Talk about Newsnight

Of course it is appropriate, as increased awareness and continued media coverage may just help the unfortunate child to be recovered. Hope the campaign continues, some one somewhere knows who took Madelaine and the continued media coverage will help the chances of that person or people to come forward. We all hope the child is alive and well, and wish her parents, family and Madelaine our prayers and positive thoughts, Pam

The coverage of this particular case is reaching ridiculous proportions, and attracting a sickening amount of sympathy.
These parents were not entirely blame free for their daughter's disappearance, yet they are milking the publicity without a thought to mention or share their exposure, with all the other thousands of parents worldwide who have undergone exactly the same trauma, or worse, and yet receive no public help or sympathy, each time they see Madeline's parents on TV, the mention beautiful, white middle class child must be too painful a reminder to bear. What happened to coverage of World Missing Children's day last week?

of course everything possible to find the young girl is appropriate - religious bias not withstanding
rgds
ps

yes

Oh really? And who are these "people" who feel so uneasy. Are they parents? Would they be doing differently in such circumstances? I don't think so!

I have every sympathy with the McCann's and hope they can keep up the interest until such time as the matter is resolved one way or the other.

While I have every sympathy for the McCann family I am so over reading about it everyday. I feel for all the missing persons and their families that do not receive this amount of coverage - what's so special about the McCann's?

Of course any help they can get to help get their daughter back home is appropriate, it should have been done for other families who have had to endure similar situations.
Whatever can be done, must be done.

ANY assistance from public figures which might help in the search for Madeleine, is appropriate!

Yes, of course the media is right to continue to give their story such prominence and the Pope, Gordon Brown and David Beckham' interventions are appropriate.

I really sympathize with the family as they are fighting so hard to keep the attention focused on the kidnapping. They are using every energy and exploring every avenue to help find their daughter. This proves the power of family and friends who want to be heard and want everyone to help their cause. I would do the same for a cause that I believe in. Remember father for justice? Remember what they did to gain attention on their cause? Remember Ken Bigley's family? They fought so hard to help their father's cause.

I have to question anyone who feels uneasy about the publicity given the loss/theft of child. Shame on them. This should be a primary source of recovery and the more, the better.

Whilst it is understandable that well educated professionals would use the media in order to highlight the appalling circumstances they find themselves in , I fear there will be a backlash when the media develop the next phase of the story - which will be; Why did well educated professionals leave 3 children unsupervised in an unsecured apartment?

Wow, this is such a tough question. On the one hand the pain that the McCanns' are going through is unimaginable but on the other the plight of millions of malnourished, abused and neglected children worldwide is also sometimes too terrible to bear.
I do not know what the answer is. I pray for the safe return of their daughter but also pray that this awful incident will raise awareness and help for children that need it everywhere.
If the media and high-profile celebs' involvement help to raise that awareness perhaps it's for the good.

I think that the prominece of this in the media should now cease. I think that it is getting too much publicity especially in the plight of many parents whose children are missing, and have been missing for a number of years. I am also slightly disturbed that Kate McCann has shown some disrespect for the Pope. It is claimed that she is a strong catholic and as a catholic would know that it is appropriate to cover your head, even if with a small peice of lace, as a mark of respect.

Lets now put this media frenzy to the back burner.

The coverage this story is getting is completely disproportionate. Over 450 kids have gone missing since the McCann child - with no attention lavished on them.

It is getting quite sickining as person after person and business after business line up to hitch their trailer to this bandwagon.

Please Britain, stop holding you breath and grow a back bone.

The coverage of this particular case is reaching ridiculous proportions, and attracting a sickening amount of sympathy.
These parents were not entirely blame free for their daughter's disappearance, yet they are milking the publicity without a thought to mention or share their exposure, with all the other thousands of parents worldwide who have undergone exactly the same trauma, or worse, and yet receive no public help or sympathy, each time they see Madeline's parents on TV, the mention of their beautiful, white middle class child must be too painful a reminder to bear. What happened to coverage of World Missing Children's day last week?

We all feel very sorry for the McCanns and we all wish that this never happened or at least that their daughter is found safely. I am sure that many project this tragedy onto themselves and shudder to think that it may have been their daughter.

My concern is that the widespread press coverage may have actually worsened the prospect of the young girl being returned. I also feel that the press should give prominence to so many other sad causes, many of which may actually be improved following widespread publicity eg starving orphans in poor countries.

I think that they should continue to seek all the media attention they can...I can't imagine what they must be going through and I can't help but think that I would do exactly the same if I were in the same position

Can anyone explain what makes their child any more news worthy than any other child who disappears?

If a Portugese child had gone missing in the UK would that have resulted in the same level of publicity?

Also, how would the British public have reacted to foreign press harrassment and also criticism of the UK Police Force?

Isympathise with them but did we forget all the others who have gone missing,time to rethink the Press and TV Coverage.

I am very uncomfortable with the amount of coverage the McCann's are receiving - would it be the same for a working class family? Is it right to reward them with an interview with the Pope when so many people, who have not brought misfortune upon themselves are not allowed this privilege?

While I feel immensely sorry for the McCann family and am happy they involve the media in their plight to find the poor child, I did begin to feel uneasy about the latest initiative with the Pope.

It is a little unfair towards all the other children who sadly go missing every day, or who die tragically. They deserve no less of this attention, but never receive it. I would prefer the media cover it to some extent, but not make it the prime story. Last week all 24 hour news channels switched to the story when Mr McCann arrived in his home village to look at the floral tributes. I found that excessive.

It's not that the McCanns don't deserve the attention, but that there are plenty of other families who deserve it at least as much.

Are the media perhaps also inspiring future kidnappings? Kidnappers seek this sort of attention!

Yea. I think they should give it their all, though not at the detriment of the twins. I'm a student in UK but have two daughters back at home in Nigeria and cant comprehend anything happening to them talkless of them been abducted. Even if its possible for them to talk to GOD directly for the sake of their daughter, they should pls do so. The intervention of the Pope, David Beckham and the media is as a result of the resolve of Maddy's parent to find her at all cost. So I personally appreciate these involvement and think this should not be questioned by any sane human being. Pls for the sake of the girl and other children(maybe it will put a stop to abduction)pls keep this in the spotlight and let there be no hiding place for people (abductors) who are a mistake of creation.

Celebrities should not get involved with this type of thing as they are of no real help and it is just publicity for them.
As for the Pope, if the family are Catholic, it will be of help mentally and spiritually but only if they are are Catholic.
The thing that I feel should be addressed is the amount of registered sex offender being allowed out of the UK on holiday.
I don't agree that registered sex offenders should be allowed out of of the country to go to peadophile resorts, to pray on vulnerable children.
Part of sex offenders punishment should that they loose their passports.

I think so. The media are very important, and they can help to find Maddie still alive. Sure the work that in the future the english media will have to do to me is to pay much more attention also about other cases of kidnapping.
I am italian and I have seen mr and mrs Mc Cann in visist in Vatican. I think that these two parents are seriously worried and densperate and they're fighting with all themselves to try to find their beautiful little kid Maddie. Great personalities can be helpful in these cases. And prayers are more than necessaries....

I think the David Beckham appeal was precise, discreet and all that was needed to show the world this little girl's face so that anyone could report if they saw her. That was sufficient. It is her face we need to keep in our minds.
I am sure that our police, who are liaising with the Portugese police, will ask if they feel more coverage is helpful. I do not think either Brown or the Pope should be involved. The family could be getting themselves onto a roundabout which they will find difficult to get off.

Yes, its a bit over the top and some people are wondering or even fed-up.

Yes, it is absolutely correct for the media to give this story as much coverage as Kate & Gerry McCann are comfortable with. If it is deemed appropriate by the police and the family to keep this story in the public eye then it is clearly important in the plan to get this little girl home safely and soundly. I must admit feeling a little uncomfortable with the 'celebrity status' of the parent - however, I feel that it is up to the British nation to give complete support, including media coverage, if that is what the family need. The plight of this family is in my dreams - it is clearly affecting people on a very deep and personal level - God only knows what Kate and Gerry are feeling and I feel that we should all do anything we can to help them feel supported and cared-for during this dreadful time.

Watching the parents in the media, it's almost as if they are using the mistake of leaving Madeliene alone as an opportunity not just to keep her image in the public eye but also courting celebrity status.

How many parents would trott across Europe meeting and greeting politicians, press and the papacy whilst their other siblings are being cared for by relatives, rather than remaining close to the areas where their child was lost ?

Yes, most definately. If any parents ever face this dire situation I am sure they would want to do everything in their power to bring her back. Good for them, and also it keeps them busy which is therapeutic.I will keep them in my prayers for her safe return.

No one can deny the personal tragedy that Madeline's family are suffering.

But it is precisely that - personal!
And a matter for her family, not the Pope, nor high-profile politicians, or celebrities.

Furthermore, interventions by these people can and will effect nothing. These peoples' portfolios could be better filled with helping solveable crises such as Sudan, Darfur, Kosovo, paedophilia, poverty, disease or a whole host of other causes.

The McCanns are not alone in their tragic predicament, and their decision to call upon the Pope and senior politicians is somewhat ostentacious in the light of more urgent problems, both global and local.

In igniting their campaign to these unbelievable levels, I would hope that they would broaden it to help other families, not just their own loss.

The media attention surrounding this missing person over exagerates the danagers presented to children, and is causing widespread over-reaction by many parents. Whilst dangers exist, the statistics show a society more protected now than at any other time in our history. Obviously this of no consolation to the McCanns.

Yes, everything must be done. A little girl has gone missing - presumed kidnapped - now is NOT the time to be blaming anybody for anything, except the perpetrator/s of this hideous event. If this was your child, you would count the grains of dust on every stone that you turn over, in every street from here to kingdom come. We must all do everything we can to ensure this little girl has a safe reunion with her parents. Whatever it takes.

The McCann family are only doing what any loving and caring family would do in their dreadful current predicament. Yes, they are very adept at ensuring their story remains in the public eye. But isn't the BBC doing exactly the same thing to ensure that Alan Johnston's plight is not forgotten, and quite rightly so. To be quite frank, I would much rather we all kept on reading about the latest developments in the Madeleine McCann story - all of us clinging to the hope that she is alive and being cared for by somebody - than have to read about Victoria Beckham's latest hairstyle or Pete Doherty's latest brush with the law. Stories such as this help us all to maintain a healthy grip on reality.

i really was shocked when i heard about poor little madeline,
then i was horrified when i heard the accounts of how she was taken. i think the media have been very kind to these people in their support. i really hope they find her, and i really hope others learn that it is insane to leave children unattended like this for any time.
who can do this and say they are caring correctly for their children?
being doctors, they are often in line to judge how parents are looking after thier children, they really are to blame for this

I sympathise with the familie's plight- however feel that there has been rather to much attention/focus placed on the case by the media. My cynical view is that the media has a vested interest. One wonders why more attention is not paid to what is happening in Darfur, Iraq or the DRC? Aren't the stories these places have to tell worth our viewing?

You have to ensure that images of Madeleine are kept in the forefront of the public eye. I'd much rather see the media used for this purpose rather than running endless garbage about Big Brother or Katie Price. So many questions remain about the circumstances of her abduction. But these can and should wait until Madeleine's fate is known.

Clearly the McCanns have been advised that Madeleine could be anywhere in the world and the one thing they can do to make her return more likely is to keep the global publicity levels as high as possible. Any parents in their position would surely want to do the same.

The uncomfortable question is whether all parents in similar circumstances would have access to the same support and network of contacts. Given that the answer is probably not, maybe it's time to consider a Europe-wide or global protocol for missing children to which nations could sign-up. As soon as a child goes missing, a central publicity machine could click into motion, so all parents benefit from the same level of support and attention.

But that's no criticism of the McCanns - they've got to do whatever they can, and publicity is just about the only lever they have right now.

Anything that might help find Madeline is appropriate, there is still a chance of finding her if the story is kept in the media. It is certainly more important than the reporting many other long running issues like "Big Brother" or celebrity weddings for example.

My heart goes out to the McCanns and their dreadful plight. Like millions I hope that the child's disaperence will be resolved soon and happily. For once, even with ulterior motives, the British press has responded magnificiently.
However I am worried that this dreadful occurence is overshadowing other child disapperences such as the case of Jeremi in the Canary Islands which seems forgotten.

I would never even begin to criticise the McCann family for doing what they're doing. I utmost support them in everything they do that they feel goes some way to comforting their grief.

However, I do take issue with the media for ignoring other kidnapped children who don't emotionally connect with the public like Madeleine does. I do take issue with the media for manipulating the emotions of the public to sell more papers. I do take issue with celebrities for jumping on this PR bandwagon to further their own cause. And I do take issue with the general public for using Madeleine as an outlet for their own guilt; the guilt in knowing that they go through life ignoring the plight of the millions of kidnapped/impoverished/enslaved children in the world... some of which are in the UK. Much like someone feeling they've done their charitable bit by donating £1 a month to Oxfam.

If I was parent of another kidnapped child, both currently or in the past, I can't even begin to imagine the sort of rage I would be feeling at this sense of injustice.

I sympathise for the McCanns' situation, but given the time which has elapsed, consider the continued coverage to be excessive and I am not certain as to what purpose it actually serves or to which end. I would also question the intentions of such "celebrated" figures getting involved.

It's difficult to say really isn't it? As a parent I can't wish them enough luck in finding Madeleine and hope they get any help they can, yet I also feel angry that they ever left her alone (but that's not the question here).

It's a bit like any story that gets special coverage. Many more people go missing or are killed etc on a daily basis but go un-noticed. It reminds me of the time after 9/11 when millions of pounds were sent to aid the families of a few hundred firefighters in the US. It stuck a bit in my throat that we were sending money (and made to feel guilty if we didn't) to the richest nation on earth for the benefit of a few hundred families. Meanwhile millions of families worldwide struggle to get through each day in times of war, famine, disease etc, yet again they go largely un-noticed.

There is perhaps a very fine line to tread about giving over media time to one child, but I suppose on balance if the media want to do it and the family can maintain that momentum through their corporate sponsors then there may be a chance of getting a little girl back to her parents. I do have a concern over the exposure of the corporate sponsors though. I am sure it is largely down to the fact that the parents are well educated professionals that they can manage this publicity. I have no doubt that we wouldn’t be hearing half of it had the parents been less well connected and educated.

I can understand the parents' wish to keep their daughter's disappearance in the public eye, and I appreciate why they are doing it, but interest will inevitably wane and they will have to get on with their lives, in the knowledge that it was their lack of common sense which gave the perpetrator the opportunity to abduct her.

I feel desperately sorry for them, and particularly for little Madeleine, and whatever she is going through at the moment, and hope against hope that she will be returned "unharmed" in time, but the parents have a lot to answer for.

Beckham, Brown and the Pope won't make a shred of difference to the eventual outcome.

Well, unless Gordon Brown, David Beckham and the Pope have tremendous crime-solving skills that none of us are aware of, their intervention will most likely be pointless.

No one will ever know when the lines are crossed and this will only be answered by anyone whose ever been in their place! maybe its too much media but wouldnt anyone else do the same thing if it was their child?

What about all the other children that have gone missing in the last four weeks?

Hi

I see no problem in the use of the media to recover any person taken unlawfully.

The BBC are using the media to attempt to release alan Johnson, so why should the same methods be used to release Madeline.

If more emphasis was put into the issue of lost children perhaps it would act as a derrent to the takers.

I do have issue with the media in carping on about the Portuguese police, they do things differently than our police, its thier country, give them some respect.

Finally I do take to task how some of your correspondents can appear to make TV news out of nothing, truly a gift!!

I have to agree with Simon D. I have great sympathy for them in what must be a hellish time, but I can't help but wonder how everyone would be reacting if the parents had been young, or low-income, or just a single-parent... perhaps the media would have had the same sympathy? Perhaps not.

Everything that can be done to bring back the child safely is appropriate, if and only if there were precedents like this.If there are no precedents then it will still be appropriate if and only if from now on any similar situation will be given similar attention and concern.

Hi

I see no problem in the use of the media to recover any person taken unlawfully.

The BBC are using the media to attempt to release alan Johnson, so why should the same methods be used to release Madeline.

If more emphasis was put into the issue of lost children perhaps it would act as a derrent to the takers.

I do have issue with the media in carping on about the Portuguese police, they do things differently than our police, its thier country, give them some respect.

Finally I do take to task how some of your correspondents can appear to make TV news out of nothing, truly a gift!!

Of course the McCanns are in a terrible situation but they have had far too much media coverage. I'm sure there are hundreds of people all over the world who are missing right now but because they are not young, female, photogenic and with intelligent people who know how to keep things in the media looking for them, they are never mentioned. Another point about the McCanns story is that having lost one child through leaving her alone in a hotel room, they then left their other two children behind when they went to visit the Pope.

No the media is not right to continue giving the story such prominence. Individuals can sympathise with the McCanns and offer any support they choose but as individuals, not as figureheads unless thay are prepared to do the same for all children that are snatched or subjected to any other form of ill treatment. I really hope thay find Madeleine for her sake and for her family. Let me leave with with the thought of my 10 year old niece who has been following this story and is really concerned about Madeleine. 'They should never have left her on her own'.

The McCanns are doing everything they can to get their beloved daughter back, as would any parent, though their success in obtaining an extraordinary amount of media coverage is simply down to the professional advice and the financial resources they have been able to tap into.

Like any news story, viewer fatigue sets in, though I can understand the media's fixation with Madeleine much better than I can theirs with the likes of nonentities such as Paris Hilton or Calum Best, with whom I am confronted daily.

In the meantime there seems to be 'great PR' to be had by politicians and celebrities in associating themselves with this case, though it is a shame that so many 'ordinary' families with missing children don’t get anywhere near this kind of attention.

I hope that Madeleine is found safe and well, though she was snatched while her parents dined well away from their children asleep in their holiday apartment. That doesn’t mean that their plight is self-inflicted or deserved, though journalists and editors should not confuse this case with a “Holly and Jessica” type scenario. They are being hoodwinked by a well-planned media campaign and no matter how sad, it’s probably time for the media to move on.

It is an appalling situation for the McCann family to be in, but many other families are in similar situations and perhaps those families have had their children taken in less unavoidable situations; therefore the media and other such attention is frankly astonishing.

Yes, I am happy withy the coverage levels.!

Of course, it's tragic how this happened... but I am also uneasy about is the many many other children that go missing everything year that don't and won't ever get the same amount of publicity as this.

I would never even begin to criticise the McCann family for doing what they're doing. I utmost support them in everything they do that they feel goes some way to comforting their grief.

However, I do take issue with the media for ignoring other kidnapped children who don't emotionally connect with the public like Madeleine does. I do take issue with the media for manipulating the emotions of the public to sell more papers. I do take issue with celebrities for jumping on this PR bandwagon to further their own cause. And I do take issue with the general public for using Madeleine as an outlet for their own guilt; the guilt in knowing that they go through life ignoring the plight of the millions of kidnapped/impoverished/enslaved children in the world... some of which are in the UK. Much like someone feeling they've done their charitable bit by donating £1 a month to Oxfam.

If I was parent of another kidnapped child, both currently or in the past, I can't even begin to imagine the sort of rage I would be feeling at this sense of injustice.

I think the McCanns are playing it perfectly (though the word "playing" is a bit inappropriate, I expect). What choice do they have? Wouldn't any parent move heaven and earth to get their abducted child back, safe and sound?

That there is still ANY media coverage after a month shows how successful their campaign has been. The media are still right to cover the story as much as possible, given the continued public interest, almost wholly generated by that campaign. As a result of that public interest it is indeed appropriate that "VIP's" intervene... the majority of the public expect and want them to; surely they know that?

