Netflix Madeleine McCann

[mumineedawee]

AIBU to think that any coverage of her disappearance is a good thing. I watched two episodes of the Netflix programme and think that if it were to bring her back into the spotlight, then surely it’s worthwhile? I’m on my own in that opinion here in our house.

gemmaodoherty.com/investigations/madeline-mccann/madeline-mccann-did-the-bbc-bend-the-truth/

In recent weeks, I have spoken to Martin
Smith at his home in Drogheda. He told me
he continues to stand by everything he said
to police in 2007. At no point did he withdraw
his statement or change his mind about the
sighting.
He is frustrated by media claims that he
now says he was mistaken; and remains
“60-80 per cent” convinced that the man he
saw that night was Gerry McCann.
After the BBC programme was broadcast,
Martin contacted ‘Panorama’ and informed
them of their inaccuracy. But the broadcaster
failed to correct the record despite its publicservice remit.
Last month, I asked the BBC why they had
wrongly suggested the Smith sighting had
been withdrawn and if they were willing to
correct their error at this late stage.
I received a reply acknowledging that they
had indeed broadcast an inaccuracy. They
agreed to update the ‘Panorama’ programme
on their iPlayer to reflect the correction. They
say the mistake was made in good faith but
they have failed to explain how they came to
make such a fundamental error and why they
did not contact Martin Smith before they
aired the broadcast to check if their story was
correct.

Did they really fly back on an easyJet plane with reporters in the cabin with them? That's so cruel. That makes me feel sorry for them. Imagine.

twatty

I completely agree they acted unprofessionally and were dodgy. I just think as previously stated it is naive to think our police and justice system is / are always angels and by the book.

From my personal and professional experience, it is not always the case. And as we have seen with Libby Squire, when the case goes cold it is incredibly hard to get fresh leads. That doesn't mean the police have not tried.

miranda is this statement given by the actual Martin Smith in the final episode or attributed to him do you know? I haven't seen the Netflix so am puzzled as to why he would change his story yet again after so recently declaring his original statement was still his opinion.

The police chief seemed arrogant, egotistical and abominable!!

I don't blame him for treating the parents as suspects....but the ways he conducted the search, no linking too sex attacks taking place right there on Algarve?? The strange men hanging around??

I can't believe the second Portuguese police didn't look for her British police weren't given the ok!!

I've read about this sort of thing before. British police have done loads of research and tracking on sex trafficking only too loose handle on it because different police force drops it ..in that case the Netherlands

I would think the whole point of the programme is to influence public perception and swing the pendulum the other way. I imagine this is also why his thread hasn't been deleted. Power and influence at work.

Negligence!! The way the resort said...

It's not our business to tell of the sex attacker...

Reminds me of the town in jaws.... not alerting people too a man eating white shark in their water's in case tourists didn't Go.

Itwaseverus

The documentary simply states that MS had withdrawn his statement as he no longer believed he'd seen GM. You then cut back to the lady who did the drawing from JT's description. Surely the guy must agree he was wrong?

Kitty lane - the British Police can and do make mistakes, but those of the PJ were completely negligent. They failed to secure the scene and the 'golden hour' was lost. Criticism of their actions isn't racism - there are many ineffectual police forces irrespective of nationality.

But Panorma quoted Martin Smith as withdrawing his statement too and that was wrong, denied by MS himself in a complaint to the BBC! The drawing from JTs description of a man with brown/camel chinos holding a child out in front of him is not the same Efit drawing Martin Smith's statement led to.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2478087/Why-Madeleine-McCann-suspect-E-fits-kept-secret-5-years.html I think this article shows the drawings from Martin Smith's sighting.

Fresta she always looks agonised me too

But her grief And pain are hers!! We shouldn't judge her on it!!

Maybe she doesn't want to share her anguished cries etc...

I do find the silence around the other with them strange though.... the have done well to keep out if the spotlight!!

closed the borders to Spain
What borders? FFS

I remember reading at the time that 2 of the tapas group men swapped tops (maybe jackets?) at one point during the fateful meal. I always found this odd. Is this discussed at all during the documentary? Sorry, I don't have Netflix.

To be honest it's throwing up more questions than answers.

Do we even know if theirs apartment were searched? It's never said where the other apartments of the friends were

kitty I don't think anyone has said that the British police don't botch cases either. I do think Scotland Yard has more experience dealing with missing child cases of this nature (sadly).

Our police are far from perfect.
Stephen Lawrence the case that springs to my mind but still we have or did

The conclusion from Netflix documentary appears to me as that M was abducted by an organised team who most likely watched and waited. I believe this theory wholeheartedly. I think it's devastating that key sightings weren't followed up until the Met took over.

As a family we regularly holiday in Burgau approx 2 miles away. We would let our children walk to the bakers most mornings to collect bread. They loved the responsibility. It is something that we stopped doing after 2007 very scary.

Around 2007/2008, when the story was still in the newspapers almost every day, I recall a story about a Portuguese girl of a similar age who'd gone missing a few months before. The mother had been charged with her murder, I think. The article was suggesting the mother had beaten or pressured by the Portuguese police to confess. The story was suggesting this girl may have been trafficked and that the Portuguese police had completed ignored any other possibility other than her mother doing her harm. The implication was Kate had escaped similar treatment solely because she was a British citizen. It's bugging me that I can't remember more details as it's has always stuck in my head. I believe the police, especially that arrogant man on the documentary, fixated on the McCanns and that damaged the investigation. There was a definite misogynistic bias by focussing on Kate.

Agreed twatty and desperate

Desperateforspring Upthread you said something that I think I read as not all the staff at the resort were questioned? It is my understanding they were even if they had no contact.

As I posted earlier we have stayed at that resort and have friends who have been several times since. One of them was telling us of a sports coach who worked at the resort that year and had struggled to get another job as one of the first things that comes up on Google with their name is a link to their interview as part of the questioning after MM disappeared. This person had no contact with MM at all yet the investigation impacted their career for years after

@MissEliza

That case is referenced in the documentary.

The amount of resource allocated to this one case is absolutely bonkers. Well over £14 million has been spent without a single credible lead. What about all the other thousands of missing people, including other children? Very odd