SEARCHING FOR MADELEINE

For 4+ years Kate and Gerry McCann have supported the work of Operation Grange, telling their fans and the watching world, progress is being made and they remain hopeful. 

Unfortunately, for the parents as they were the ones who instigated the Review that led to the live investigation, they have had little option to do otherwise.  It was their letter highlighting their plight as parents of a missing child, and their need to find their daughter and published on the front page of the Sun, that set the balls in motion. 

They have this past 9 years blamed Goncalo Amaral and the Portuguese police for the loss of their child.  These 'foreign' police, they implied, lacked the skills and experience of their UK counterparts, and worse, they were blaming the parents because they didn't want a murder in one of their popular tourist resorts.  The Portuguese investigation, according to the McCanns and their supporters was a shambles. 

As Operation Grange winds down, without Madeleine being found or any arrests being made, the McCanns are in the bizarre position of not being able to criticise the British investigation without exposing that they might be on the list of suspects. 

This endlessly intriguing game that is being played out between the police and their prime suspects is truly fascinating.  If it were a game of chess, the parents are now in check, they are surrounded by pawns and knights with Queen Nicola poised and ready to strike. 

From the very beginning, the McCanns and their spokesman, have had to assure their public that they are working in harmony with the British police.  Their primary goal has been to convince the watching world that the British police do not consider them to be suspects.  Effectively, they are repeating their actions in Portugal in 2007, they are telling journalists and anyone interested, that the police are working with them to find an abductor.   They continued to stress their 'good' relationship with the Portuguese police right up until the moment they were made Arguidos.  

That they have been able to maintain the appearance of a harmonious relationship with Operation Grange demonstrates the genius of their PR campaigns.  As I have said before, if there were awards for the dark art of spin, Team McCann would go away loaded.  Sadly for the McCanns, Operation Grange have provided nothing to steer the public's suspicion away from them.  Over 2 years on from the much publicised Crimewatch revelation, the only suspect remaining is a guy who looks exactly like Gerry.    

The idea that the McCanns have lived happily with the investigation this past 4 years is ludicrous.  What sane person, who wanted to remain sane, could happily live with 24/7 interrogation and surveillance for years on end? Unfortunately, in the parents quest to raise further defence funds, Kate's book, she described in great detail their modus operandi.  In order to cover up the fact that the police had brought in the sniffer dogs, Gerry faked a tummy bug.  They had to lie Kate tells us, they had no choice.  In their televised interviews they were telling the world that the police didn't suspect them and they were looking for a live child, even though behind the scenes, they were clearly the prime suspects.  Unfortunately for Kate and Gerry, those of us who have stuck with this case have heard it all before, and indeed, in her book, Kate confirmed what many of us had suspected.  It also explained how they were all able to behave 'normally' at that fateful last supper.  Blacksmith was spot on, Madeleine may well turn out to be longest confession in history. 

No parent who truly believed their child was alive and findable, would accept the closing of a police investigation without protest and anguish.  Especially if they planned to continue the Search themselves.  The loss of Scotland Yard resources would be a bitter pill to swallow.  They have already gone through £4m+ the experience of raising money and wasting money on private detectives, many of whom are now serving prison sentences.  That they want to go down this road again, is astonishing. 

At some point, and I think it may be soon, the public façade of this harmonious relationship between the parents and Operation Grange will crumble.  The seeds are being sewn, with the ever obliging Tracey Kandohla kicking off 2016 with the revelation that Operation Grange employed those well known cads and shysters G4S to assist them on the Madeleine case. 

If anyone imagines I am trying to add to the parents pain, I assure you I get no pleasure from this at all.  If I attempt to put myself in their shoes, I know I would crumble within seconds.  The loss of a child would have taken me out in Act One, and I think that probably applies to most of us.  The idea of living a pretend life would frighten the bejesus out of me.  I feel a genuine sadness for people who have to pretend to be something they are not.  I do not think there could be any crueller prison. 

Even if the parents are never charged, and even if they are completely without conscience, they must live with that never ending suspicion.  For people like Kate and Gerry, who have high aspirations, a clean slate is essential.  They crave high office and public admiration, Gerry's wider agenda had their futures mapped out.  All their dreams are dependent on the public accepting they had nothing to do with their daughter's disappearance.  That their dreams cannot come to fruition because of this cloud that hangs over them must gnaw at them daily.  Indeed, this case is littered with headlines about the McCanns anger and rage, and several firms of specialised lawyers have been profitably engaged this last 9 years taking out their critics and guarding them online. 

It is the McCannns need to destroy others that irks me.  They blame everyone but themselves.  In the case of genuinely grieving parents, they blame themselves first and foremost.  They torment themselves with the minutiae of what they could have done differently.  Even when the perpetrator is found and proven guilty, those tortured parents continue to blame themselves. 

As remarkable as it is that the McCanns forgave themselves within 48 hours, their tactics of blaming other people is unforgiveable, in fact it is malicious and very cruel.  Their vendetta against the former detective Goncalo Amaral is among their greatest crimes in their efforts to portray themselves as victims.  There was no baddy in the form of an abductor, so they chose the detective who was hot on their tails.  When they wanted to destroy their enemies online, they chose Brenda Leyland, arguably the weakest among the opposition, but they wanted her shamed, not dead.  Oops. 

Unfortunately, if your motivation is wicked, it follows through to your actions, and the conclusions usually equal Karma.  They wanted to teach their critics a lesson, but the frightening lesson that came across was how sinister and dangerous it is to allow former suspects in a horrific crime to have such a powerful influence on the Mainstream Media.  This particular publicity stunt backfired spectacularly, the public began to ask 'who are these people?'. 

Despite all the conspiracy theories and myths, they are just normal people, well people with exceptionally high aspirations, but normal nevertheless.  There was nothing particularly outstanding about either of them, there have been no testimonials from their patients, colleagues or friends since Kate and Gerry deemed 'Team McCann' uncool, and blamed it on Justine McGuinness. 

We are observing a table of accomplished poker players watching to see who will be the first to reveal their hand.  Without any doubt whatsoever the McCanns have been preparing for their Defence this past 9 years.  They probably have a garage full of whiteboards with plans A through to Z together with additions and amendments.  Team McCann may have been a bit naff, but the addition of a number is usually pretty safe. My money is on Tapas 2 with an each way bet on Tapas 6. 

Happy New Year Everyone!