You say SOME are beginning to feel "uneasy" about the campaign and the coverage. Who? Why? Whoever they are, they strike me as being entirely out of touch with the overwhelming majority, and I can only imagine they are rather cold and uncaring, or a little jealous of the McCann's success in maintaining interest.

Sure, it would be good that every missing child received such continuing publicity after the first few days, and then we might get more abducted children back. How can that ever be "inappropriate"?

Yes, I have been feeling uneasy, and have been trying to analyse why. After all, I'm a mother, and would be utterly devastated if one of my children had been abducted. (They're grown ups now, and I still worry about them.) I sympathise with the McCanns enormously. So why the unease?
I think I'm feeling for all those other children around the world whose plight is not getting this kind of attention, and a little voice in my head is asking, "what makes the McCann parents so special that they have been given this access to publicity?" (It sounds crazy but I found myself wondering if they had close associates somewhere 'at the top' in the media.) What upsets me, I think, is the thought of all those little ones who have been abducted across Europe and elsewhere in the past 12 months and their parents who have not received this coverage and help from the media. How must they be feeling? Why are their little ones less important? And inevitably, I think of the little children dying in Iraq, or losing all four limbs, or half of their faces. Or being sexually abused, as they are.
I don't begrudge the McCanns any help they can get from the public, and I hope to God that their little girl is found. But I don't really see what help we can give by watching them meeting the Pope, or her picture being blessed by him.
And somewhere in my heart, I want to see all the other suffering kiddies getting the same chance as Madeleine. And it doesn't happen.

Quote:

"Some observers point out that Madeleine comes from a well-heeled British family (both of her parents are doctors), unlike so many Portuguese or immigrant children whose disappearance has drawn scant attention from the press.

"Brazilian-Portuguese activist Ana Filgueiras told IPS that 'the deployment of resources to find the missing girl is laudable, but it is regrettable that the same does not happen in the case of people who are less well-off. In Portugal we have never before seen a mobilisation of this magnitude'."

Source: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37797

If it were my daughter (and I have two) I would do anything to get her back from the sick person who is holding her. Instead of having a go at the parents, isn't it about time the law was changed to make the punishment fit the crime - the parents are being tortured; torture the perpetrator(s) when they are caught (and anyone else involved).

Like most people I can barely begin to understand the loss the McCann's must feel, and I admire their determination, but I have been uneasy about their campaign for some time. The coverage must be very difficult for other parents whose children have been abducted or are missing, both bringing back painful memories and possibly anger for those who have not had the benefit of so much media attention. There are, I feel, also questions for the McCanns about the night of Madeleine's disappearance. It is, in the very least, irresponsible to leave a three year old and two younger children unsupervised. And finally I feel uneasy about the 'fighting fund', which appears to be supporting the McCann's stay in Portugal. Again other parents have, and more no-doubt will, endured similar tragedies without such support and at great sacrifice. Why is this case so different?

I do not wish to be harsh, because the McCann's plight is awful.
However they should not have left their children unattended.

Whilst sympathising totally with the McCanns' plight I am sure many couples will resent comments in the media suggesting that all parents have been guilty at some time of sneaking off for some personal children free time. Undoubtedly many do when they think they are in safe surroundings but many more would simply never contemplate such action. Unfortunately the McCanns' actions cannot in all truth be considered anything else but neglect, however harsh that might seem.

Without doubt the McCanns' will be guilt stricken by their actions and of course no legal punishment for their neglect could ever come close to what they must be going through now but at some point they will have to come to terms with the consequences of their actions. Meanwhile we can only hope and pray for the safe return of a completely innocent little girl.

I agree with the post Simon D. I am originally from Rome,previuosly Roman Catholic,but not any more.Despite the coverage of the case by the British media,it hasn't been big news in Italy.Tha family has been given a good place at Wednesday's Audience,but nothing more (by the way,the allocation of the tickect is handled by one of my former Irish teachers in Rome,and twice I had even better places,shaking my hands with Pope Paul VI).Sadly, the Roman Catholic establishment and, more significantly, everyone I know in Italy has said what's in Simon D. post from the very the beginning.Culture of how to handle children is different there, so much that they would probably be already under investigation down there

Yes, I a, happy withy the coverage levels.!

While I feel for the child, I do think that the media has gone a bit crazy over it. Plus, I hope that if or when the child is found, the parents are immediately gailed for leaving them unattended. People seem to be forgetting how this happened.

Besides, there are thousands of abductions going on that could do with this kind of coverage. What about them?

Get the McCanns off the telly, I'm sick of it. It is news no longer.

Of course, it's tragic how this happened... but I am also uneasy about is the many many other children that go missing everything year that don't and won't ever get the same amount of publicity as this.

I have started to cringe when I hear about the McCann's and their next press conference. I have every sympathy for them, and would dearly love Madeleine to be returned to them unharmed, but I can't help feeling that this 'campaign' complete with 'manager' is in very poor taste - they do seem to be prepared to leave their children behind.

Would this media coverage be similar if it was a family from a council housing estate? No! the Social Services would be 'in like Flynn' taking the other childre into care.

Why are some people feeling uneasy? Would they prefer that the McCanns stop doing absolutely everything to try to find their child? Do these people think it is the McCann's own fault their daughter has gone missing and if so, deserve everything they get? If so, do these people never leave their children with a babysitter or let them go out to play unsupervised? As long as my children are safe I would dare criticise the McCann family and bring upon them any more horror and stress than they must surely already be experiencing. Think carefully before you judge.

I understand why the McCann's are pursuing this through the media and their resilience and relentlessness are to be commended. However, I have never felt comfortable about this situation. Their three children were asleep in their apartment, but what if one wakes up and is ill, sick maybe? They were checking every half hour apparently. Three children, one aged 3 and two aged 2, were left alone in a room for up to half an hour. I cannot fathom why anyone would or could do that. They are intelligent, educated professionals. What on earth were they doing? They shouldn't be left alone for 1 minute.

Whilst everyone can sympathise with the plight of the McCann's, I would think that many people are becoming uneasy about the amount of publicity being given to this case.

Also, there has been little discussion
in the media about the crass stupidity, not to say gross negligence of the McCanns in locking
up three children under four in a hotel bedroom whilst they dined in a nearby restaurant. Their excuse - everybody does it at one time or another. Few intelligent people would agree with such sentiments. It would be of interest to know if leicestershire Social Services are taking an interest in their conduct. Sorry I can't be more sympathetic.

Peter.

The McCann's have put themselves on a treadmill - and have no easy way to get off.

It must be so hard to say to each other - there is no more we can do, we must start thinking about the other children, the future, etc. and still hope...

Who is going to say it first. And then things turn inward, and blame and recrimination can start to creep in.

It is a sad truth that couples in this sort of situation often split up in the years following.

Good luck to them. They will need it.

It is clear that the McCanns are using every oportunity to try and have their girl found.
I wonder though, about all the other missing children, and the lack of coverage and support their families recieve, and therefore what kind of precedent the media are setting.

Why did well educated professionals leave 3 children unsupervised in an unsecured apartment?

Whilst I feel for the children & the suffering of the parents, I would arrest them on conclusion of the situation.

So-called "chav" parents would find themselves in a more sticky position, both with the police & media

Watch the media turn on the McCanns

What has happened is terrible but i have to think if this was a couple from a council estate would the press be so kind, but the fact is they left the child alone in a strange country unbelievable

I do have sympathy for them as losing a child must be terrible, but I would like to know when the parents will be prosecuted for neglecting their children by leaving them alone in an apartment while they went out for dinner?

I think anything that keeps Madeleine in the minds of the public is a good thing, unfortunately people quickly forget. As the police seem to be getting nowhere fast, it could be Joe Public that provides that vital clue or sighting that brings Madeleine back to her family. How can anyone say that is a bad thing?

I have a lot of sympathy with the McCanns, but it looks as if this thing is turning into a very personal circus. Would it not be better to rather put their focus on establishing a fund to help irradicate paedophiles in general by supporting police forces world wide to bring them to justice in stead of businessmen spending a fortune on private jet rides etc to just highlight the plight of one person in a personal media frenzy.

I am getting to the point of being angry with the Mccanns - this should not be an appropriate emotion in connection with a missing child.

However, the manipulation of the media is inappropriate. The pictures of parents making pilgrimages (Portugal and the Vatican) should not be published. Why on earth did David Beckham get involved?

As others had said, if this had been a single mum on a £9.50 Sun holiday voucher break in a holiday camp who had not taken advantage of the babysitting facilities, think of the outcry and accusations of neglect and unfit-ness. These educated parents should have known better than to leave young children alone. It's not the same as being in the garden, as has been said - at least then the children are in their own familiar setting. It's been reported that the McCanns checked on the children every hour. Even if this was every half and hour, that's an eternity for a small, frightened child waking in a strange room with no mummy or daddy coming when they cry.

Enough is enough - and this is now more than enough and bordering on the obscene.

I agree with Simon D, whilst my heart goes out to the little girl one has to ask why 3 children were left alone. Had this been a single mum I believe the story would have been quite different.

It has amazed me how much 'power' this family seems to possess in order to have the kind of high-level support they are receiving. Let's not forgot these parents were highly irresponsible and more than a little selfish and it is entirely their fault that such a young child is missing.

I think the media is manipulating the Mc Canns. They are are a very photogenic couple with adorable children and being involved in their heart-wrenching and harrowing drama looks good on whomever. But those celebrities may have their own reasons for wanting press coverage which shows them as compassionate and caring. Maybe I'm being too cynical. My sympathy is for the NcCanns when they or the media decide that enough is enough. That will be their darkest hour.

We can only guess what is going through the minds of the parents, they have already expressed their feelings of self guilt.I believe that they need every support possible and I will and others will continue to pray for them.

I would do anything if anything happened to my children. Am sure the majority of parents the world over would do the same. Don't criticise their attempts to do anything to find their baby girl.

More power to their elbow. In their position I would hope to do the same. No one cares for their child as they do. Their love is and should be uncompromising. So it should be.

When the story fist broke it was reported that they almost in view of their apartment from the restaurent,looking at a map of the complex,I was dismayed. I have no kids but I would have used the babysitting service that were on offer, I hope they do find their daughter safe and well, but they should look to what more they could have done for the safty of their children

It is there duty as good parents to do whatever they can to find their little girl. And how does the saying "he who is without sin cast the first stone". I hope they catch the person who did this and find this little girl safe. It is the sick perverts who take little children like this who should be give the negative press.
Chris

they cannot be criticised; their child has been taken and anyone would do everything possible to get their child back. The difference is that they have the wherewithal, education and willpower to use whatever resources are available to try and get their child back. It's a shame that all parents of kidnapped children are unable, for a host of reasons, to do the same.

i guess i don't understand - was there a sitter left with the children when the parents went to dinner ? - and i do not feel comfortable with so much sensational press coverage - though if it brings a miracle return of the little girl to her family then whatever it takes .........

Every morning I watch the news and hear all about the grief of the McCann's. Every evening I watch the news and hear yet more about the grief of the McCann's. Now they have been granted an audience with the Pope. This snowballing campaign is turning rapidly into farce. When will the media stop being the puppet of the 'Friends of Madeline' bandwagon, and start to say what the vast majority of the population are thinking: ultimately, the inescapable fact is that the McCann's preferred to dine alone rather than stay with their three young children. Please, start reporting the real issues of the world.

If any loved one goes missing for whatever reason the rest of the family are desparate for news and will accept help from anyone who offers it
Our daughter went missing for 9 weeks and we were grateful for all help given whether by family ,friends or outside agencies such as tv and radio programmes missing persons and big issue sellers.
I think the McCann family should accept all the help offered from whoever offers it from the highest to the lowest{perhaps even seeking help from the "underworld"}.
They need and want answers . They cannot get on with their lives until they have some sort of outcome.
While they are getting support from the famous they are keeping awarenss going.
We are going to Germany next week and I shall be looking out just incase.

I am shocked that someone can lambast a Mother whose child has been abducted for not wearing a headscarf.

Do you not think she has enough to think about such that clothing is not important.

I am shocked that people think this is 'milking' publicity.

Do you not think that they just desperately want to re-piece their family together?

I am shocked that some would call for the other children to be taken into care.

These poor people made a mistake. They are paying for it in the most heinous way.

If one child is abducted from the supposed safety of their bed then we are all at risk. If one child can be found by our efforts then we all have hope for whatever type of rescue we need.

If it were my daughter ... whatever my errors of judgement ... I would want the world to help to look for her and I would do everything I could and had to do.

Surely anyone would do that for someone that they loved.

I feel very sorry for the poor little girl in all this. Whatever has happened to her, it must have been terrifying. Although it's important to use all avenues available to try to find her, somehow there is something very unreal about the coverage and, to my mind, the behaviour of the McCanns. I just cannot help feeling that there is something not quite right about the whole affair.

Well, it is not at all a wrong media campaign. But i personally would love that many others could have the same opportunity of being cover by the press when attrocities like this or of the other kind happen.

Pope, Beckham and others would spend their precious time for how many else? and why in this case?

Why this case is then more important than other millons?

Why shouldn't the McCanns' make use of all available resources - media, celebrity, political? In their position, I would probably do the same.

The moot question for me though is not centred around the way in which the McCanns' have skillfully mobilized these various resources to keep Madeline in the public eye, but whether or not the same resources (and treatment in the media) would have been made available to any parents in a similar position who were not middle-class, well educated people, with professional jobs that have socially accepted status and standing?

It's a debacle. Personally, I think the McCanns should feel thoroughly ashamed.

The media coverage of this is ludicrous and the intervention of such high profile figures as Gordon Brown is just a sad indictment on our society.

What about the tens of thousands of parents and families who have missing relatives who have probably never even had the smallest piece in the local paper about their agony?

The major point here though, as much as the McCanns try to evade it by claiming "thousands of parents would have done the same", is that they left all three of their tiny children alone.

It doesn't matter if you're five miles or five yards away, to leave them unattended is sickening.

Some parents really don't deserve the gift of children. I just pray little Madeleine is returned safe and unharmed.

Crazy thing is though, I genuinely believe the mass hysteria and press intrusion into every aspect of the case has destroyed any chance of someone returning Madeleine even if that thought was in their minds.

The McCanns are educated middle class people. They are using the press to their own advantage.

Any sane parent in the same situation would if they could.

It's just that life is unfair - some of us have more influence others.

First answer: yes.
Second answer: lessons will be learned from the McCann's situation, thanks to their management of the media in this crisis and that will help other children in the future. In the US the alert goes out onto the highways soon after an abduction - this will now change in the UK if not Europe as a whole, for instance.

when it comes to the question about 'saving life', I would generously loud the concerted efffots of all concerned in the search for the little McCann. I feel that, as long as the media coverage lasts, so would be the uneasiness and fear of the perpetrator(s).who knows what could happen next!

The McCanns are educated middle class people. They are using the press to their own advantage.

Any sane parent in the same situation would if they could.

It's just that life is unfair - some of us have more influence than others.

This is no doubt a tragedy but it is a personal one. Many children and young adults go missing each year, weather they are taken or leave of their own volition, to perpetually cover the plight of one family is unfair and unbecoming of 'quality' news media and an insult to the dozens of families destroyed by losing a child in this way.

Further there is the question of who is using who? There is a worrying symbiosis between the family and the media. The media delight in the family's willingness to publicly flaunt their composed grieve and the pity which this garners - the whole circus is becoming increasingly nauseating to watch. Furthermore, the media sees this opportunity to indulge its very worst habit: offering up fatuous and ill-informed commentary on each and every aspect of anything that could vaguely be called a 'development', while the family's 'management' seemingly expert management of the media makes for a very ugly scene indeed.

The media's duty is to report a story in an accurate, balanced and proportionate manner, with this story they have failed in every respect.

I was in the US as this story was developing, and the media there definitely portray the parents as being at fault for having left their daughter alone to enjoy the good life. Why isn't the UK media more critical of the parents? They must have Max Clifford on the case! In the US, they would have been immediately denounced as irresponsible and never given the opportunity to frame the Portuguese authorities. I bet part of their success is their ability to capitalise on stereotypes of lax Mediterranean police authorities, which cater to the UK's thinly veiled Europhobia.

The McCann parents have every right to use every means of communication to help bring their child back. Of course the media should give greater coverage to missing children in the EU and around the world. Should the media circus move on, then Madeleine would just become another tiny statistic. Pat Hunt

Can you contemplate, having suffered the awful plight that the McCann's have, leaving your other two little children behind whilst you go off on a highly publicised trip to Rome? I cannot begin to know how the McCann's must be suffering, but the fact that they did this left me stunned. In my view they have crossed the line between profile raising and publicity seeking.

I quite honestly admire the parents on the effect they've had on an international audience: They have put in an excellant effort, any other parents would have wanted to do the same thing. As a result they have recieved massive international support.

HOWEVER, I believed right from the start that the whole concept is wrong. I'm guessing that in the world since Madeline has gone missing, the number of abductions has passed way over a billion & yet western civilisation in Europe follows just one little girl. The celebrities, the posters, the 'madeline fund', all this going to help find one particular girl. I admire the strength of the parents greatly & they've put in a massive effort to capture international help, but it crossed the line as soon as they began. With the amount of money raised through the 'Madeline Fund', more than 150,000 people dyeing of Leprasy in Africa could be cured. 150,000. yet the money is going to Western Police & special agents.
Somewhere in the system, Western Civilisation has gone horribly wrong.

It seems like over-coverage but it is not. I know the power of publicity, I have had to use PR in campaigns all my life and on behalf of many others. Long may it go on, and then and only then will we get to the child and then truth.

I too, am a little bothered by the immense publicity machine which is ongoing in this tragic affair.

But then, I ask myself, if this was my child, would I not use every tool available, and go to the ends of the earth to get her back?

I think it is a sad reflection upon our culture of "fast news", "gossip culture" and "celebrity frenzy" when many individuals posting on this page are indicating that they are "tired" of efforts to save the life of an infant - I wonder what other matters they feel are more important than a human life? I can sympathise with those individuals who have said that there are more deserving subjects that should be given a priority -but surely the argument is that they should also be televised in preference to the majority of sensationalistic articles seen today, not that the coverage for the McCanns' should stop?

I would do exactly what the McCann's have done and I wish them the best of luck.

Those who criticise should reflect on how they would feel if it was their lovely daughter who was missing.

The media took over this story from the moment Madeleine's disappearance was reported. The fact that the prime suspect was an English ex-pat was the ingredient which kept the story going. As far as I know, the McCanns did not ask personalitites such as David Beckham, or politicians such as Gordon Brown, to make public appeals. That was completely media driven but, I'm sure, was certainly a great source of comfort to the parents. As devout Catholics, it was quite natural for them to turn to Rome, and I am equally sure it was not the McCanns who suggested an audience with The Pope, who is accustomed to respond to such appeals, but their advisers.
The McCanns have conducted themselves with supreme dignity, whilst acknowledging their agonising guilt at having left the children alone in the first place. Any 'over-egging' of the story can only be laid at the door of the media.

I am quite sure that the people who carried out this abduction and those who still hold Madeleine are heartily wishing that the media publicity would evaporate and all mention and thought of her would vanish from the public's mind. Then they will be free to continue as if nothing has happened, which must have been their plan - just as happened with little Ben (Needham ?) who disappeared in Greece at the age of two and has never been discovered. He must be 20 years old now, with no knowlegde as to his real family, who must continue to long to find him. To cease to look for Madeleine is to co-operate with her abductors.

I firmly believe that all those who say that the McCanns are not guilt free, should reconsider what they have said. How many times have those mothers gone into the garden to put washing out or do some other chore. It only takes a minute for this to happen. The McCanns should summon up all the help that they can get to persue this matter to the end. It is unfortunate that there are lots more children like Maddeline who are missing in the world, but that does not mean all efforts should not be made to track them down. Considering the geography of Praia de Luz, I think it likely that she was taken to Morocco.

