotten about me and got the bus back again.

I was outside that shop (in London incidentally) for at least 2 hours. If I'd been snatched , would people have held my gran up for being irresponsible? I very much doubt it. The narrative has changed now; it doesn't make behaviour better or worse.

Simple question. Ask who knows the name Madeline McCann. But before that ask who knows who Ben Needham is. The profile of the case is much lower so I bet most people won't remember Ben.

I must admit I had forgotten all about Ben Needham until this thread. I wasn't aware the police were still looking. But how many are on Ben Needhams and how many are on Madeline McCanns. This is what I am on about. There are many that will either be on the back burner or will be closed completely. Either way the resource is not equally spread. And it seems the McCann case seems to be the one to get everything.

Well, whatever the situation bridget finger pointing is not helpful. They would, in a case like this be considered to be failing to protect, but this element has been completely overlooked. Which actually, initially, is quite correct. The primary concern should be finding/finding out what has happened to a child
BUT, they HAVE failed to protect (either though neglect, bad judgement, whatever - it happens and it is obviously wrong). Then have not fully complied with the investigation or taken owenership of their error.

I wonder what the public response would have been if they had been if they had been totally up front, said 'we made a mistake' now please help us.

The interview reports state that the Mark Warner Holiday didn't offer the service in that particular resort, only in other ones.

I think that going back to previous posts, the social position and power of the McCanns, the press and the media have really jaded public opinion and when other cases are not given the same amount of time and energy it leaves a bitter taste.

I personally think this is a really valid debate, it's made me think and my view has become a lot clearer.

From an ethical point of view, have the McCann's behaved ethically or not??? The answer to that doesn't justify the money being spent or not but it does ask other questions. Such as who is in charge, the police, the media or the mccanns and whoever is pulling the strings, what are their motives. How do one couple have so much power and media currency when other families in the same situation have none.

Your Gran left you alone for two hours in London. Either she had a real reason for this (dementia, etc) or she should have been held responsible. The only reason that no action was probably taken at the time was because it was your and father mother who were responsible for you normally weren't to blame.

Are you honestly saying that you believe that people who dump their children for hours on end should be able to do so without sanction because it's just a little 'oops' moment. I bet your mother didn't let her take you out on her own again.

Ilovemyself - do you have any reason to think that less effort is being made to find Ben Needham? Or is it just that there isn't the media coverage?

Because they are two entirely different things

Sorry but the Ben Needham case has had lots of coverage. It was 20 years ago and if I remember correctly he was a baby left unsupervised for a relatively long period of time. It is terribly sad but a very, very different case to MM.
They must have some kind of lead to push this further. There are many factors to this case we are simply not privvy to.

the reason we all know about Madeleine McCann is that the way media reported things has totally changed. we have 24 hour running news, we have many more media outlets, we have forums like this because we now have the internet

I remembered his case, no it was not so high profile but then the reporting of the news wasn't either and i do not remember his family being pulled apart by the media either

DrAnge - but we're not talking about coverage. We're talking about the amount being spent on the investigation and the fact that the PM chooses to get involved. I KNOW an ex-Met policeman who says NO missing child case in THIS country has had this amount spent or the number of people working on it as the Maddie case. Yes there was a lot of money spent and people working on April Jones but that was at the time and we know the result, even if we don't know what happened to her. Do I believe that, had they not convicted that despicable man, that in 7 years the Met would still be investigating to the extent they are the Maddie case? No, I actually don't.

OP why do you care so much?

Kiriwawa. I guess it is a bit of both. If the police are investigating part of their job is to keep it in the public eye to help keep others minds open to the fact.

The press is a different best of course. If they can't sell papers from it they won't be interested. Why do you think that people like Littlejohn in the DM are allowed to print their rubbish!

Something doesn't sit right with me on this one, and it has nothing to do with what the McCcanns did or didn't do. The PM getting involved but not even answering Ben Needhams mothers letter just isn't right. And cases like Elsa Selema also seem wrong ( although I would particularly want our police to have to visit Egypt at the moment.)

Exitpersued. I just feel that there are so many different worthy causes that for one case to get all of the focus seems wrong. As I said earlier, there is only one pot of money and it isn't bottomless.

Pleidianpony. Your post has made me think more about who is really controlling this case - the police? The McCanns? The press? The PM? I hadn't even thought if that side of it.

Shouldn't we be celebrating the fact that the Met are willing to pour resources into finding a child who disappeared overseas? That's a good thing isn't it? Isn't that what we want them to do - fight and dig doggedly until they get a result, no matter what the local police force's poor efforts and resources have concluded?

Kiriwawa. That is not the point I aside. Of course it is good they are looking. But they have more to go on in Elsa Selema's case so why do they say that in this case it is out of their jurisdiction?

No Pliedapony finger pointing is helpful. If we didn't point fingers and hold parents responsible for their actions when they are responsible for their children parents would be able to do whatever they wanted. Everybody would be able to do what they wanted.

Like it or not our society is based on a number of social mores which have developed because in general we have a consensus about what kind of behaviour is acceptable in certain situations, particularly when you are parents. Unpalatable as it may be if we didn't 'point fingers' and hold people responsible you can guarantee that the world would be a lot more of a frightening place for children. I would bet my right arm that tonight there are a lot of mothers who are being pushed further and far more at the end of their tether than the McCanns who aren't dumping their kids purely because they know it is not sociably acceptable. Sometimes when you are at the end of your tether and everything is going wrong knowing what society expects of you as a parent is just that little nudge that allows you to keep perspective and behave in the right way.

So yes, I do think finger pointing is helpful. Perhaps not even in the circumstances where someone is at the end of there tether and desperate. But when they just want to go out and drink? Certainly.

I have no idea Ilove. And I'm not able to draw a conclusion based on media reports either.

Kiri - to an extent. But we're paying for it, and as a taxpayer I'd like to know our money is being spent both wisely (ie, that it is worth investigating) and fairly (ie, that similar cases receive the same attention and resources).

On the former, perhaps it is. On the latter, I don't think it is.

Rebecca brooks requested Cameron approach SY it wasn't their call

DoctorAnge, Ben Needham wasn't left unsupervised for long. His grandparents were looking after him while he played outside and his uncle pulled up on his moped. He normally took Ben away on his moped so his Grandparents assumed that he was with him which is why they left it several hours to report him missing. When his uncle came back and said that he hadn't picked him up that was the first time they realized Ben was missing. And his mother was out at work, everybody who was looking after him was sober and being responsible in the normal way they did usually.