I understand what the McCanns must be going through.I lost a child of 2 months because of a cot death.The loss of a child in their circumstances must be even more devastating.The desolation they must be feeling at this time is indescribable to anyone who has not been through a similar experience.I do feel however that their tragedy has been hijacked by the media and that the time has come to give them space to come to to terms with what has happened.

The media should continue giving this story such prominence untill she is found. I can say the circumstance under which she disappeared is not only confined to her parents but it may confront others in a similar manner. So if it is not given such attention, it may remain as a worrying development.

So everyone, from any capacity, should keep contributing in any helpful way.

In our culture-Dinka in South Sudan, there is a saying that if you lose one cow under mysterious circumstance, you have to lose as many cows as it takes to establish the fact about how this cow got lost in the first place.

This is not because one cow is more important than other cows you may lose, but it is because if left it unconfirmed, it may cost you more cows than if you would have accepted to lose more cows so as to follow that circumstance to its destination.

Therefore, this child is imporatnt before the world, parents and God but may not be this coverage's worth.

Nonetheless, media and everybody, from any capacity, should concern themselves with the mysterious disappearanc of this child. And that media has to continue so as to unearth the truth about this circumstance. I mean media should continue to follow this circumstance to its destination. I am hoping this would not mark the new war on the mysterious disappearance of children.

The message seems to me to be that if you that if you are seriously negligent in the care you give your children, far from prosecuting you, we will turn you into media personalities. How can they bear to leave their other 2 children behind and both go galivanting off to see the Pope? What exactly will this acheive?

Who exactly is feeling uneasy? And for what reasons? "Is it 'approriate' that high profile figures intervene" - Why wouldn't it be? I don't see what harm any of this could possibly do. The story will run its own course and in its own time - any publicity is good publicity in this case. The chinstrokers should just ignore it if it's bothering them.

WHO CAN SAY WHAT I RIGHT OR WRONG.

TRY NOT TO JUDGE WHEN YOU HAVE NEVER WALKED IN THEIR SHOES.

My heart goes out to the McCann family. But the hysteria surrounding the coverage of the case is beginning to resemble that which followed Princess Diana's death. The problem is that, by making such comments, one is perceived to be heartless.

However, this degree of coverage cannot be sustained, particularly when there are few, if any, actual relevant developments. In fact, I think the amount of publicity is such that it might be hindering matters now, as many people will, frankly, be getting bored. I realise that may sound heartless, but it's just how it is I'm afraid. It may sound harsh, but there are bigger issues on the grand scale of things, to say nothing of the many other missing children in this country and elsewhere.

We all have our own worries in life, about our own problems and those of our families and close friends. It's just not realistic to expect most people to get too emotionally involved for too long in other people's issues, no matter how heart-rending they may be.

Yes of course. If I was them I would do anything it took to get news of my child.

In reality the media coverage is steadily turning into wallpaper. They have done their best to keep it going, but there is no longer a real story for them to report. Stories need an ending. Sooner or later something will happen to re-direct their attention and that will more or less be that until there is a resolution to the abduction. Sad, but true.

In the meantime the McCanns will continue to beat themselves up for leaving their children long enough for one of them to be abducted. Perhaps what they are doing is their way of dealing with it.

If I found myself in the same predicament, I honestly wouldn't know what to do with myself every hour of every day... I think they are doing pretty well, all things considered.

Ignoring how it all happened in the first place as moot until she is found, safe and well, these parents and their supporters have done all that could be expected of them in the circumstances. And if what has transpired is what it takes to get a positive result then one could hope for no more.

Thing is, as a matter of analysis (without knowing) I do wonder if this has been, necessarily, 'what it takes'?

If a kidnapper is keeping a child hostage, surely continuing to stir up a witch hunt after an initial potential 'in-flight' intercept phase may well make it impossible to support an extra person, and lead to them abandoning any attempt at nurture. This, sadly, is an aspect that needs to be considered.

If, however, constant high profile is deemed the best way, I am unsure how jogging an international memory of this child's fate is served by half a dozen camera angles of her parents getting on a private jet, as happened in a broadcast slot I saw last night... especially as it was with no reminder of what this poor kid looks/may now look like. If they ever get kidnapped, or one of the scores of po-faced reporters on Maddy-watch, I’ll spot them in a heartbeat.

As to the geniuses in charge of government, church, etc; while it's a tricky choice and almost impossible to resist, I look forward to how they now address every other cause that they could/should allow themselves to be bolted onto in the name of ‘awareness’. Precedent, guys, precedent.

Because, unless they can clone themselves and persuade the media that every one they subsequently hook up with is just as vital, I am trying to imagine all concerned explaining just why they can't do it every ten minutes without it looking just a tad like in this case they were playing to the gallery.

I know it's a terrible choice, but that is what leadership is for.

But if it was my kids I'd be doing every last thing I could, too, so good luck to them. I don't know (does anyone?), but just hope it was the right thing to do, for the child's sake.

Early on in this case, I recall the thoughts of an ex-Yard ‘ex-pert’, who’d been wheeled on to comment on the beastly Portuguese not issuing a blow-by-blow media briefing as they went house to house. He muttered that ‘some of my mates still in the force here would rather prefer to get on with their jobs than feeding the media every ten minutes’. Can’t help but feel they may, in this case, know better, and have a point.

Have you ever had a child ?

i do feel so sorry for this family also for any other famil's who have lost a child .but woner if press are helping or could they be pushing kidnapper into a corner.i also feel it is now time for the twins to return home and await there sister joining them

Some pretty churlish comments so far.
I'm not a parent myself so can only imagine the anguish the McCann's must be going through and in their position I'm sure I would be doing exactly the same. In esscence there is little else they can do and that feeling of impotence must add to the strain they're under.
Having said that the media coverage has been ridiculous at some points and while you would expect that from the tabloids, the BBC shipping in more correspondents than to a war zone to interview one another on 24 hour loop when there was no new information has looked farcical. The fault however lies with newspaper editors and newsroom editors in their prioritisation, not the McCann's. If the media so desired they could maitain the profile of the case while not endlessly recycling the same information already in the public domain.
To those who are 'so over it' the answer is simple don't read the article or change the channel.

We're used to the media manipulating us, look at the way it has contributed to the housing boom by continually reporting bullish news and ignoring anything remotely bearish. I guess this is just a rare example of the media being manipulated. They want their child back - who wouldn't. It's just a shame they are not using the attention they are getting to highlight the plight of all the other children that have gone missing before and since. It is interesting that more questions aren't being asked about the fact that the children were left alone. I just wonder what would be happening if this was a less educated family.

To suggest that the McCanns are 'milking' their plight and enjoying a 'celebrity status' is utterly despicable.

These people are in absolute hell. Every second of every day. And there may be no end to the torment. Compounding that is their guilt.

Those feelings are not subject to class, education, perceived status. They are in agony.

To add to that by being cruel and apportioning blame is a shameful thing to do.

Does anyone still care about this?
the only problem to me is that the real news is now given 50% of the time in some of the press - but you can read serious papers and listen to serious news and the McCanns are out of the picture already. Maybe here I can appropriately say Thank God!

I think that every childs life is precious and if any child can be returned safe and sound to it's parents by what ever means, then that is the only thing that matters

"Her parents have cooperated heavily with the media to keep her in the public eye"

As does one of your correspondents above, I too have the feeling that the media have cooperated with the McCanns, rather than the other way around. Of course the situation is frightful for them - but as a mother myself, I find it inconceivable that anyone would leave a three year old unattended in a ground floor bedroom. That is history (sadly), and we all hope and pray for their daughter's safe return, soon. BUT I find myself asking, Who ARE these McCanns, that they can apparently call up such amazing media resources? Are they in the media business? Are they millionaires? If so, why hasn't there been a ransom demand? What else would the media be telling us about, but are not, because they are filling airtime with the McCanns' story? I find it all very strange and curious.

I am unwillingly, becoming more and more imune to what would in the past have been earth shattering headline news and without question have stirred our very consiousness. But the world has changed. We are now brainwashed by spin and media stage management, no longer able to understand, or, keep up with how did those poor people get on after the last Tsunami, or, the droughts in Africa that killed millions of people. or, child poverty. It has now become the sole perogative of Media or Government to orchestrate solutions on a daily basis. My conscience is somewhat relieved now to learn that the stage managers have now secured those auspicious services of Pope Paul to give his blessing, to a photograph !!

this sort of mindless twaddle on your programme suggests that it is finally heading towards the Panorama and Tonght with Trevor McDoanld level of gutter journalism. I have (thankfully) a young 3 year old daughter and I would feel no different to the McCanns in using the media. Surely that is all politicians do on a daily basis - manage the news agenda? Perhaps the programme should be focusing on the chronic ineptitude of the police involved in this case and why as a member of the European Union they have a very singular approach to this sort of case!

It's difficult isn't it?
Charles Elliott wrote a book once called 'Comfortable Compassion?' about the massive response to Live aid and all that went with it.
The massive hype about little Madeline may seem over the top, but if it was my daughter, I would want every scrap of help I could mobilise.
Ie leaves the question hanging, what about all the other lost children?

It is the most riduculous media circus ever. Only in Britain, so demented by the forces of tabloid news, could this happen. And the fact the BBC is playing along with it proves just how far the dumbing down of Blighty has gone. Shame on all concerned.

I understand the parents' motive: the more attention their case gets, the bigger the chance of finding a lead, of finding Maddy, and -hopefully- bring her back home alive.

But involving the rich and famous (on and on and on..) is turning this whole case into a preposterous (money making) media circus and absurd soap opera. It's losing all it's initial integrity and makes me switch channels and think of all the other missing persons on this planet...

There is an uneasy feeling within me about the whole case but i'm not sure why. That said I don't know what the dissenting voices expect the parents to do. The McCanns have to carry on, they can't be bothered about all the other missing children who do not receive this level of exposure. They just want their girl back asap are prepared to do whatever it takes now. Nor can they beat themselves up at this time and blame themselves. It happened and feeling guilty about how it happened is not going to bring Madeleine back. So I don't get what point those who raise the circumstance of her disappearance are trying to make. All I know is if it was my little girl I would it to be the lead story on every news bulletin until she was found.

It's difficult isn't it?
Charles Elliott wrote a book once called 'Comfortable Compassion?' about the massive response to Live aid and all that went with it.
The massive hype about little Madeline may seem over the top, but if it was my daughter, I would want every scrap of help I could mobilise.
Ie leaves the question hanging, what about all the other lost children?

I feel for them, and if i were a parent no doubt i would do everything i could think of to help find my child, however media saturation to this level can have a negative effect, people start switching off whether they want to or not when they see this everyday, going to see the pope is not a genuine development in the story,many media outlets these days seem to have lost sight of what to focus on in a story and i don't think this daily banal 'mcannes walk on a beach'bombardment is helping the family atall.An unnamed policeman also commenetd a couple of weeks ago that the media frenzy could even make the people responsible panic if Maddy was still alive.Why have none of the media looked at the wider story? the amount of children that are abducted each year? human trafficking?

If the Mcanns had acted as responsible parents and NOT let 3 small children unsupervised in a hotel room, this media hysteria would never have taken place. I pity the children

Unfortunate as the little girl's disappearance is, I think it is wrong for the media to go on and on about it. There are far more important things happening in the world which should be reported on. What about all the little children being killed in Iraq? Why doesn't the media highlight their plight in such detail every day? Or the children dying of starvation in Africa? Are their lives not worth as much as Maddy's? Its symptomatic of the age in which we live that a single story like this can by hyped up so much you think nothing else matters. Very sad.

I don't see the point of keeping the Madeleine story alive and kicking in the UK when she is either in Portugal or Spain. Whoever took her is not in Britain and all these appeals will not make the slightest difference to the sort of person who abducts a child. The Media and Politicians should concentrate on more pressing issues and let the Portugese police get on with their investigations.

While feeling desperately sorry for the McCanns and very worried aboout Maddie, cannot but feel all this publicity may be counter productive.

It just may make the person(s) who abducted her, so panicky that they ...say, kill the child.
With the unique right eye it would be very difficult to disguise her.
I sincerly hope not but it is also extraordinary that not s ingle clue to her whereabouts has has appeared.

I guess every parent sympathises with the McCanns, and all of us would do it if we had too. I just hope the twins don't suffer whilst this is going on.

I can well understand the plight of their missing daughter and the distress that the McCanns are undergoing. Were I in their position I am sure I would suffer the same.

I would have thought that by now the media would have taken this opportunity to highlight the plight of millions of children and their parents who perish each year many in truly horific circumstances that no one ever gets to know about.

I would hope that the conclusion is a happy one for the McCanns and that when they reach a point in all this that they are able to reflect, that they may lend their energies to the plight of the rest of the child victims globally.

As a non-parent obviously I couldn't being to feel what the McCann's would be going though right now! What does concern me, however grave Madelene's abduction is, in future it seems likely another set of parents will encounter the same position with a child.... How will they feel if their plight doesn't receive an equal amount of publicity to raise public awareness and hope that their child would also be found....

That doesn't distract me from the sympathy I feel for the McCann's plight.....

Philip Lowe

Were I ever plunged into McCanns' nightmare, god forbid, I would do everything in my power to mobilise the world's media to recover my daughter. I would take little notice of how naysayers judged, conceptualised or pontificated about my actions. I would look for any and every opportunity to publicise the cause. I respect the McCanns for their dedication.

Had I not a daughter about Madeleines age I probably would have said "there is too much coverage" However as a parent of a beautiful 3 year old I think there is never enough coverage.

The way the parents are behaving is subjectively rational and understandable. The way the tabloid press is behaving is.....as they always behave. A young, blonde, beautiful, little girl has disappeared: “every parent’s nightmare” headlines appear. After weeks articulate, attractive, middle class, educated and co-operative parents, understandably seek to maintain their daughters story and image in the headlines however they can. This is a marriage made in circulation heaven... but, as is often the case where tabloids are involved, slightly distasteful. It is based on what interests people not what is in the peoples interest. They know what they are doing and as long as it sells newspapers it will continue. I would not criticise the parents and criticism of tabloids is without meaning - unless with a large financial cost to their owners.

However; after weeks of, less than insightful, reporting, the behaviour of the serious press and TV, including Newsnight, is worthy of serious debate by their editorial staff. For weeks they have continued to treat as hard news what are “Peoples Princess” storylines. Nothing factual to report, report the rumours, no new rumours repeat the last rumours. Set out the parents travel plans photograph their movements report the latest bandwagon jumpers. Ribbons for MPs, telephone calls from future PMs. News 24 has been a major embarrassment to the editorial direction of the BBC. Rather like a question in parliament, can one ask “How many BBC journalists have been sent to Portugal to cover the issue?” and “How many BBC journalists are currently assigned to cover disappearances of children aged under 15 who have disappeared in the same period?” “How many journalists are covering the ongoing murder hunts for children killed in the same period?” “ How much air time has been allocated to the dozens (?) who have been involved in the UK as opposed to the one in Portugal?”

Do the priorities of senior managers at the BBC reflect their Reithian inheritance? I accept that news night has reported the questioning of the nature of the reporting ... as part of the focus on the story by the BBC.

It's heartbreaking to see the Parent's grief. I cannot imagine what it is like for them. This abduction however must not slip back into the middle pages and beyond.

Criminals who indulge in this type of crime are generally Psycopaths and they actually do not care what they are putting people through, being wired up differently from the rest of us, they have no emotional empathy. It is thus useless appealing to them via Celebrities etc.

The Parents and the Press are behaving correctly and have absolutely no alternative.

All Police forces should prioritize and co-operate. The ultimate answer will come from them and their efforts.

I do sympathize with the McCanns family as per their missing daughter hence i share the same opinion with the rest of the world that this issue deserves all the attenton it has received this whilst.
Also, i believe the press are doing a good job and very soon the missing child will be find more so the priest of the living God; the Pope himself is now involved and all notable personalties.

Shocking coverage, over kill in the extreme

we all hope the little girl turns up safe and well,but what on earth is the pope and beckham going to do,???join in the hunt,and another thing who is paying their expences,hotel and travel to and from rome,,,,,the top and bottom is this would NEVER have happened if they had not left the child alone.
steveee

I can sort of understand why they are doing it, I'm sure any parent in their situation would be doing all they could to get their child back if it happened to them. However, I think it is getting to much now, golfers wearing yellow ribbons, videos being shown in stadiums etc etc The number of children dying world wide is just a shocking figure and to place greater importance on Madiline is just too disproportionate. It also amplifies fear throughout society about kidnappins, the risks are infintisimal in reality.

We all know why celebrities and politicians attach themselves to these causes; self interest, and this will often attract the media.

However, I cannot fault the McCanns for taking advantage of it, who wouldn't? It is often said that people treat TV actors as if they know them personally, therefore one can assume the publicity will help to locate Madeline if she is moved in public.

As to her being left alone - People have such short memories. What about the little girl who was abducted from a bath in her home and sexually assaulted? The McCanns did not leave their children unattended for a day, but an hour, no different than putting your kids to bed for the night. Therefore, enough with 'they left her alone' I defy any parent to say they check on their child in bed every hour no matter what!

We need to make life difficult for kidnappers. Also agree with post #42 about a global network - far too many families have to endure this hell.

In my view, the continued blanket coverage could be jeopardising the chances of Maddy being found alive. My fear is that the abductors might kill her and dispose of her body to minimise their risk of being caught.

It must be more important for them to see Him and touch Him than anything else. Let's forget about carbon emission. I am sorry.

I admit to a certain unease regarding the coverage.

The McCann's made a dreadful and tragic decision to leave their children alone, and I'm sure they castigate themselves about this every second.

Their subsequent actions, however, are entirely understandable and rational. Any parent would do the same.

They have applied their intellect to garner support and sympathy. I applaud them for it.

However, there are several unsavory aspects. Politicians and businessmen have been falling over themselves in a bid to capture the reflected light - The Cardinal Murphy O'Connor also guilty in this respect. It reminds me of the mass hysteria that engulfed this nation following Princess Diana's death.

There is also a hidden jealousy in the comments above: I find Britons to be allergic to intellect - they worship mediocrity. These people will find any reason to bring the intelligent down.

I also believe caste, creed and race had a lot to do with the extensive coverage. As an Indian living in Britain, I would like to think the people of this nation would support me as they have the McCann's if it were my child. Somehow, I very much doubt it.

I feel very uneasy about the coverage that this childs abduction is getting in the press , what must the families of other missing children be feeling when they see the McCanns being treated this way , after all this situation is of their own doing , I have two children and would never leave them alone while I went to a restaurant like they did , and apparently it was nt on one night it was every night while they were on holiday ,no matter how close the restaurant was .The Catholic church should not be seen to be treating them any differently , I believe the Pope was ill advised . It may well be that all this coverage may actually make it harder for the person or persons holding Madeline to return her . The McCanns may end up allienating the very people they want on their side .

Yes, I do think the media should continue to cover this story but I also believe that names of other missing children - with photos where possible - should be included in all these reports.

I wish that little Maddy will soon be returned safely to her family.

God Bless and keep all children safe.

While I agree that it is important - as in very important - to keep Madeleine's abduction in the forefront, the focus has shifted and that is unfortunate because it detracts from the search for the child. Currently it appears that a lot of noteworthy and important personages are stepping on the bandwagon, so as to say, and instead of focusing on Madeleine are focusing on the grief of the parents. While her parents are certainly overwhelmed with grief, to play up their grief as opposed to the little one's abduction shifts the focus away. And that can only hurt.

Honestly - I REALLy hate to say it but fear that their chances of having her returned to them lessen daily. And with the focus being on the parents and most definitely on important personages, those chances lessen even more dramatically.

God willing (and I'm praying here) Madeleine will be found and returned live and healthy. And soon!

The question to ask is "what would you do in similiar circumstances"?

Was it not the case that the Pope himself offered to see the McCann's if they wished - because they had been clearly seen as strong Catholics and taking strength from their faith? They then intimated that they would indeed wish to have an audience with him - would not anyone else have done the same? I think it is awful how they are being criticised for that.

I agree that there has been unprecedented publicity around this case - but a child stolen from her bed is very rare - most are abducted from the street - so I can understand why everyone has found this so dreadful - none of us can imagine that this could happen.

I have become painfully aware of the number of lost children during these last terrible four weeks - and I am certainly very angry that they too dont seem to get similar publicity - surely they all deserve the same in future - times have changed, modern technology enables news to travel across the world in seconds - more must be made of this for other children in future.

Let us hope, even after 28 days, that Maddie is found and returned to her parents - and redoubled efforts are made to identify these perverts who steal children in this way - that they are locked up and the keys thrown away.

I still hope and pray for a miracle for the McCann's.

I think that the McCanns are doing the right thing to use every conceivable means to keep their daughter's abduction on the spotlight in order to find her. I find their whole attitude inspiring in that they don't give up. The fact that there are countless cases like this around the world does not mean that they should resign from their efforts. Moreover it was the public interest that also made the media give so much coverage.We all pray and will be immensly releived for Madeleine to return to her parents.

What did the Pope do?

If the parents are 'educated and well connected', perhaps they should be directing their resources, energies and connections in a more private, concentrated and direct manner and stay focused on the child.

What the parents are going through is heart rendering and devastatingingly unfortunate and all so very public and perhaps, thus far, not at all constructive or effective

For the child herself, as with all abducted children, words fail me as to their plight. All who sympathize are left with a with a sense of helplessness, as well as horror, at the tragedy and loathing and disgust at an element of society that continually perpetrates these crimes against innocent little children.

God will be with this little child and the many others. Society ought to look at itself long and hard in a mirror.

Unless the media is prepared to extend the same coverage to all missing children, it should stop, now. As for 'celebrities' and politicians and religious leaders getting involved, the same applies.

I truly hope Madeleine is returned safe and well, but the coverage of this one case is and has been for a long time way over the top.

I'm sure if one of my children had disappeared over the past few weeks - or even longer ago - I'd be feeling a lot of anger that my child was not worth as much attention as Madeleine apparently is.

It's time it stopped and that the McCanns realise that flogging the media publicity machine in the name of getting their daughter back is not going to assuage their guilt in leaving her alone like that one iota.

I have read all of the above comments and agree with many points,my family and me are quite frankly sick of seeing the McCanns on the tv trying to divert the blame from themselves ,they left their child alone (then gave the nanny the night off!!)take responsibility for your actions and look after your two children left without their parents in a foreign country.

Yes, the media should continue to cover this story and at the same time include the names and photos of other missing children with each and every report. Such coverage could well result in grown up missing children being reunited with their families also.

There is no harm in Gordon Brown or the Pope taking an interest in the plight of these poor parents. They are already in pain and do not need to be blamed any further for leaving the children unattended in a locked room!

God Bless and keep Maddy and all other abducted children safe and bring them all home again.

While I sympethize with the McCanns and I understand they want to keep the story in the spotlight, I think the blatant media hogging they are doing is damaging their credibility.

Seriously, what is meeting the Pope and David Beckham going to do for their cause? And what of being given the use of a multi-million pound private jet to aid their 'search'?? If they wheren't shamelessly taking advantage of this situation they would be spending every waking moment in Portugal searching for their daughter, not hobnobbing with celebrities!

Additionally, it's been 4 weeks now... I strongly believe that if they find anything at all of poor little Maddy, they will not like what they find.

I fail to see how anything other than publicity flooding the region where witnesses are likely to need a memory jogging is of any practical help whatsoever.

Half an hour of news about the Pope 'praying' for a happy ending - for example - is indulgent waffle aimed to ensure we can all wallow is the sentimentality of it all.

I'm not criticising the parents - you do what you can - it's the good old British Public I worry about.

I think the coverage and involvement of prominent figures is appropriate - it's been a constant reminder for lots of parents (like me) who have left or would have thought of leaving their kids alone on such resorts where listening services and suchlike are commonplace.

All talk of the McCanns being at fault is misplaced. They are the (tragically) unlucky ones and we are the fortunate majority who now have learned from their misfortune.

The coverage has potentially prevented many other kids from being taken. With time the McCann's story will fade away but parents will forever have a reminder in the back of their heads never to leave their kids alone.

Firstly, I sincerely hope the girl is alive and well and that eventually it will all end happily. I have to say that, had this been a youngster from a poorer area of the Uk, would there have been as much interest in it? Would others from a poorer background have had the common sense and savvy not to leave their little kid lying in bed unattended in a foreign land? As a father I would never, ever have considered this course of action. The girl's parents are educated, atriculate and appear to have the ability, or at least have someone acting for them, to obtain worldwide assistance including a meeting with the Pope. How does one arrange that? One doesn't just call the Vatican and speak to a secretary to arrange an appointment.
In any case I wish the family well and I sincerely hope the matter ends soon and that their little girl is returned safe and well.

I genuinely feel sorry for the McCanns, having lost their beautiful blonde daughter. However, like a lot of people, I do wonder how two intelligent, professional parents could leave their children unsupervised at night in a ground floor apartment with the window apparently unlocked. Having owned a ground floor flat myself in the past (and experiencing 4 terrifying attempted break-ins) I know just how unsafe the ground floor can be. Even if no one had entered the McCann children’s room, what was to stop one of the children climbing out of that room and going for a wander? Children have enquiring minds and if they wake at night they want to know where the grown ups are. Also, was a baby listening device not available to the McCanns? Often Mark Warner resorts can provide these. Even if these questions can be answered it is too late now. I am certain that other parents are learning from the McCann’s mistakes by becoming more security conscious.

Without doubt the media has given the story prominence because the McCann family are photogenic, professional and interesting which has engaged the reader. My understanding is that Mrs McCann worked her way up in the medical world from working class Liverpool roots. This, combined with her striking blonde looks, makes her perfect tabloid fodder and has kept the story in the papers. The intervention of celebrities is touching, but in my opinion has gone too far. Was it really necessary to fly to see the pope on Sir Philip Green’s private plane? This is supposed to be about finding their daughter – not indulgent gestures.

Although this excess amount of publicity has ensured Madeleine is imprinted on everyone’s memory, might it be the case that the abductor may have been frightened by the amount of attention this story has received? The extensive publicity could have panicked him – which in turn could have impacted Madeleine’s welfare. I really hope this is not the case and that the story has a happy ending.

I, too, am beginning to feel very uneasy about the high-powered campaign, not because I do not understand the McCanns' wish to do all they can to
find their daughter but because whoever took Madeleine would receive such widespread condemnation and become a real hate figure, that they could be deterred from giving her back even if they had felt inclined to do so.

I feel that for a few short years, while children are very young, parents must adjust their lifestyle. The McCanns are not irresponsible parents, but they left their children not only out of sight but out of earshot. It was a terrible mistake and one which will haunt them for the rest of their lives, but what of poor little Madeleine, the innocent victim? What affect will it have on her if, as we all hope, she is eventually found alive? That is the greatest worry.

I thimk it only natural that the parents have and will continue to do everything in their power to find their daughter. The role of the media is a differnt thing though, I feel the coverage is disproportionate considering how many people including children go missing every year. Surely the media are co-operating with the McCanns not the other way round?

I fail to see how anything other than publicity flooding the region where witnesses are likely to need a memory jogging is of any practical help whatsoever.

Half an hour of news about the Pope 'praying' for a happy ending - for example - is indulgent waffle aimed to ensure we can all wallow is the sentimentality of it all.

I'm not criticising the parents - you do what you can - it's the good old British Public I worry about.

The McCann family have to do what's right for them. No one can really make any judgements - we are not in their situation.

Personally I do feel slightly uncomfortable with the persistent media coverage; it also seems so contradictory with other news in the same bulletins or on the same newspaper page.

What about all the other children and adults who go missing? What about all the unsolved murders where the victims' families don't know the truth? What about all the UK families who have lost a father, brother or husband in Iraq? There's hundreds of thousands of pounds being contributed to politicians for their campaigns yet there is the tragedy of Darfur unfolding while no one does anything.

It's a topsy-turvy world where common sense seems to have gone out the window. Where's the perspective in all this?

And the McCanns are probably asking themselves the same question?

Why? Who knows the answer.....

I firstly would like to say how soory i feel for the little girl,where is she ,what is happening to her?The power of the media could help so much,but all we have is live reports from portugal with self serving indulgence from reporters not reallt interested in the dissapearence but in how they look on screen. Let's use the media properly to find this little girl,as for the McCann family strange thing to go abroad and leave the children alone again!!let's get them of the tv and use the media properly

I doubt if anyone is qualified to comment on anything the McCann's see fit to do unless they have been in the same position themselves.

I agree with Rebecca's comments (posted at 1.45). They should never have left their children especially given the fact that they are highly educated people (I'm sure GP's should know better than to leave their children alone!!) and given the fact that they travelled as a group they could easily have taken turns to look after the kids whilst the other adults went for dinner. Everyone should remember about the other kids that go missing that may not be as angelic looking as Madeline but just as loved by their families.

Is any publicity appropriate, yes, otherwise the disappearance of Madeleine would just become, like so many before her, another statistic. Maybe the unease that some people are feeling about the publicity is more a case of frustration that there is no going forward and seems to be going around in a circle. One good lead will make all the publicity worthwhile! Criticising the parents is nasty and useless. Focus attention on their sadness and their hope of recovering the daughter they both love.

A public international missing persons web site should be available for all to check just in case we spot some other missing child or adult.

I don't know the details of the case but it is quite obvious that this is atracting very very much media attention.
For the parents of the missing child this looks good and I truly hope it helps their cause. On the other hand there are children missing daily the world over and hardly anyone cares. On the contrary.
It seems that for some media this child is a good way to sell their paper and look good like a magazine 'that cares about people'. The owners then can use it as an excuse for the rubbish they normally print.
For some people like the Pope it is good publicity for THEIR cause. Again loking as someone 'who cares about people'.
So it lookes like this case is being used by a lot of hypocrites to clean up their record and for some to make profits.

I think it's unfair to criticize the parents who are in a living hell that won't be relieved until they are re-united with their child. If this level of publicity makes the public aware of the situation, the chances of bringing her captor(s) to justice are increased.

Madaline's disappearance is a very sad ocurrance . What is to be the outcome is within the power of the Lord.no matter how much she is either captivity or has been fatally attacked.
I think that it is time to stop publicity by the media and any notable persons and let the authorities concerned find the hopefull conclusion to this matter

Whilst I have the greatest sympathy for the parents and their little girl I do wonder if they are actually endangering her life with all the publicity. If the perpetrator of this crime has gone to ground with their daughter and is too scared to take her from whatever hiding place he or she is holding her is there a risk that he/she may decide to dispose of the evidence to avoid linking him/her to the crime.

He/she may be too scared to consider hamding her in to the police and may feel that there would be little chance of a fair trial because of all the publicity.

I worked with sex offenders and murderers etc, and know how they think.
As a father of two daughters I shudder to think what the poor little girl may be suffering. Good luck to the NcCanns, but please consider whether the publicity is doing the right thing.

I don't think anyone has the right to criticise the family unless they have been in the same situation themselves. God only knows how I would have reacted had any of my children been abducted. I do know that, if my child had gone missing in Portugal I wouldn't have left the country at all until the child was found. The Pope wouldn't be a priority for me. I cannot understand what all that Vatican bit was about, Benedict could have said some prayers without the visit.

The media trades in human misery, masquerading such coverage as "human interest" so, if criticism is appropriate, then focus it on the media not on a family struggling with a terrible situation.

The McCann family are desparate, therefore using figures like Gordon Brown, David Beckham etc is the right move because take for example David Beckham is known by almost three quarters of the entre wolrd population. Therefore using him will attract attention to almost all people who know Beckham. If Madelene happened to seen any where people will inform the relevent people. So i say yes there is nothing wrong in using such figures to spread the news of the missing Madelene.

Is any publicity appropriate, yes, otherwise the disappearance of Madeleine would just become, like so many before her, another statistic. Maybe the unease that some people are feeling about the publicity is more a case of frustration that there is no going forward and seems to be going around in a circle. One good lead will make all the publicity worthwhile! Criticising the parents is nasty and useless. Focus attention on their sadness and their hope of recovering the daughter they both love.

A public international missing persons web site should be available for all to check just in case we spot some other missing child or adult.

One can hardly imagine what the McCann's are going through. They must be devastated not just by the loss but also the guilt and indeed the shame they must be feeling. We have here two professional people and experienced ones at that who should have realised that no way was it suitable to leave three small children alone. The risk of abduction is not the only hazard which young children face who are left unattended. When you have children your life style has to change, you can't have your cake and eat it, you have to organise your life to fit around the needs of your children.This aspect of the case is being largely ignored especially by the media, none of them have been brave enough to raise the issue in the face of the wave sentimentality which exists, yet it needs airing for fear that this sort of behaviour becomes thought to be acceptable.
This orchestrated media campaign, yes one hopes it might help to find Madeleine, but feels at times to be an arogant attempt by the parents to deny their part in the tragedy.
I spent the whole of my working life as a Social Worker responsible for implementing the law in relation to the care of children and in a case where young children were being left unattended I would have made it my duty to look into the situation. Presumably Leicestershire Social Services Department will do so in due course, in the hope of preventing any further tragedy in this unfortunate family. I really do feel for them but the issue does have to be addressed.

The McCanns may be maximising the campaign to find their daughter because, as parents, they desperately wish to find her. It may also be a way to deal with personal feelings of guilt (even if they do not realise that). I have a worry that by making Maddie so recognisable, they have made her "too hot to handle" and reduced the chance of finding her alive.

Is any publicity appropriate, yes, otherwise the disappearance of Madeleine would just become, like so many before her, another statistic. Maybe the unease that some people are feeling about the publicity is more a case of frustration that there is no going forward and seems to be going around in a circle. One good lead will make all the publicity worthwhile! Criticising the parents is nasty and useless. Focus attention on their sadness and their hope of recovering the daughter they both love.

A public international missing persons web site should be available for all to check just in case we spot some other missing child or adult.

I work as a journalist on a photography magazine. It seems that it's not just the media who are seen to be over-egging the situation. The unease over coverage extends to accusations from some of our readers that a well known chain of camera shops is exploiting the attention by allowing its customers free digital conversion of any photographs taken in the area Madeleine disappeared - prior to uploading on the official website set up to help find her.
Chris Cheesman, London

steve in post 108 raises an interesting possibility: Have the McCanns hired a PR firm to help attract publicity for their daughter's plight? It's hard to imagine how the Pope got involved otherwise. (And why exactly did they want to involve him?!)

Naturally, every parent and compassionate person will sympathise with the McCann family. Nevertheless, could one argue that the media coverage and this high profile celebrity involvement is without perspective? If the McCann's were a working class family who had left their child would our sympathy be so profound? Also, thousands of children go missing every year, what identifies the McCann's as special? Of course none of these musings will make a difference to the McCann's who should and invariably will do everything in their power to ensure the safety of their little girl. And so they should.

I believe it's appropreate that when a child goes missing we make every effort and by all means to find that child back.

However, the question shouldn't be whether the media is going overboard in their coverage but, are they doing enough?

The media, as well as the Pope,Mr. Bechham and Mr. Brown, should be giving added coverage and attention to more of the missing children in this world as well as to other sensitive childrens issues, such as abuse, child labor, soldiering, and the like. They should be doing this on a regular basis.

To all the people who are complaining about having to watch the "media circus/frenzy" about Madeleine, just shut up and switch channels if you are so bereft of compassion that you cannot see this is their best, maybe only hope of having their child returned to them. How can you POSSIBLY question their motives for wanting to keep her in the public eye in any way possible and to accept help from any quarter??? It beggars belief, really and I am ashamed to share an island with some of you people.
By the way, I read one quote where the family said they would love nothing more than to hand over their fighting fund for other missing child cases because it would mean their daughter had been found. Of course they don't think they are better than any other frantic parents in the same position, but what do you expect them to do? Turn away the help?
Finally, I find it really insulting that some of you assume I would feel or react any differently if this were a single mother who had lost her child. Who cares who or what the McCanns are? It is irrelevant and all that matters is the safe return of their (yes, beautiful but again irrelevant) daughter.

The McCann’s may well be suffering now but I bet poor little Maddy has suffered 1000 times more than them. It is Maddy we care about. Her parents are to blame for all the pain and fear this poor little girl has gone through because they left their children alone. They act sad one minute for the press calls and then we see them in the weekend papers with huge smiles from ear to ear as they do the happy family photo shoot for the papers, what accomplished actors they are. I think the parents have yet again put Maddy in danger by all this media publicity. Surely it has made Maddy too hot to handle because we all know now that she has that special eye. Whoever took her can change her hair and make her look like a boy for the time being but no one can take that eye away from her, it’s there for life, how ever long that is!

As a parent I feel quite distress about little Madeleine and pray that she will soon be found safe and well. However I would like to know who are the people behind this campaign.
I think that there is more to the disappearance of this little girl. There are hundreds of children going missing every all over the worldwide yet most people don't give it a second thought I just think that there is something peculiar when the parents are having so much success in having world leader support finally I and most parents would not have left three children on their own.

One can not possibly blame the parents they would do anything to get their little girl back, they are however manipulated by the press, since obviously the story sells papers, but the exposure they are getting puts the parents into danger of a public back clash, other parents who have also lost childern in this way will be sick seeing the publicity,a giant screen at the Cup final,street posters, press photos, TV exposure, etc ..
even his solo return to the Uk was covered like that of a returning hero,

In response to Ferdie, 'Does anyone still care about this'

162 million people across the world logging into the website care.

It is when we stop caring about the abduction of an innocent -- whatever colour, creed, class -- that it is time to start worrying.

As for media-furore ... if it communicates clearly that abduction and abuse is unnacceptable and highlights how furiously we can cooperate to a common goal ... then it is worth a few people getting bored.

I believe that the more coverage the better someone some where knows what as happened to this little girl however the places that need the publicity are from where she was abducted perhaps interpol should be on the case. There was a time that you could leave anybody in the house and not have to worry not it is not the same as it was fifty or sixty years ago

I don't know how they show there faces going out till three o'clock in the mornig and leaving there children alone.the police should have locked them up.WHen they arrive back in Britain the police shoud arrest them as soon as they get off the plain.If you can not look after your children you should not have them.I am a father if we could not take the childen with us to a dinner etc. We either got a baby sitter or we did not go out.full stop.

According to the McCann's 'official website', the Find Madeline fund now stands at well over 370 grand...

I hope they enjoy every penny knowing that they had to lose their daughter for it. Shocking, disgusting and downright wrong.

I have read all the comments posted so far and they largely reflect what I hear people saying as I go out and about. However, only Sharmian (Message 99) remarks on a point which struck me from the very beginning. Something doesn't quite 'feel' right about the whole affair. I have a feeling that there's a whole 'can of worms' out there somewhere, waiting to be opened.

I don't know how they show there faces going out till three o'clock in the mornig and leaving there children alone.the police should have locked them up.WHen they arrive back in Britain the police shoud arrest them as soon as they get off the plain.If you can not look after your children you should not have them.I am a father if we could not take the childen with us to a dinner etc. We either got a baby sitter or we did not go out.full stop.

Brown, as the new P.M. should never have allowed himself to get involved in this unless he is prepared to do so for every missing British child, he has no connection to the MaCanns other than being a fellow scot, but knowing Brown he likes to improve is dour public immage in readiness for an early general election he will call in a years time, the same applies to Beck's but he is a stupid fellow and we forgive him, the pope was also ill advised to see them, unless he does so for all the parents of missing
childern, no doubt the pope
could not resist the publicity this case gave the Vatican, in the meantime the McCann's are staying (sleeping) at the Residence of our Ambassador
in Rome no less, will they ever return to the UK and resume their work at the NHS, I don't think so, when the child is eventually returned to them they will play and enjoy the roll of roving ambassadors for abducted childern, travelling the globe, and this will even more so apply should the child not be found, the money will continue to flow in, and having got a taste of their new live now, they will never let go, and will insist on being perpetual roving ambassadors for missing childern.

Well, here in the United States there has been talk of the parent's neglect of these children by leaving them alone quite a ways away from them so they could party. I think here there would be moves to charge them with neglect or child endangerment.If they had enough money to go to such a resort, and then pass up the chance to have a babysitter at only $10 per hour, then they should be charged with neglect or reckless endangerment and prosecuted. I think that it seems to be a big public relations stunt for them to go to the Pope and ask his blessing in front of TV cameras. Too little, too late, folks. And now they are going all over Europe too?? I think this is to garner sympathy and absolve them from guilt but it won't work in my opinion. Their 2 remaining children should be under the supervision of child and family services to assure they are getting the attention and safety measures by these 2 selfish self- absorbed physicians!!! Sorry, that is my view from a health care professional. We have to report child abuse here in the USA and this sure seems like a case of it.

The case of this missing child, in my opinion, is the Missing White Woman Syndrome or the Missing Pretty Girl Syndrome

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white_woman_syndrome

I would just like to comment on Jon's observations (Message 130) regarding the BBC coverage of the story from the Algarve end. With a 24-hour news service, and 2 locations to cover, there obviously has to be a rota system, which means at least 4 journalists. For my money, Jane Hall, who has been there from Day 1, has stood out head and shoulders above the rest with her restrained yet sensitive reporting; but why on earth it was thought necessary to ship Huw Edwards out there for one "6 o'clock News" is beyond comprehension.

Whilst I understand what they are doing, and their thinking behind maintaining this very public image, I am very uneasy with the campaign and can't help but feel terrible for the parents of other children who are missing and haven't had this level of support. I would like to see some of the funds rasied shared between other families of parents with missing children so that they too can stop working and look for their children.

I also can't help but wonder, whether the media & celebratory backers would be as eager to help if Madeline wasn't so beautiful and her parents white educated middle class. WOuld the media be as helpful if this wasn't the case?

Clearly, the McCanns' dedication in pursuing every avenue of publicity possible is what most parents would seek at such a distressing time. However, without wishing to be sententious, I do have serious reservations about the way in which they left 3 little children alone, now matter how often they 'checked'. The fact is that they were not there. For all we know, perhaps one of the babes was crying or Madeleine herself did not feel very well, and actually left the holiday home to look for 'Mummy and Daddy', and was snatched then. Whatever happened, one's heart goes out to them, but is tempered by a certain caveat that it is simply inappropriate to leave three little children alone even if one is twenty yards away with the entrance in full view. Why they couldn't get a babysitter or have a walkie talkie so that they could at least hear what was going on, is completely beyond me. If neither of these options was acceptable to them, they should have either stayed at home or taken the children with them. Thus, however sympathetic one might feel for their plight and unwilling to subject them to an excoriating kind of critique in their hours, days and weeks of need,one cannot help feeling that this situation could and perhaps should have been avoided. Nonetheless, of course, fear for this poor little girl justifies maximum publicity although personally,I wish that every missing child received the same attention, and it makes me wonder how much the McCann's social 'status' has to do with the extraordinary coverage given.

I cant think of what this poor girl must be going through if she is still alive and I can't fault the parents for their efforts in trying to get her returned safely.

However it's up to the media to decide how much coverage a story gets. Every story eventually runs its course and I fear if she's not found soon the media bandwagon will leave town en masse leaving the McCanns isolated.

While I have every sympathy with these parents and fully understand their effort to keep the case in the public domain. I am sure I would do the same in their shoes. However the publicity, in my mind is now going right over the top. While their plight is tragic it is no more so than the children who are killed or kidnapped in Irag and other areas of conflict. All the children suffering from malnutrition or downright starvation. Would David Beckham, the Pope, Gordon Brown and all the other celebrities please turn their attention to these in the same high profile way. I was in church the other day and in the prayers they prayed for Madeleine but no word for the other suffering children or parents

if it helps others then yes continue , but it does seem that they are getting far more than there share of publicity..after all it was their fault

I think it's now time to slow the coverage on this story. The attempts to cover it in the news are now desperate. The simple fact is there is NO news on this story and as a viewer and reader of the media I think it's appauling that this story is still featured so much. We're now at the stage where no one wants to make the decision to cut down on the coverage because it could be deemed as being unsympathetic or insenstive. A decision is going to have to be made soon, let's do it now and give this story the coverage it deserves - little.

I am a parent and I share in the parents feelings. I want them not to loose hope, I believe she would be seen. The government and media are doing well. We should pray along with well meaning other people.

This case has recieved far too much coverage. I would really rather mainstream media stopped whoring over this one incident and got on with reporting some real news instead.

Whilst I join everyone else is wishing a safe return for the girl, I dread to think how many BBC reporters will be jetting off to Portugal when she is.

Looking at this blog, it seems to me the main difference between posts is the people who care... full stop, and the people who care BUT ALSO care about OTHER things in the world, like, um, World Missing Children's Day last week..(!), the fact that half the world — nearly three billion people — live on less than two dollars a day, the fact that the lives of 1.7 million children will be needlessly lost this year because world governments have failed to reduce poverty levels

This quote says it all: "The charity said that since Madeleine's abduction on 3 May there had been 1,200 reports of missing young people."

If we ever fail to feel for even just one life, then we must question our humanity, but.... SERIOUSLY.... is the focus on one little girl healthy...???

Is it rational?
Fair?
Balanced?

No. None of these things.

Frankly, as a young man not yet married, it strikes me as actually rather creepy.

At least it has brought attention to the fate of others, but, frankly, if you asked me who do I care about more, Madeleine or the thousands of nameless faceless other missing people, I would say, absolutely the others. I fear almost everybody else in the country would say "Madeleine", "Madeleine"...!

I understand why, but I find this perverse form of celebrity unconstructive, unbalanced and frankly bordering on disturbing.

Matt, Lancaster

It is very difficult to strike a balance between publicising this situation in order to keep it fresh in people's mind's and being a bit 'over the top'. Whilst I have every sympathy with the family and I fully understand the reasons for the publicity, I now think that the Police investigation is being hindered rather than helped by the intense media scrutiny. I have been embarassed by the way in which the British Newspapers Journalists have behaved towards the police in Portugal whilst covering the story for there papers, the police should have been alound to do there job with out any interference.

Matt.

I feel for the parents but struggle with why this child is different to any of the other 77k children that go missing every year.

http://uk.missingkids.com/missingkids/servlet/NewsEventServlet?LanguageCountry=en_GB&PageId=0

I would be interested to hear from the parents of other children who have gone missing as to what they feel about the lack of coverage they receive by comparison.

Congrats to the parents/family for harnessing the power of the media though. I wouldn't be surprised to see a backlash or general apathy akin to the tsunami fundrasing etc. though.

Having read the comments I am astounded that some people can even consider the idea of punishing these people for neglect - they have been punished far worse than any legal system can, and will be punished for the rest of their lives for making the mistake of leaving their children.

I can sympathise with the McCanns for keeping the child in the public eye, it makes me weep to think of what that poor thing must have experienced or be experiencing, but equally any child who is abducted should also have equal press coverage, but this only comes with the parents pushing for it.

Not sure I agree that if it was a child from a Council Estate rather than middle class white parents the press would have lost interest by now. What of Sarah Payne - she was "news" for ages with her parents pushing for changes in the law. I think it depends on the strength of the parents to keep it together to campaign so strongly.

Issues like this should have high profile, though I fear for the child's safety.

I agree with Simon D (message 13). The whole affair has been turned into a tabloid frenzy-if Madeleine had been from a black, lower class immigrant family, for example,the tabloids would demand that they be 'locked-up' for child neglect!!!

As for the comment regarding Kate Mc Cann's bare head when meeting the Pope, how trivial is that? Does it really matter what she wears on her head-I would think that was the last thing she thought about!!!

The BBC has been very measured in highlighting the plight of Alan
Johnson-bears no comparison with the Mc Cann 'media frenzy'.

Jen R., I'm sure this possibility that undue publicity could result in panic-induced murder is one that the McCanns have borne in mind in their terrifying decisions as to a best course of action.

They have presumably had to weigh it against the possibility that massive publicity may stall easy exchange of this child for money .....if indeed that should be the objective of the abductor. Those in this criminal market just might hesitate about involvement in such a high-profile case. So, it's a valid line of thought and they've decided to go full pelt with it.

Thank heaven they are too tied up with it all to have time to see some of the repellent, judgmental postings here.

June B.

If the Police Investigation team which are responsible for the case are confident that the publicity and continued media coverage is beneficial (or more importantly, not detrimental) to their investigation, then I feel it is entirely the business of the McCanns themselves.
If their actions are hindering the actions of the police (historically, the misguided actions of many parents in similar situations have later proven to have done so), then I feel the McCanns should be better advised to reduce their profile - they are, after all, educated people who will no doubt listen to the experts when it comes to maximising the chances of finding Maddie alive, safe and well.

How can people suggest that the McCanns should be punished for neglecting their children? They have been punished by events which far outstrip the law. That poor woman is fading before our eyes, and if it were my child I would be doing what the McCanns are doing. Personally I never left my children alone and think it was crazy of them to do it, but it is common practice and I know a fair few people who have done the same.

And it is rubbish that it is because they are middle class that they are getting the press coverage. What of Sarah Payne? She is still mentioned. It is down to the parents to have the strength to organise such a campaign. To say that this campaign is wrong because there are other suffering children is mad - let's campaign for them too rather than negating what two people are doing to get their child back.

The only reason I wouldn't want to see Madeleine in the media is because it makes me want to weep when I think of what this small child has been through, not a good enough reason to stop it I think.

That we could help save the children killed and maimed .... and gone missing .... in Iraq as they scavenge for food in garbage dumps, try to get some drinking water for their family, or attempt to go to a bombed out school that has no electricity. While one can never minimize the acute suffering of this British family with the plight of their missing child, one wonders where are the Beckhams, Popes, jet-setting holiday makers - and the media - when it comes to the misery, squalour, and inhumanity that has been inflicted on children in Iraq and many other countries.

If I were in the same situation I would do all I possibly could to find my child and so would every parent so please pray and keep looking.

I cannot imagine - as a mother and grandmother - anything worse that could possibly happen. Not only the loss of a child - but worse, the fear of what may be happening to her beggars the imagination. I applaud their courage and determination to fight in every way they can find to find their child. You know, as an ardent opponent of the death penalty, I would still like to line up the perpertrators of crimes against children against a wall and riddle them with bullets. I never thought I would say such a thing but I have.

It is truly astonishing that anyone - anyone! - could suggest - as some have in this dialogue - that the McCanns have been courting celebrity status in their efforts to keep the case in the public eye to maximise the chances of getting their daughter back.

Is it seriously suggested that the McCanns want to be celebrities? That they should hold back on any step - whatever it might be - to get Madeline back? The people who have posted these notions clearly have no conception of the agony of being a parent in this kind of situation, and the desperation they feel. There is nothing - absolutely nothing on this earth - I would not do if I thought it would get my little girl back to her family in circumstances like these. The McCanns are intelligent and articulate, and they should use these advantages, and every other means at their disposal, to find their daughter. It's nothing short of their absolute duty as parents.

Being a parent and protecting your child is the most important job anyone can ever have. The McCanns' agony and self-recrimination needs no intensification from anyone.

Shame on anyone who suggests that they could possibly be enjoying this. Such notions beggar belief.

What parent wouldn't do everything in their power to find their missing child? Does it really matter that celebrities have become involved? Are the people of Britain so insular they have to bring up class? Why does it seem to concern so many that the McCann family are white and middle class?

A young child is missing, and as there is no apparent evidence to suggest she might be dead, everything should be done to find her and keep the case in the public eye. If people are 'bored' of hearing about the story or feel ‘uncomfortable’ with the media coverage, then turn off the TV or radio and lay down the paper, no one is forcing you to watch, read or listen.

The McCann family is not using their religion. They were Catholics before their daughter vanished and it's obvious their faith is helping them through this ordeal. How wonderful they could attend the general audience in St Peter’s Square and gain so much strength from meeting the Pope.

Let's stop judging and instead think about how we can use the media to find other missing children and teens and prevent them from disappearing in the first place, but please allow the McCanns continued access to the worldwide media and then leave them in peace once Madeleine is home.

Mother of four, USA

Question : Why did the McCann's leave this small child alone so they could go out for dinner? The Media is only giving them sympathy by airing their story. If anyone is to blame for their childs disappearance the McCann's, need only to look in the mirror. NEVER LEAVE YOUR SMALL CHILD UNATTENDED !
This the McCann's " 15 minutes of fame". I'm very sorry for what this poor child has probably suffered, but I'm sorry her life is being used in this manner.

Whilst I sympathise profusely with the the family's plight, the level and duration of media coverage for this case is reaching ridiculous proportions. Although it may sound cold and heartless, she is ultimately only one child; there are thousands of others throughout the world both suffering and missing.

Reluctantly, I'm tempted to think that the 'white middle class adorable child' look has captivated the media and in turn the public. Whilst concern is to be commended, this event, although tragic, must be put in context of reality.

Unfortunately, I also believe many influential figures who have involved themselves in the campaign have done so purely to raise their own image in the public eye. Coverage now seems to have surpassed the event itself and become a farse.

of both Her parents have cooperated heavily with the media to keep her in the public eye in the hope of finding her. Yesterday Gerry and Kate McCann met the Pope. Later this week they will travel to Madrid.

Everyone will sympathise with the McCanns’ plight. But some are beginning to feel uneasy about their campaign and the coverage it is getting. Is the media right to continue to give their story such prominence? And is the intervention of figures like Gordon Brown, David Beckham and the Pope appropriate?

I think a wide media coverage may be instrumental in tracing Kate McCann and therefore support it.I empathize fully with the parents who as everyone knows are doing everything possible to trace their daughter.I wish them all the luck in the world.The wide media coverage reminded other parents including myself of the hidden dangers around us and may make it more difficult for similar abductions to happen.

As a mother, of course I would do absolutely ANYTHING to bring my missing child home...I think the McCann's are right...keep the abduction in the public eye and push, push...surely someone somewhere must know something!

The only things that I am uneasy about are the fact that a very little girl is missing and in a very serious situation, and that people can be so very insensitive to her parents who must be going through hell. I do not begrudge them one moment of media coverage.

I have read all the comments-I have very mixed feelings. I must confess to feeling angry with the Mcanns not only for leaving their children-inexcusable from doctors and potentially prosecutable
but also when they appeared on TV on Missing Children's Day they made no refernece to the very many hundreds of other missing children. Someone on this has called for a European register-i think that an excellent idea.other children need to be given more prominenece- let's hope this is the start of something much bigger.The real victim is not her parents-who are no doubt riddled with guilt as they should be-but Madeleine.I hold all missing children and their parents in my prayers and trust that something bigger will come out of this.If that happens the publicity which i do find somewhat sickening will be worth it.

where is the message I posted around 5pm?

I don’t want to go ‘off message’, but I feel the treatment of this affair is just another example of a generalized problem with the papers (a latterly TV too – which follows the press more and more slavishly). I just feel that they are all desperate for stories and sensations and that they don’t really care about the victims or the due process of law. The whole affair just seems to be a big bun fight and feeding frezy. The press have already told the entire world that this Robert Murrat guy is a paedofillic child abductor, but as far as I’m aware that’s not been established. It used to be that the due processes of the law established guilt or innocence and the press reported the outcome. These days it seems the press wants to pre-empt everything and call the shots to suit their own agendas. I think the whole tragedy has been turned into a soap opera. I don’t blame the MacCanns (who are just trying everything to get their daughter back), but I do blame our press. I’m sorry that the BBC can’t stick to its old news values and try to remain factual, concise, and a little circumspect.

The McCanns, who must be going through Hell at the moment, know that they bear the main responsibility for what has happened to their daughter. They should not have left such young children on their own no matter how near their restaurant was. How they could envisage that a meal could be enjoyed in such circumstances I fail to understand.
While they were extremely foolish in what they did I have much sympathy for them knowing that they will have to live with their actions for the restof their lives, whatever the outcome.

With regard to the major coverage that has been given to their case I am firmly of the opinion that it would have been far wiser to apply the effort to recover Madeleine in a far less publicised way.
The person or persons who have kidnapped her may be far from stable and if the media coverage leads them to believe that they are about to be discovered the very worst scenario may occur and a beautiful young life may be terminated to remove the obvious evidence.

As a mother, I can understand the heartache Madeleine's parents must be experiencing. My child was missing for two days once, but was returned safely.

Whether someone's child is missing, or dies in shocking circumstances, it is essential that the parents receive understanding and support. Another BBC Online News item today reports on the inquest of a child in shocking circumstances (in England). The child was apparently being cared for (by the State) when he died:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/lancashire/6709135.stm

Of course everyone can agree that if they were in the McCann's shoes, they would be trying to use and exploit the media attention as much as possible, in order to keep the possibility of finding their daughter alive. However, I do feel that the coverage is HUGELY disproportionate to the story - I would much rather see the same amount of coverage given to all those hundreds and thousands of children suffering in Darfur, all those children going missing each week, the plight of children in war zones etc etc. I would love for Madeline to be found, however I am not at ease with how the media is portraying it. If a child went missing here in Edinburgh, I'm sure I would not see as many posters appealing for their whereabouts as I have seen concerning Madeline. I mean, it happened in Portugal, not here!Why should they be appealing for information to the British public!?I concur with the view that the white, middle-class, blue eyed, blonde-haired image may have something to do with the coverage, but I sincerely hope that is simply just my synicism.

I have the greatest of empathy with the McCann's. What they are going through is hard to comprehend. But were the circumstances different, would the media be so interested...the McCann's daughter is not the only missing girl in Britain or the wider world, but she is photogenic, her parents are middle class and increasingly I feel that this is muddying matters.
And increasingly I also feel that the media don't know when to let go of the story. There has been little of note in real news terms to report over the last couple of weeks, and so instead, the campaign becomes the focus.
And I start to think that this is not healthy, for us or for the parents.
At some point the media has to move on to the next appalling event and four weeks spent on one story which has seemingly not moved at all, cannot be wise.

hi i do feel there is now to much reporting of this case it could push who ever has this lovely little girl to not come foreward and give her back.my heart goes out to this family,but maybe they should bring some normality back for the twins how ever hard this may be and go back home

If it was my child, I wouldn't give a stuff whether everyone in media-land thought what I was doing was appropriate or not - I would do ANYTHING to get my child back, and expect the McCanns to feel exactly the same.
I hope the media coverage will mean that it's not so easy to snatch any child from anywhere in this media-obsessed world again.

None of the posts that I have read mention the apparent inefficiency of the Portugese police and the secrecy of their legal system. If the snatching of Maddy had occured in England, the police would (hopefully)have handled it differently and they would have been the drivers with the appeals to the public.

As well as the natural parental grief and desperation to get their child back, the McCanns are to some extent filling a vacuum left by the Portugese police. If they can get the media interest good luck to them. My heart goes out to them as this is obviously part of their ways of coping with the loss.

I do have to wonder, though about some of the tactics of the media who are 'helping' them. For example, the News of the World, with the travelling roadshow advertising the reward in Portugal seems to have all its billboard material in English. What's that all about -- the only conclusions can be that either they assume everyone speaks in English in the whole of Portugal; they think that only english speakers have any information to offer or, more likely, they want to use the english language billboards to appear in both their newspapers, on their sister Sky News and in the backgound in other shots, to bolster their image/circulation back home.

As for the holier-than-thou comments from posts above about the McCanns leaving the kids alone and therefore asking for trouble, children have been snatched while parents have been in the house. Remember the little 3 year old taken from her bath? It's totally out of order to point the finger at them.

Let's not let tall poppy syndrome creep into something quite so desperate as this dreadful situation!

It may SEEM excessive coverage but stop for just one moment and think... What if it were YOUR child -and you had the passion, love, connections (perhaps?)or just the simple guts to maintain the pressure on the media? I'm quite sure you would.

The media and the celebrities are CHOOSING to support the McCanns. No-one is forcing them. She is a young, lonely little girl, probably sitting somewhere right now missing her Mummy and Daddy. Let's not forget her.

Perhaps, instead of forgetting Medeleine, a better choice would be for the media and celebrities to become more involved in cases where the parents don't possess the street smarts or ability to maintain such a high focus.

I for one support then and wish them well. Long may the McCanns be able to keep their little girl in the limelight - at least until she's safely home I hope.

"HUGELY disproportionate"
- Exactly.

I'm beginning to hate those red-top posters plastered everywhere, like adverts for the NoW etc....

IT'S A REAL TRAGEDY SHE'S GONE BUT SHE IS ONLY ONE GIRL!!

Children go missing every day. Does every parent get to meet the pope? Ridiculous.

Please don't stop keeping this horror story in the papers and on tv.
It breaks my heart and upsets me but my upset is nothing in compared to the McCann's, we must keep this in the public eye until she is found. What she must be going through is terrible.
Pray they find her soon.

I think that, for all the sympathy I have for the parents, the media has to draw a line at which point a story, regardless of its merits, has to be gradually dropped if nothing of note happens.

What worries me is the disproportionate level of coverage the story has garnered not in the immediate week or 2 after the abduction, but 3 weeks following when nothing significant has happened. One does not recall such continiuous coverage of the flooding of New Orleans.

I'm concerned that the media focus could go badly as well as beneficially !

It depends on the motivation of the abductors!
If they are deserate types who want a child of their own ,they might be induced to return Madeleline out of compassion and fear of getting caught !
Howecver , if they are professional child abducters , this could have serious consequences !
I wonder just how well thought out has been this approach !...?

How dare the media question what the McCann family are trying to do by keeping their daughter's name in the spotlight. I am not a catholic, but I am a former employee of the BBC, so for goodness sake, have some goodness in your heart. This couple have been going through the worst nightware any parent could ever imagine. Let them do what they feel they need to do. If this child were your child, would you not do everything in your power to get your child back!

Linda Cardy, Purley, Surrey

First off all i hope Madeleine is safe.
But who here would leave their children alone? 0 thats how many, they are using the media to try and get the blame off them, and if this was a working class family the papers would want them prosecuted for leaving the children alone, but because they are middle class it is all different, and i have not seen them shed a single tear and this is a first i have heard of parents flying around europe on a private jet and meeting the pope. I also think they have hired a PR company as one person said.

Dan

Please allow this couple to help get their daughter back in any way they can. How can you dare to question the dignity of this couple who are only trying their best to get their daughter back, and the only way they know how to do that is to keep her in the headlines! I ask, if this had happened to Geremy Paxman's daughter, would he not try everything in his power to get her back?

Of course the media should give the story prominence - it can only help.

What is not helping however is this increasing emphasis upon faith. I think the intervention from the Pope was a cynical ploy from the vatican. Financial support would be more welcome than a blessing.

We all hope Madeline is found. If she is, it will be due to the parents hard work in keeping the story live and the vigilance of the public...not through faith, god or any number of blessings

If I was in the same awful predicament as the McCann's, I would be doing anything I could to keep my daughter's hope alive. I think it is grotesque to suggest that just because her parents are affluent or she is more photogenic (what in God's name does that mean or have anything to do with the fact that she is missing), this little girl should be abandoned to politically correct silence. I think they are absolutely right to do what they are doing and to intellectualise this gut-wrenching heartbreak is malign and quite sickening.

This has turned into a taboo. No-one can challenge the motivations of the press or the parents in this case because a child is involved. The child is the centre of this affair.. not the attention seeking of the parents. All that will happen out of this media fiasco is that pseudo-witnesses will come out of the woodwork and claim money from the 'let's get a front page' media.
Step back and let the police get on with their work unhindered by the spotlight of the gawking public....

It's 100% appropriate - these people have influence that money just can't buy. Why shoudln't they use this to help these poor parents?

Any other parent would do the same if they could. If your tired of the coverage skip the page or turn the channel. I always manage to when Big Brother or footballers invade my TV screen.

This is one child amongst hundreds that have disappeared - why is it news?

I am so glad to see that I'm not alone. For many days I have been shocked at the coverage this tragic incident has attracted. Whilst this sort of story certainly merits media coverage many outlets, including the BBC, have gone completely over the top.

I am also reassured to see that others who have made comments on the topic have recognised the inconsistency with how the media have reported this story compared to how it is likely to have been reported if the McCanns had been in Britain and had left Madeline and her siblings at home whilst they went to the pub. Just because they were on holiday does not make this type of neglect any better. If the setting had been back home, I'm sure the tabloid headlines would have been very different.

The man from the Sun was totally ridiculous: the idea that the media's primary concern is the child's safety is itself totally ridiculous. I do not deny that the editor may be personally concerned, but his paper's primary job is to sell copy and raise ratings.
There are hundreds, thousands of children who are mistreated every single year in this city and this country. The vast majority of them attract no media interest whatsoever.
His attack on an "intelectual argument" says it all: don't bring the intelect into this discussion, please.
I thought he was totally unconvicing. I even question the wisdom of inviting him! Asking him whether the media have been doing a good job is like asking the salesman whether his product is any good.

Indeed any child- or indeed any person- abducted from their family is a terrible event, especially for the family in question... but what does this particular case have that evokes such a huge media response? Surely only a team of investigators and the parents are any help to finding the girl, who indeed may no longer have a corpral form. I don't actually see the Pope scrying with a crystal ball to find her, and I don't see how huge publicity will help either.

I thought we had EastEnders and Big Brother to fill our own vacuous lives. Do we really need more depression ad nihilism?

I think there has been a very disproportionate amount of media coverage about this. I, like any decent human being hope that this child like every other missing child is found safe. I do, however feel there is a lesson to be learnt in this scenario and that is that the children should never have been left like that.The truth hurts and they must realise the awful truth now. They seem like the type of people who wanted it all in life and now they are paying the ultimate price. I wonder if there had been different circumstances and a child had disappeared in similar way and the parents were not so professional and organised and media focused would there be the same amount of coverage. Its sad but the tabloid newspapers have to have their scoop and sensationalism no matter what they say.

The McCann enthusiasm is celebration of innocence and commiseration of loss..a Mary Magdelayne..of social suffering sympathisers...

...every woman knows the anger and annoyance attack threat smack harsh words struggles and temper they have at their kids...

...they all know the guilt and fear of what might happen to them for expressing too much ...in a behaviourist world where anyone might fit them up for abusing their children ...and accuse them of some psychiatric motive for supposedly deliberately not looking after them properly...

Many women suffer so much because of immoral enemies and vindictive accusation...lies put about to break her kind down...

...she at last was someone who could care and be beautiful and yet distressed and loved by the world around her and forgiven at the same time....

...to challenge the system and raise the many hidden unseen trivialised sidelined issues around the world...

Or was it every woman's dream of complete irresponsibility?...

...we think she did it...an old sheep in wolf clothing trick ...playing the naked new lamb...knowing she is about to be sacrificed and finding it a depth glore of glorious shameless abandonment and disgraceful failure and ruination of her life future and career...a real jail whore...for the incarceration and condemnation ...to come...

We cant wait for the roller coaster ride to really plunge as she gets arrested and the tales turn back to heads... and rational who dunnit investigation again...

She was playing the psychiatric economic games ...the kind that won her her place in society ...and the high life of her income...she knows what it takes to get past the others...

The budding feud is about to go historique! but this time when it turns over...the psychiatricsters beliefs ...will lose...to rational whodunnit investigation....

Anyone who has been lost or put in dangerous circumstances sees it as a test and a challenge to be conquered ..never to happen again...cos who would dare!

...but people need experience and the supportive care they ask for...

...and every nation must act to get rid of the unseen predators that hide behind the mistique of denial and desirablity....

I hope there is a happy ending to this event very soon but let's not forget the circumstances surrounding Maddy's abduction; she, and her siblings, had been left unattended by their parents. We have to wonder what the media would have made of it had the parents been working class from a council estate. Although we'd all like to think not, the sad truth is that the media would probably be portraying the parents as irresponsible etc etc rather than concentrating on finding the innocent child, as they are doing in this case.

Going onto the intervention of stars such as David Beckham - again, the sad truth is that these people would not take part in TV campaigns etc for the missing child of "irresponsible" working class parents from a council estate because it would not provide enough "good press" to advantage their showbiz career in any way, shape or form.

The media has such strong influence and impact on us. It is main way of communication so is it not logical to use it for such an important reason? The McCanns are doing what they need to do to get their child back. I don't think anybody has the right to say the coverage is too much or blown way out of proportion because many of us have not felt what the McCanns are going through. Surely if that did happen to me, I would be "abusing" the media's power. Yes, there are parents in the world that have lost their children but there is no point in saying such bitter things about "why aren't those other missing children in the public eye and why is Madeline's story is?" - life is just like that, it is the McCann's determination that is keeping their daughter in the public eye.

We shouldn't forget that the McCanns have needed considerable help to overcome the ridiculous and incompetent behaviour of the Portuguese police. They deserve the support they have had, and have brought an important issue - that of uniformity of sensible, professional policing - to our attention.
Surely this is the kind of important issue we should demand that the European Commission deals with, rather than debating new names for Bacon Flavoured crisps!

Totally unrelated of course... but I grew up down under during the time of the Chamberlains ... the parental publicity there was over the top in my opinion... but as I say, the affair was totally unrelated..

Normal publicity within the locality will help possible witnesses to come forward. Seeing the Pope will not.

If we are concerned about what the abductors may do to solve the problem they are now in, given this worldwide publicity, and possibility for everyone and anyone to idenify the child, then it must be obvious that this huge, and much of it unhelpful publicity, has put the child in danger.

I hope I am wrong. But if I am not, then this PR to sell papers and fill TV programs should never happen again.

whilst it must be of comfort to the parents I too feel slightly uneasy as to the amount of press. My main reason for this being( as a friend of mine pointed out) - would a single parent in these circumstances been given the same compassion and news coverage? I fear in those circumstances the coverage would have been very different.

It's impossible to read all of these postings, but I want to echo the comments of all those sensible, compassionate people out there who understand why the McCanns would do absolutely anything to improve the chance of their daughter being found. How could any of your correspondents be so stupid as to say 'she's only one child'? Obviously not a parent himself. By the way, I didn't think much of the pretentious woman from the 'Independent' on tonight's programme either! Kelvin M. very nearly managed to put her in her place- I enjoyed that bit.

I am a parent and yes i am troubled by the amount of coverage and no not because i don't care or that i have no sympathy towards the family. No one can begin to imagine the trauma they are going through and i pray for Maddy everyday, But what about all the other children in the world that are lost or suffering at the hands of perverts?. If this had happened to a young single mum from a different social class out for dinner 40rds from where her 3 children under 5 slept would she have recieved the same sympathy from the world and coverage from the media?

There's less chance of finding maddy now with all the media attention. Due to one fact - this topic has become irritating for most people. People will try to ignore the news whenever the clumsey duo are mentioned. The more sick they are, will mean the less observant they are and thus helpful. In workplaces across the land, the topic has become a debate about the media & the Mccans and even jokes about the situation. So lets leave the investigation to the police and the clumsy duo to clam down.

I support 100% the McCann's and wish the campaign goes on until they can find their little Maddy. Unfortunately, I'm not a mother, but I belive that if I was in their situation I would do anything in my hands, as they are doing, to try to find my daughter.
It's being very disappointing to see comments questioning how good parents they are and the attention to the twins.

In reference to all the missing children in the worl, really a shame the same campaign does not take place. And it should be those in the power as the Prince, the Pope... and above all politicians, who should invest more in bringing up the new generations keeping them away of violence, so that we could ensure a better world.

Gerry, Kate I hope your nightmare ends soon and this helps many other missing children.

Madelines parents left 3 young children alone in a hotel that offered a babysitting service. Surely 2 well educated professional people should have known better? Maybe the media should use this case to highlight the dangers of leaving young children alone.

There is no right and wrong in all this beyond the actions of those or the person who kidnapped the poor girl.

The repercussions of her parents leaving her and her siblings alone, the media coverage and the involvement of celebrities and the rest will need to be discussed once a conclusion is had.

Until then I see no real benefit in airing views which frankly serve no real purpose.

Would we prefer that the the parents keep a dignified withdrawal from the media gaze, a sense of mourning almost - or go all out to get all the publicity they can? I don't think so - however, it is the unpallatable truth that the 'support' of the media would have been absent had the family not been white , middle class, attractive...

I sincerely hope that Madelaine is found safe and well, but I agree with the consensus that the media coverage has gone overboard in light of the hundreds of children that go missing each year. It appears that this white middle class couple have the affordability to remain in Portugal under the spotlight of media attention:- this priviledge would not be possible for a poorer working class family.
I feel that whatever happens or has happened to Madelaine will be the subject of blockbuster book and movie sales in the future, and I pray that the proceeds will be given to the appropriate organisations involved in finding other lost children in the future.
May this be a lesson to all parents, that children should never be left unaccompanied, and highly educated people should realise this. The parents should be prosecuted for neglect, not celebrated for milking the limelight by enjoying an audience with the pope and involving other prominent leaders. This portrayal of concern for their daughter would never have caused such trauma for Madelaine if they had given her the respect she deserved as a child prior to abandoning her.

I would like as a resident of Praia da Luz to comment on Mr. Tony Goodbody's remark about the inefficiency of the Portuguese police. I was one of the first people to arrive at the scene of the dissapearance of the little girl. The first thing that we and the police were told was that the little girl got out of the apt. herself to look for her parents. This is a small village with a tiny police force and without any means. Within a few hours more than 150 police and other forces were on the scene and as far as I am concerned, they did their utmost to find this girl. Your comment is a bit ridiculous when it is a known fact that the British secret service were on the trail of the July bombers and let them go with the tragic consequences we all know.

I do sympathised with the Mccann family and i pray that God will bring the little girl back to them safely. But i think we have seen and heard enough of the story. i think at this stage the media should let the police do their job in peace. Like everyone has been saying what makes this case any different from the other cases of children snatched from their home or went missing? I think this is just been blown out of proportion

All though the dissapearance of any child is every parents nightmare.And one sympathys are with the family.
Personelly I think all the publicity could have a boomarang effect that will come back to haunt the McCanns for the rest off their lives.
Giving out to much information especially about the unusual mark on the Iris in Madeline's eye.

In my opinion this would cause the person or persons who kidnaped her to panic.And I dought very much if the child will be found alive.

Has previously mentioned thousand of children go missing all over the world every second of every day.

I feel the McCanns should now channel their energy, new found fame and money into setting up an international charity fund to trace all missing children worldwide.
Who are not only abducted but sold into child prostitution.

I think that this story should remain in the news as it has not been resolved and we need this to happen. It is not just about the McCann family it is setting a template for what we can do in fututre cases and it is showing the type of person who may be thinking of doing such an act that they will be sought after by all of us!
We need to make a stand and show that we are not willing to let this type of thing go on anymore. We will find them and they will be brought to justice!
The McCann family are only doing what any other parent would try to do and that is to make sure that people are kept thinking of Madeline.
I can not understand when people say this is now about the parents! How do you expect them to act! Do you want them to say, "Oh well, we have two other children, lets just forget about Madeline!"
I have never heard such rubbish in all my life, but then what else would you expect.. the Britsh public are renowned for it, build people up just to knock them down from a great height. But we can not do this! We are talking about a childs life, so if anyone needs to get a grip it is the people who say they are bored of the story.
My answer to them is, just hope it never happens to you or anyone dear to you because then the shoe will be on the other foot! And I bet you would not be bored!
There has indeed been a lot of news coverage, but a lot of questions have not been answered either!
Such as what happened about the tracker dogs that could have helped?
Why were some appartments near the McCann appartment never checked?
And why can the Portugeuse police not get simple facts right? They gave wrong height of the man seen carrying a child?
I think that we need to see this through and hope for a joyful reunion, but if we wait for the police over there it willprobably be on Madelines 18th birthday!!!

I could go on to complain about the uncalled for attacks on the McCanns and the media but I will not. I am from Derry in Northern Ireland and I am annoyed that my sighting of a four year old resembling Madeleine was not able to be reported as the phone numbers given were unavailable on the times I phoned. Is there anyone out there who would like more information as I have more. I am not a publicity seeker nor a crank but if someone believes this young child could be in Derry plesase leave a message. I have not given up hope so why should the child's family.

if the pr gones to far. the wost thigs we will end up will trun to the next handlines.

I am so sorry for the Mc Cann's. I am thankful that they have a faith in God which will help to sustain them through these terrible days of waiting to hear news of their lovely little Madeleiene. I pray that she is still alive, that she is being cared for, that she has not been abused, and that whoever is holding her will return her to her parents now. All such children are important and some of us are giving financial help to those who are poor and needy all the time but our focus now is on little Madeleine. I don't know her family , probably never will, but my heart goes out to them. May God be with them all and may the Holy Spirit be their comforter and guide.
Love from N. Ireland Presbyterian
Meta

I am so sorry for the Mc Cann's. I am thankful that they have a faith in God which will help to sustain them through these terrible days of waiting to hear news of their lovely little Madeleiene. I don't know her family , probably never will, but my heart goes out to them. May God be with them all and may the Holy Spirit be their comforter and guide.
Love from N. Ireland Presbyterian
Meta

Madelines parents left 3 young children alone in a hotel that offered a babysitting service. Surely 2 well educated professional people should have known better? Maybe the media should use this case to highlight the dangers of leaving young children alone.

Weeks ago I emailed Sky news complaining about the overkill coverage of this child. At last a debate on Newsnight tonight raised the important issues of media overkill? Of course we got the usual bullying and shouting from that tabloid editor who has seen better days, but the public are becoming tiresome of the coverage especially on our TV screens.

It took three weeks for a journalist to finally ask, but only mildly and not to cause offence, why three children all under 4 year old were left by their parents on their own whilst they had a jolly out of sight at a restaurant?

The kids could have had an accident or caught up in a fire. AS there was no apparent break in (and therefore no forensic), who is to say the child never got up out of her bed and went out on her own accord, wandered and was either taken away or died in an out of the way place and has yet to be found?

Now the meddlesome PR minded Pope. What is needed is not religion - that won’t find this child, but a police force that is modern and accountable. The Portuguese Police have been both totally incompetent and pathetically inept and someone should tell them so.
Over 100 children go missing every year in the UK we are told, so why so much publicity to this one incident. Is it because the parents of Madeline are nice middle class articulate people and the kids from council estates are parented by the poor inarticulate working class.

At the end of the day a small child is (still) missing under distressing circumstances. Anything positive that is done to highlight that (and hopefully address larger issues such as the number of missing children generally, child prostitution, child pornography) is a good thing and something the world wide media should be involved in.

I have just watched the newsnight programme which ended at 11.20pm on 31/05/2007 and was appalled that the male guest was mentioning Ben Fordham who disappeared 19 years ago in Greece as I always thought that the child's name was Ben Needham. If a guest is going to make comparisons surely they should at least use the correct name. Personally I have no sympathy for the McCanns, only for Madeleine, who if she had been better looked after would surely have been safe today. If her parents had not been doctors then I am sure the other two children would have been taken into care after this incident.

I think the media are conniving at this because they identify with a middle class family who go out for a meal and leave their toddlers alone. This sort of thing is not supposed to happen to people like them. (Similarly tsunami's are not supposed to happen at holiday time in expensive holiday resorts where they might be on holiday and pretty little girls are not supposed to go missing in nice places like Soham.)
The parents are conniving (who can blame them) to avoid facing some very unpleasant possibilities of what may have happened to their daughter, that they may never see her again and their responsibility for her fate.
The public are conniving as they seem to have developed a taste for this communal grief since they went overboard for Princess Diana.
Having raised such high expectations at what point can this family return home if Madeleine is not found?
I sincerely hope that if someone is still holding this little girl all the publicity is not making it more difficult for them to just let her go.

It is quite unbelievable what some people here have written.

Bottom line is this: whatever kind of publicity it takes to get Madeleine back to her family is completely acceptable. Of course we all feel for any child who is lost or has been abducted, but this is the real world. The media will only make a story out of something that will sell - thankfully the McCann story is one of them.

Stop whingeing and be thankful that there are enough people out there who continue to buy the newspapers, watch the tv bulletins etc. And so should all of us. Because there's just a remote chance that one of those people will ultimately be instrumental in finding Madeleine - and every single person who has contributed to this discussion will then breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Firstly, I have no problem with the McCanns doing what they can to get their child back; who wouldn't?
Also no problem with the tabloids focusing on this rather than the usual celebrity rubbish.
However I do have a problem with the more 'serious' broadcasters devoting so much attention to this. There are plenty of other far more important problems in the world. Going on about this story may help Madeleine, but this is done at the cost of other stories. I have in mind things like Iraq, nuclear Iran, Global Warming, Zimbabwe, etc. which affect (or have the potential to) millions. Media coverage of these issues can influence policy for the better, so I think it is extremely unhealthy to see it dominated for a few weeks by a story that directly affects only a handful of people.
To its credit, the BBC is at least questioning itself about this. Better late than never.

I find the coverage, especially in the tabloids, but also on BBC TV and elsewhere, prurient and disproportionate.
I also feel queasy about the McCanns' behaviour and their seeming courting of publicity. They appear to have become the story, rather than their child - how in all truth will reporting an audience with the Pope assist in finding out what happened to their daughter?
And as for Beckham, Brown, MPs and the England cricket team - far easier to wear one's heart on one's sleeve than do anything genuinely useful.
There is something virtually voyeuristic in the fixation among members of the public in the personal family tragedy of the loss of one small child.
I have experience of working in the developing world among children (e.g. former child soldiers and the HIV positive) whose plight would never in a thousand years receive the same attention or concern. Why is there such a lack of media coverage about the lives and deaths of those children? Or the doubtless 100s of other European children who have vanished since early May?

I have every sympathy for little Maddy and certainly hope that she is found safely and returned to her parents.

However I like others have become uneasy with the tone of the reporting over the last 2-3weeks which has moved from any real reporting of facts of the case, leads etc and has turned to a media frenzy about "the fight" I see no relevance in the personal activities which the McCann's may find personal solace in - a pilgrimage to a shrine, audience with the pope, walk on the beach... These are all completely irrelevant to the reality of finding that little girl.

Unfortunately as some has said I have concerned that the massive media coverage will if anything have hindered the chances of finding Madeline safe and well, and reduced the likelihood of someone coming forward with an attack of conscence.

The likes of Gordon Brown should think more carefully about the implications of their intervention here - i've heard no comment from him on any other child that has likely gone missing in the last 4 weeks!

I dont doubt that if i was in their shoes i would be doing everything in my power to find my little girl, but like many have said i do worry at this implication that she is so much more deserving of the air time than all the hundreds of thousands of missing and abused children in the UK and abroad.

I too suspect that had this been a single mother from a council estate the story would run differently and social services would be questioning the safety of the other children in her care. I find it astonishing that two such educated people failed to leave a responsible person in charge of their child whilst out. I fail to see the relevance of the comparison to stepping out into the garden for a moment - which is clearly not the same as leaving 3 children under 5 unattended for 30minute stretches. I believe it is illegal in the UK to leave children under age 12 to fend for themselves?

All goes to show the tragic disparities in our society really...

There can never be enough exposure in a situation like this, however we need to remain mindful to exactly what the ultimate objective for the media is - viewing figures and sale of newspapers. We need to be careful that we don't make such a tragic situation into a media circus and end up with the parents becoming media junkies as with Sarah Payne's parents. My friends Steve and Marlene Aisenburg had their beautiful daughter stolen in Nov '97 (in FL), and because the authorities decided from the outset that they were themselves guilty, no time or efforts were spent trying to find what had really happened to Sabrina. She is still missing. We do all need to work together to find Madeline and the internet is a fantastic tool which enables the public to do their bit, however as for all the coverage .... no I don't think it is all necessary.

I feel very sorry for the McCanns, as I would be for any parent who has lost their child in this way (notwithstanding the fact that they left 3 small children in the hotel room alone, which would have received worldwide condemnation rather than sympathy had they been a working class family). This must be the hardest thing any parent has to deal with and if I were in their situation and had the same access to media (and the Pope!?!) who's to say that I wouldn't have done the same thing? However this media courage and the British criticism of the Portuguese police have proved beyond all doubt one thing, that British society is still ruled by class, and we still think that everything they do is superior to everyone else. It's similar to that old Animal Farm saying, "all people are equal, but some are more equal than others".

I live 45 yards from my local pub. The conservatory in the pub, where meals are served, provides an un-obstructed view of the front of the house, where one of my three children’s bedrooms is located.

Now let’s say I go for a meal and few drinks every night for a week to the pub, and that tonight was the last night I would not get the chance to do this for a long time. I would probably be thinking that, well, I don’t really need to check every half an hour, after all, they have been fine so far this week, lets make it an hour tonight. Everybody knows only too well how wonderful it is to get some quality time away from the day to day struggle that bringing up (in my case 2 and half year old twins and a 1 and half year old) children can be.

Now imagine getting home and discovering that the back of the house was left unlocked, you know the part you could not see whilst eating and drinking merrily? And the final ultimate horror: your child has gone?

Of course, the ultimate description of horror is someone coming into your OWN HOME and taking your child. No one ever expects that, not in your home, with its locks, your home is you castle. But this wasn’t at home, this was in a different country, where your guard is up even higher, and as a responsible parent, it is your duty to ensure you provide the essential child minding services that you do at home.

So had I gone to the pub tonight, the one from which I can see my house, and got home to find one of my children missing, at least I need only worry about finding her, and not worry about tough questions from Social Services and the Police about why I left them home alone, while I was having a spot of dinner in my local. And the money issues, you know, paying the mortgage, surviving, paying the child care costs? The what? Well they didn’t worry about paying them when they were offered, and they don’t need to now they are provided by the Fund.

Let the media now start to ask the real questions. Why were the children left alone when services to look after were provided but declined?

If the media don’t ask, then nobody will, after all, they seem to run the Social Services and Police forces.

My heart truly goes out to Maddy. I can not imagine the ordeal she is suffering. The anguish she is feeling. She is hopefully too young to appreciate the serious position she has been PUT in.

# 248 wrote ... One should not blame the parents, since not so long ago (in the UK) a little three year old girl was snatched from the bathroom in her home,... but is that not precisely the reason why the parents should have known better than leaving the child together with the twins alone in a room in a resort of which they knew little, and which was open to all and sundry with no security to speak of, I heard the McCann's say it was similar to dining in one's back garden, saying that is confirmation of their own guilt which they want to get rid of, but this is all in the past now
as to the publicity, well one knows the adage ... one victim is a tragedy, a thousand victims is merely a statistic.

Urgh, I'm totally sickened by the coverage this case has been given. Yes it's very sad, and yes boo hoo, but really. How much longer must it go on? I don't need to see the parents going to see the Pope, i don't care if her photo was blessed. If it makes her parents feel happier and the Pope doesn't mind then go for it, but do we have to see it? Is it really headline news???!

These people were irresponsible, and were it not for the fact that they were middle class parents they'd have been thrown to the wolves long ago.

This mass hysteria has got to stop, unfortunately it's all to believeable in the society we live it. I still remember having a minute's silence at school for Jamie Bulger for goodness sake! We have put up with such hysteria for far too long, it's time the newspapers woke up to the strength of public feeling that to a certain degree Mr and Mrs McCann have their responsibility for Madeline's disappearance and we should stop treating them with kid gloves..

Let's just imagine that noone had abducted Madeleine that night, but that maybe her or one of her siblings had woken up in a strange bed, in a strange place and wanted their mum, like little kids do night after night.
Would it have been ok for the child to have been crying for half an hour or more, scared and unable to find a grown up for comfort?
What about if the child had got out of bed and fallen? Hit its head on something? Or opened the (now apparently)unlocked door and wandered out into the resort and possibly into the path of a car? Or into the pool? Would that have been ok?
No, Mr McCann, thousands of people would NOT have left their toddlers unattended in a strange place.
If you don't want bad things to happen to your kids, you keep them with you or put them in the care of someone you trust. It's not totally foolproof but it works most of the time for most of us.
This tragedy was 100% preventable and I'm sick to the back teeth of Mr and Mrs McCann being presented as the victims of the piece.
The ONLY victim is Madeleine, who was badly, badly let down by her neglectful parents.

In an age where Britney Spears and Paris Hilton are headlined almost daily and the Millions that starve are forgotten Its very important that we start getting our priorities right. This story is a good start. And stories like this help raise much needed awareness of child abductions which are out of control in some parts of the world.

It is the child I feel deeply sad about and sorry for. It is the parents I heartily blame for her kidnapping. Dinner by candlelight while three toddlers remain home alone! Indeed! And now, while their child is god knows where and how, the parents bask in the warmth of Papal sympathy. Shame on all three! For there'd be but one valid reason for such an audience: to be taken to task for indefensible self-indulgence and neglect of three very young children. But NO 'authority' anywhere has risen to that task. Shame! Shame! Shame! A measure of where our culture has sunk to.

It's remarkable how many people find it easy to be judgemental. Or to criticise the search for Madeleine by saying so many others do not or have not received the same attention. Use your voice instead to demand that this case lead to the media being used in other missing persons and missing children's cases. The use of the internet alone has been fantastic and a credit to what internet communication can be used for. I'd far rather receive emails asking me to keep a look out for missing people than the barrage of home-grown philosophy and jokes that arrive in my in-boxes. And in the mainstream media, let's encourage other commercial organisations to be inspired to adopt some of the leads we are seeing here: videos shown at sporting functions asking us to look out for missing people in our area , mobile advertising, one or two billboards in our cities.... a small part of many companies' resources but what a step forward for the fast-fading sense of community we British once prided ourselves on.
And rather than criticise the McCanns for their mistake or their failing, let this be a lesson published far and wide as a reminder to other parents not to over-estimate the safety of their children. It's a reminder too of the many equally sad cases around the world where children are kidnapped for purposes of human trafficking, child-soldiering, prostitution.... so let it prompt us - the man on the street - not just the media to do more about that. The more the issues of child safety and child protection are talked up the better.

'Sympathize with the McCann's plight?' Kindly spell it out for me, what exactly is 'their' PLIGHT? Dinner by candlelight in utter unconcern for three toddlers at home alone? And now, with one stolen, they bask in the myopic sympathy of brainless media, police and popes? Posturings in search of hiding places for shame and guilt, that's where these parents are! And the child, WHERE IS MADELEINE? What's happened to her? We build arsenals of WMD's and secret prisons to torture and maim; we set surveillance eyes high in space from which NOTHING escapes. While on Earth, the poor are legion and the high and mighty cannot find one stolen child! I cannot but wonder who, truly, is behind this kidnapping.

I find it rather strange that an educated couple like the McCann's would leave three children alone in an apartment in a strange country while they dined and wined in a nearby restaurant having ignored the childcare facilities available. Ok, they kept checking on them every half hour or so I read but I know of a case where a mother and father left their three little boys alone for 20 minutes. During that time an electrical fault caused a fired resulting in the boys dying in their sleep from smoke inhallation. I would never leave a child alone in any circumstance. I also read that they did not report Madelaine missing for 40 minutes after returning from dinner. Is this correct? It all looks suspicious to me.

Let us think of Madeleine, everything that can be done to find her should be utilized. She was obviously taken by someone and that someone may have abducted other children and will continue to do so if he(she)is not arrested! Forget about who is to blame or who is hitching to the bandwagon, let's do whatever it takes to find Madeleine and the individual who abducted her!

Just like advertising helps sell product the media is helping the McCanns advertise for the return of their daughter. Back off everyone, let the media tell their story! What we should do is pray that this little one is found and returned to her loving family.

Well done to Jeremy Paxman and BBC2 for finally covering this much overlooked angle on the McCann saga; I am truly sick of the coverage and wish the time could be shared with the many global causes mentioned by hundred's of other like minded people posting here. Jeremy even introduced the item on tonight's edition by saying "Madeline, who has apparently been abducted" to make it crystal clear that Newsnight at least has no bias and is doing some real unopinionated reporting unlike the rest of the media. Why have we not heard more - as the reporters are there anyway - on why the idiots left the children alone in the first place. Is everyone really convinced the parents don’t actually have a bigger part to play in the disappearance? What's next McCann's The Book, TV Movie. Hollywood Flick..... quite a money spinner really, but then perhaps I am just the one pessimist left standing!

The question we should ask is how would Madeleine feel about all this. I don't think she would feel uncomfortable about the effort put into finding and taking her away from what may well be a living hell. This is an innocent child so let's forget about how WE all feel about it. Perhaps the publicity this sad story has received may make other child abductors think twice about doing the most evil thing anyone could do, stealing a child's childhood and separating them from their family. It's not all about us!

I have sympathy for Madeleine, but not much for parents who leave their toddlers alone, especially in a foreign country, while they go out to dine and drink with friends! What kind of people do that?! I would seek as much publicity for my child as I could if he/she were kidnapped. I know that this is not fair to the thousands of other children kidnapped each year and are receiving no publicity. Blond hair gets a lot of publicity.

The odds are, if the McCanns had not left their children unattended, then Madeleine would not have been kidnapped! If someone wanted to take her and thought they could, they probably would have done it before she was alone! But once alone, they had the perfect opportunity.

Jesus, what's wrong with you jokers ?
Are these poor parents holding you back from covering 'Toady' Blair or some such garbage. Anything and everything must be done to get the kid back - if it would help they should have a cup of tea with Osama Bin Laden, if he can be found! Just advise them to stay away from Bush - he'll just screw up the search. I don't waste my time praying, but do hope they are successful in their hunt.

Madeleine parents are doing their utmost in order to get feed back which could help in finding their daughter. In some way they feel guilty and it's never enough fighting.

No Ian your not the only pessimist left i'm sure there are many of us who feel that the tail is wagging the dog ! As the parents jet of to Madrid by private jet this morning for yet another audience with some prominent figure, kindly paid for by some well minded millionaire who no doubt will lend his jet and holiday home next month to a one parent family who's child is ill and never had a holiday before !!

Perhaps i'm being harsh and unknown to us all the lawyers who turned up in Portugal a few days after the incident have set up a fund for the benefit of ALL parents in this unfortunate position and that all royalties and monies will be donated to the benefit of all.

For a set of parents who's annual income must be well above the national average and as a GP work in an eviroment where they give advice to other parents on child neglet and if needed report them to the authorities, it does ask the question do they live by the adage "of do as i say not as i do "

My main concern however is what happens to the next parents who child goes missing, and there WILL be a next, how do they live with the fact that they will be made to feel ! DID WE DO ENOUGH ! because they will not get the same media hype. This also goes for those who have gone before who now are made to feel that maybe if they had had the resources their stories might be different.

There are many comments about the fact that all the publicity must be good, but i finish with the thought and god forbid it should happen! but what happens when a car thief finds his stolen car to hot to handle ?

How could it be better for Madeleine if this story just died away and we all just moved on to the next set of headlines?

Keep this in everyone's faces!

Following on my earlier comment, and those that followed... there is no argument that Madeleine's parents must do all they can to find their child. If they are allowed to use the media to do that, then good for them.
The point of this discussion is the role of the media: they are happy to 'assist' in this case. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE HUNDREDS OF OTHER CASES of lost children??? I propose that the circumstances of those 'every day' cases are probably less sensational and therefore not as interesting a story.
I would love to bring back that Sun editor and for someone to ask him: what did you do a few weeks ago when Mr X lost his son, who suddenly disapeared??? Isn't it as traumatic and terrible for Mr X as for Madeleine's parents?
Of course, it might not sell as much copy. That IS what editors discuss in their offices, primarily not whether something terrible has happened.

I can't believe the number of instant critics that are determined to somehow blame the parents.

Either they must not have kids themselves, or have never been on a family holiday with kids.

Nobody watches their kids 24 hours a day, it's just not possible (or desirable).

Get off their cases!

Of course the columnist from 'The Independent' is correct. Kelvin MacKenzie's response was to do all he knows - and that's to try to browbeat someone who disagrees with him.

I feel sorry for the little girl herself (and hope she is found unharmed) as well as her brother and sister but I'm sure that there would have been howls of derison from the media had not been well-paid professionals but had say, come off a council estate? Whatever sympathy people may have for the parents now, the fact is that they neglected their children on the night in question. The media appear happy to gloss over the McCann's abdication of responsibility in pursuit of what has now become a 'cause' and that is hardly a healthy message.

Lets get the Newsnight discussion out of the way first - Bea Campbell trying to make a serious point and Kelvin McKenzie just carrying on his Sun editor philosophy of 'Make It Sexy, Make It Quick, Make It Up'. The tabloid press doesn't give a damn about the child only getting more readers and more profit. We also have to suffer the performances of career politicians and cabinet ministers with their yellow ribbons (they may as well had a badge saying 'Vote for Me!')
Now, the McCanns. Yes it is terrible for them, how do they live with themselves - because they and most of us know deep down there are two outcomes to this. And they will blame themselves all their lives - when I was seven years old my ten year old brother was killed in a road accident having been sent on an errand by my parents and they were never the same again.
Of course they will use every means possible to get their child back, but it does seem many people have been misled by their methods - the Web site have has had millions of hits, so? There are millions of nosey people in the world. The people who are going to know something really helpful will not be looking at Web sites or watching the FA Cup Final.
The family needs the media attention now, but will they welcome it when there is an outcome of the type we, and they must be dreading?

The McCanns are obviously sophisticated people and I imagine they would not have embarked on this deluge of high profile publicity without expert advice. However, my concern is that desperate people tend to do desperate things and it might be that the abductors who originally saw Madeleine as an asset are begining to see her as a liability. That can only be dangerous for the little girl and counter productive in the search.

I completely agree with post 313....it is now high time the McCanns started looking after their twins, who in my opinion desperately need stability and their parents attention big time!

To have a child taken from you I can only imagine to be one of the most heartbreaking things any parent would have to endure and any parent would do exactly what the McCanns have done by using the media to its fullest extent.

However, certain things seem to have been overlooked. The fact that Madeline was taken in her apartment surely wasn't 'chance'. It seems to me that the family were probably being watched for a while and that the parents left the children alone every night.

When you have children you have a different kind of holiday and late night meals with friends without the children is just something that you would not do. The parents have to shoulder full responsibility for this happening. If only Kate McCann had held onto her daughter as tightly as she holds on to her toy, this tragedy would never have happened.

By all means keep up the public profile. That should mean lots of pictures of Madelaine so that the public could recognize her if we saw her.
Audiences with the Pope etc. gives entirely the wrong message and is counter-productive.

It should be all about Madelaine, not "Look at us, how brave are we!" Frankly it's in very bad taste and someone should point out to the McCanns, and their extended family, just what vulgar grandstanders it portrays them to be.

I thought that Ms Campbell got it right in her comments last night. She said that meeting the Pope and talking to Gordon Brown were not to do with the little girl but entirely focussed on the parents. The girl's captor(s) will not expose Madeleine to view and hence publicity will not help. The fact that the huge reward on offer has not brought anyone out of the woodwork adds to the unlikelihood of her being found by a member of the public.
The only way to progress is by diligent police work (such as phone information, computer sources and, generally, the same techniques that are used for tracking terrorists).
Just one further thought: 'why will no one say exactly which windows were locked and which open - even Mrs McCann refused to disclose that?'.

The parents were wrong to leave their children alone as quite apart from the risk of being abducted it is only months since two young children died in Corfu from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Also, Kelvin Mckenzie got his facts wrong. It was Ben Needham not Fordham and he didn't disappear 19 years ago but in 1991 or 1992. His family didn't get the coverage the McCanns have had.

Quote Ian post 313"Why have we not heard more - as the reporters are there anyway - on why the idiots left the children alone in the first place."

My thoughts exactly!We have all been bending over backwards not to upset the family any more than they obviously already are, with the result that we have given less well educated parents the message that it is perfectly normal and acceptable to leave a toddler alone for half an hour!
One so-called child-care expert even said on GMTV that "there is always going to be times when you must leave your child alone"....SORRY! When? I have 4 children ranging from 14 to 6months and never in those 14 years have I ever left a toddler alone in a strange apartment. Call me a martyr if you like, but I know as well as any doctor what harm a small child can come to in 30 sec let alone 30 mins.
I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy but someone has to ask, what the hell were they thinking?

Vernon Coleman a leading columist is not affraid to ask the right questions into WHY.

www.vernoncoleman.com

click on the Miscellany link on the left hand side and then click on the Madeleine link.

The McCanns should be charged with Gross Neglect of three infants. They didn't leave them by mistake they left them, it seems every night. They left them in the creche morning, noon and what a pity not at night, if they had used the baby sitting service Maddy would be safely back in England now with her little brother and sister. Yes, her parents suffer but how much are they to blame for all the suffering Madeleine has and may still be suffering at the hands of God knows who, 100%. If they had worked as hard at looking after their children as they are working at trying to find Maddy then this would never have happened. Also, what effect is this having on the twins? First they are told their sister 'has gone on a little trip' and now their parents keep going on little trips! How they must wonder if they will ever see their parents ever again. Neglect is a crime and should be dealt with. To be a parent is the most important job in the world it is NOT A PART TIME JOB you fit in between going off with your friends to have jollies down the local Tapas bar.

I do hope Madeline is found safe and welL.In the midst of all this publicity,the are two facts that are commonly ignored.

1.Such press coverage may well disadvantage Madeline, if she is still alive, anybody who is holding her,may well intensify their abuse,in their efforts to conceal her.

2.Leaving three chidren without a carer is neglectful There were no migtigating factors, the parents were out enjoying a meal with friends. As doctors they will be well aware of how quickly emergencies arise and require treatment. Also Mrs Mccann as a G.P.must be aware of child protection issues and have known what she was doing was neglectful.

Despite this, I feel very sorry for their plight but what about all the other parents who are suffering the lost of a child and not getting all these extras to cushion their lost.

.It is neglectful to leave three children without a babysitter,at any age especially so young.Mr Mccann states many thousands of parents msy do the same,the rest of the world appears to be questioning the British attitude to thre children.
Thirdly This pubicity can not be helping Madeline's safety if she is,
God bless, still alive.
F

....of course it is ALL appropriate .....think John Donne ' ...Ask not for whom the bell tolls.....'

I am only surprised that you think it 'appropriate' to ask the question...... for the sake of all our children & Madeleine & her family in particular, at this time.

I can completely understand why the McCann parents want to their story up there for as long as needed, well for the summer holidays at least. WIth thousands of Brits away in Europe on holiday someone might spot Madelaine and with such a high profile the images of Madelaine are hard to miss. I have no problem with the story being so high up the agenda and good on the media for sticking with it. Of course there are plenty of other good causes that should be high up on the media agenda but that does not mean the search for Madelaine should be knocked off. This seems to be what the lady on Newsnight was suggesting. The lady also commented un-helpfully on the McCann's Faith in God this was a low blow and un called for. Sure the Pope element makes the news and why shouldn't it.
Lets not give up Hope!!

The more coverage the better! Its the only way to find answers and Maddie. The Media has been great in this and should carry on as long as it takes.

Enough publicity on this terrible situation!

What can do poor people, with the same pain but no mean to express themselves?

Shame on the McCann and the media,and let's give priority to other persons who better take care of their kids and just can shut up!

I would go from here to hell to find my child and I would use everything I could to help me,be it donated money the media or someones private jet,and ask for more when I needed it.Being a catholic I understand the importance of meeting the Pope and yes I would use him too!!!Starving babies in Africa,other missing children and the politics of the media....does any of this have anything to do with them or their missing child? There are obviously many many nasty,narrow minded bitter people out there who would be happy to see the child forgotten about.As for the ones who dare to comment on the care of the twins throughout all this I say even in this most dreadfull time the love and attention they are so obviously receiving is probably more than most get,if the juvenile crime figures are anything to go by.I wish them all the luck in the world and God speed to get their Maddy back.

Comment on 332.

Not sure your tone is appropriate. In fact its quite upsetting! Why do you feel the need to judge the parents for what is a common event (apart from with you of course). There are plenty of scenarios where a child could get hurt but as parents we all need to way up the issues and make our own judgment. The fault does NOT lie with the parents but with the people/person who has taken their child.

I would like to know how often these two doctors asked Social Workers to be involved in cases of child abuse when a parent or parents have left young children alone to go out to the pub at night! Earning around 200,000 pounds per year and two stingy to pay for a baby-sitter!
Is there any proof that this little girl was abducted or did she just walk out of the room whilst she was being neglected? Whilst I have every sympathy for the McCanns losing their daughter I want to know if they will be prosecuted for leaving their children alone.

Remember Leone Keating? Her mother left her in a caravan whilst she went out for a drink. Little Leone was found dead a few days later. Do people never learn? If she has been abducted then the McCanns bear some responsibility for enabling the perpetrator to carry out the crime, though the abduction, if one took place, is the perpetrator's responsibilty.

Let's just hope that if someone has her it is because they want a child to take care of and are looking after well. Unlike her parents.

Can I add to my earlier post that I absolutely refute the McCanns statement that thousands of parents leave their children unsupervised while they go out for a drink!

I have never known a single child who has been left alone while parents went out drinking. Perhaps I'm lucky.

To those who wish to wrap ther McCanns in cotton wool. The public and the media have every right to question the McCanns actions in leaving their children unsupervised, they are not blameless. It may be uncomfortable, and it may add to their troubles, but they must take responsibility for their actions.

Yes, children should be safe and not need constant watching but they are not. Yes, whoever abducted Madeline needs to be brought to justice but they would probably not have had the opportunity had the parents been more responsible. To use a comparison; would you leave your car unlocked with the keys in the ignition while in a restaurant?

There are rules and expectations about the standard of care parents provide for their children. They are there to prevent this kind of thing happening. When they fail, parents should be held accountable.

Anything could have happened to Madeline in that hotel room while her parents were absent. Had she suffered some accidental harm, rather than being abducted, we would have no hesitation in blaming the parents for leaving her unsupervised.

As a teacher, had this happened to a child on a school trip while my colleagues and I were having a meal elsewhere, I would expect my career to be over. Teachers are supposed to act "as a responsible parent would". Clearly these parents' actions were not responsible.

I am not against coverage of this issue, but it's the balance that concerns me. I am happy for it to be on the news, as long as there is actually some "news" to give us. Headlines like this morning's "The McCanns have arrived in Madrid" do nothing to advance the cause.

I say this from a practical point of view. Keep it in the news, by all means, when there is something relevant to say, and a lot of people will be interested. But the "over the top" coverage simply runs the risk of turning many thousands of viewers off, which is counter-productive.

As for the involvement of the pope, I am not a Roman Catholic, though I am a Christian. I do not see what business it is of those who have no religious faith to criticise those who do. The McCanns are clearly devout catholics, so it seems entirely appropriate to me in that context for the pope to have met them.

As far as the McCann's leaving their children in bed while they wee easting out is concerned. I'd like to add to my previous post340.

Aparently the parents were only a few yards away from their children and in view of them. This had been compared to eating in your back garden while your kids are upstairs sleeping. I certainly have to hold my hands up to this and I suppose someone could walk by my house and snatch my child. This happened actually to a family in Newcastle last Xmas. The child was taken from a bath and driven away with the parents in the house! So to blame the McCann's is not fully justified in my view.

Comment on 343, Mark I wonder what would happen in your school of a child was snatched from the play ground un noticed. WOuld you blame the break time monitor?

The way this story has gradually slipped from the front pages and slowly reduced in article size just goes to show how little evidence is now coming to light.

It seems to me that roping the Pope into all of this is just a desperate cry for some MORE media coverage.

I wish this story would just fizzle out and disappear from the public eye like it should of done long ago.

In answer to Neil's question (post 345):

All schools I have worked in have staff 'on duty' around the school, including playgrounds, before and after school and during breaks. The reason being the school has a 'duty of care' to pupils. If something happens to a pupil during the school day, the school may be considered to have failed in that duty of care. Teachers are expected to be 'on duty' to supervise pupils, thus taking reasonable steps to prevent any harm coming to them. If I am not on duty when I should be I am likely be taken to task by my Head for not doing my job. In addition we should not leave students unsupervised in classrooms for the same reason.

So yes, if a teacher or break supervisor were not where they should be and a child were taken then the teacher/supervisor would be to blame for failing to do their job. If supervison arrangements were inadequate, the school would have failed in its duty of care.

Indidentally, if you look at the aerial photo of the holiday complex (easily found on the BBC website), the position of the restaurant and the McCann's appartment was nothing like being in your garden while your children are in your house (as many have suggested).

Comment to Neil.
Have you looked at the map of the complex? We were all told how "close" the apartment is from the restaurant, but the map tells a different story. The backyard is not a good comparison... more like down the local pub on the corner!

There are thousands of children who disappear everyday. Nobody except their families care about them. Why is Madelaine so special? Is it because the parents are well connected.Please stop this Circus. shame on the media

I wonder with such a high profile media event - if unwittingly it may not put the abductor in a position whereby the only way out - is to kill the child? This is now a grave danger....but in the absence of what the cops are actually doing, difficult to figure out what the next step should be. It is now not looking very good unfortunately.

I have sympathy for the missing girl and her siblings. Sadly, Madeline is more than likely dead. History tells us that. Her brother/sister is now stuck in a foreign country, too young to understand what's going on. I have NO sympathy for these two parents, or any one else unfit to be parents, who leave pre-school aged children unattended at home, because they are too tight fisted to pay for a few hours childcare. (The truth hurts sometimes doesn't it). Yet they are now touring around Europe to see the pope in a private jet. (Maybe "GOD was looking after their children", didn't do a very good job did he???) The two remaining children should be taken into care and the parents need to be arrested for child neglect.

From someone who says it like it is!

The rights and wrongs of this case has brought many comments and i have my opinion on it as well ,i just think we should critize or praise at a time more appropriate. The merchants of chaos in the guise of the press and tv media outlets can do good but also can do harm.

I'm sick to death of it all.

If they were that concerned about her, they wouldn't have left her unattended in the first place.

Why is this girl getting so much attention, when there must be tens of kids go missing every week who are ignored?

Re comment #343:

People could steal your car at night, but you still lock it.

To spell it out for you, as the owner of a car, or the parent of a child, you take responsible steps to ensure your car/child is as safe as possible.

It is quite apropriate for such a family of very strong beliefs and faith to pursue all avenues. Comments have been made about the children being left - but their flat was in sight, and they made regular checks. However, I would ask if their were any security guards on site - and if not, why not.
Dorothy Warburton

I am tired about hearing this story. Whilst the child did not deserve to be abducted I have little sympathy with the parents, it was their neglect which allowed this to happen.

They were in a complex that offered a creche and child minding facilities, yet they felt it was more appropriate to leave 3 young children alone whilst they went to enjoy dinner!!! Something is not quite right there!

I hope Madeleine is found safe & well. However, I feel that it is totally unacceptable that Madeleine's parents have not been arrested. It's what happens to people in the UK when they leave a 3 year old (oh yes, and two year olds as well) alone as they go out enjoying themselves.
If you're on a family holiday there is a big difference between that and going on holiday as just a couple. They should remember why they had children. Should people EVER leave toddlers alone in the house while they pursue their own pleasures elsewhere- NO!! It's against the law!!! (and common sense)

David Beckham and Gordon Brown like many of us are parents and if it were my Child that had been taken I, Like any other parent would be beside myself with worry and thoughts of what had happened to the child would run riot in my mind.I think the media should keep this and other similar stories in the news, we have to listen about Iraq every day.I hope that Madeline is not suffering in any way and IF she is still alive she will be returned to her family.We are told we now live with globalisation let this be used in a positive way.
I wish the McCann's see their daughter again.

Of course the level of coverage is excessive. These parents are being treated like celebrities. However, I feel for both the lost child and the two siblings. It seems that the parents are more concerned with finding Madeline than caring for the remants of their family, or indeed their patients. I am also very concerned by the fact that these two are doctors, presumably employed by the NHS. I sincerely hope that we, the UK taxpayers, are not funding this "sabbatical" for them to traipse around Europe acting like celebrities.

If i was the parent i would be doing everything in my power to find my child. Having said that, i do think it is the media who have cashed in on this story to sell newspapers. Despite what leading journalists have said I have heard nothing about the dozens of other children which have gone missing over the years. I think it would be interesting to see what the press reaction would have been if the girl was Muslim or Black or if the parents were of a different "class". Behind the genuine distress and devastation of the parents is a cynical, cold press machine which is prepared to exploit this situation to sell newspapers. This is not the first time and it certainly won't be the last. My thoughts are with the parents and i hope for her safe return.

Coverage yes, but not from such a sensationalist viewpoint. Her name is Madeleine, not 'Maddy'.
Yes, she was pretty but there needs to be less of this 'poor, sweet, adorable little Maddikins' - we aren't a part of her parents' grief and to speak like we are is demeaning to them.

Whilst i do sympathise with the disappearance of Madeline, i cannot help but wonder a couple of things....
firstly all this media attention is not doing anything to find her, yes it is keeping her at the forefront of everyone's mind, but that's about it, and at some stage people will get tired of it. Secondly, if it had been an asian, black, chinese (or any other ehtnic background child) would they be affording it so much attention? thirdly, if this had happened in the UK, wouldn't social services be questioning the fact that a young child was left all alone at home, albeit for however many minutes, it still happened.

I think it is sad that such a tragic event - a child disappears - has sparked such a media frenzy.

Ofcourse parents should use every given possibility to pursue every avenue for the safe return of the child, but to be honest, I do not think that this media cricus will actually benefit the cause. The only ones gaining for this are the gutter press. Since Maddie's disappearance thousands of children went missing in the UK alone, with hardly any media attention. What makes this case so special?

I think it is irresponsible of parents to leave three toddlers unguarded with an occassional check every 30, 45 minutes. Imagine what could happen in between, apart from abduction.

I think it is also irresponsible of the British media to blame foreign authorities that do not comply with British standards and to suspect everyone that does not match the profile of the perfect neighbour.

I sincerely hope that she will be found in good health.

(replying to #351)
One, if you are so sick of it, then go do something else more productive and less sickening when the news is on. Or when you pass by the newspaper section in the supermarket, don't look at them! Complaining and wittering like you are is what is actually sick. If you have nothing valuable to contribute or anything positive to write and just like to bash the McCann's determination. I think what you wrote is pretty pathetic and sickening to me.

Two, "not concerned for her in the first place?" Well that is probably one of the most horrid things you can say about someone you don't know. If they weren't concerned for her, won't it have been easier for the McCanns to just leave her at home in England by herself? I think the McCanns were concerned and that is why she was taken on holiday with them. Unattended, yes, but the McCanns wanted their daughter to sleep. Most parents do actually consider what their children wants. Majority of parents do a lot of things while their children are sleeping, eating is one of the activities. It was foolish of the McCanns but they didn't know this would happen and they checked on their children?

Three. That is true, but as they say one is a tragedy and many is a statistic. If the McCanns stop the publicity, Madeline will fall into that group of statistics and the chances of her being found will be significantly lower. Also the McCanns are determined to get their daughter back. I laugh at your statement, you can't put it in terms like that, it's like saying "one child is abuse by somebody and makes the headlines, it is unfair to the other children are abused, they are being ignored". "One woman is raped, she gets a lot of media attention, it is unfair other rape victims are being ignored". Madeline is young, her kidnapping was a shock, her parents want her back and are determined that is why the media is focusing heavily on this. Those other missing children are not exactly ignored, the local police could be searching for him/her in a small scale. Not to mention it takes money to fund a campaign, those parents of other missing children may not have the money. Frankly there are parents that don't care about their children. Finally her name is "Madeline", not "this girl"!

Listen! what’s done is done! - Spare a thought for what little Madeleine's going through, frightened and just wanting to feel her parent’s arms around her.

You would do anything to get your children back, just think of the nightmare Mr & Mrs McCann are going through waking up each morning knowing it's real.

Instead of moaning on about them using the press to try and keep Madeleine's face in the news around the world, why don't you do something constructive? Please!

i feel all abductions should have as much exposure as possible, recent cases havnt had so much but i think the more the better for all, i think all the missing kids should be mentioned now to raise the awareness of them all. i know the mcanns arent entirely blameless but they are paying dearly for their mistake and have to live with it for ever and having to explain to their other 2 when old enough what happened, but the focus should be on finding these children safe and well, do the blaming later.

There are a few people who've posted here who are being awfully harsh, but very generally i agree.

Abductions are common place in Brazil, where dozens of young children go missing each week and very little is done about it.

One british child goes missing in portugal and it's world news.

I agree that anything and everything that can be done to get her back should be done, but i also see it as entirely unfair that the McCans are getting so much media coverage when other parents have received none whatsoever.

The other week the news of the world ran the story about jk rowling offering a reward under the banner WORLD EXCLUSIVE. Is this just an excuse to them to sell more papers than their rivals?

I don't like the references to 'white middle class' in this story, i heard a comment similar to this made by a black women on Question Time Last Night.If similar language was used about a black/Asian working class family would it be posted on a BBC site I think not.

Ponder what the media and public reaction would have been if these parents were non-professional, unreligious, working class chavs. It is likely they would be roundly condemned/hounded and their other children taken into care on the grounds of culpable negligence. This is a sickeningly class-biased episode which shows that far too many idiots still think that because you're a middle-class professional you are superior to people who aren't.

I, like many of you, hope and pray that this poor girl is returned safe and soon (and those other thousands of children who are currently missing)

But i think the media attention, European tour, meeting the Pope and the money they've received has taken this to a ridiculous level.

At the end of the day, they left their young children alone in an unlocked hotel room whilst they went and enjoyed themselves AND now they're leaving their other two children again to jet off around the rest of Europe. i think it's disgusting behaviour and God willing if the girl is found safe, she should go to more responsible parents

I think that it is possible that whoever took the child would, on hearing the public statements by her parents, get rid of the child as soon as they could.I may be wrong but i feel that if she has not been found alive she never will be.

I feel terrible for the McCanns and hope they find their daughter soon, but unless the Pope and Gordon Brown are going to intervene in every missing child case, they shouldn't intervene in this one. If the family want to meet a religious representative in private, that's up to them, but to make it public serves as a reminder of all those who don't get such treatment. Imagine the feelings of parents who only have a few posters of their missing child compared to this world-wide exposure. I hope it works for the McCanns, and they find Madeline, but whilst it doesn't happen for every child, I can't be entirely comfortable with it.