McCann documentary: Gerry McCann in Portugal, 04 April 2009

McCann Documentary: Gerry McCann in Portugal Joana Morais   Joana Morais 04 April 2009   First published at 01:35 am: According to Sic News Channel, Gerry McCann arrived today at Lisbon in the company of some British reporters and an ITV production team to shoot a documentary in Praia da Luz, Algarve.   Apparently the ITV documentary will comprise of a reconstitution of the events of 3rd of May, the night Madeleine McCann disappeared, sources confirm that Kate and Gerry McCann and the other members of the Tapas group will be represented by actors playing their roles.   Kate McCann and the other Tapas members were not seen in Lisbon.   Update 13:00 pm: Jane Tanner, Matthew Oldfield and Clarence Mitchell are in Praia da Luz with Gerry McCann. Apparently it's a joint ITV Channel 4 production. This team have produced some works for BBC Panorama.   Today's shooting will have Gerry McCann going in to the apartment 5A and exiting.   Gerry will not take any questions from the media, Clarence will give a press statement later on.   The production team brought a 'Madeleine' to play the role of Madeleine Beth McCann.   Meanwhile 21 workers of the Ocean club were fired today, the letter mentioned the McCanns as the cause for their joint dismissal. The workers are considering to sue the McCanns.   Update 14:57pm: According to Mitchell today they'll shoot some scenes at the Millennium restaurant, next to the pool inside the ocean club, and at the church of Luz. At night time they'll shoot the reconstruction, at the exact times of the event.   Clarence Mitchell justified that the couple did not do this reconstruction earlier - when they were asked by the Portuguese authorities - because, at the time, the PJ did not allow the television broadcasting. He also stated that the reenactment for the documentary will be used as the basis for a ongoing private investigation.   Update at 10:00 am: Gerry caught on mobile camera at Lisbon Airport

Father of Maddie to undertake reconstruction of disappearance, 04 April 2009

Father of Maddie to undertake reconstruction of disappearance Correio da Manhã   Praia da Luz dissatisfied with return of Gerry McCann   04 April 2009 - 13h29 Translation by Nigel Moore   The return of Gerry McCann to Praia da Luz, Algarve, is leaving the town uneasy and the local residents unhappy. Maddie's father came to Portugal yesterday in order to undertake the reconstruction of the day that Maddie disappeared and some episodes that followed.   According to the TV channel SIC, Gerry is this weekend in Praia da Luz to record a documentary for the British Channel 4. A film that is a reconstruction of the day that Maddie disappeared, from the Ocean Club holiday complex, 3 May 2007, and some episodes that followed.   In statements to journalists, the spokesman of the McCann couple, Clarence Mitchell, said that the reconstruction was being done now, and not when the Portuguese Judicial Police asked, because the authorities wanted a closed reconstruction, while the parents of Maddie and friends thought the investigation should be public and open to anyone, including journalists.   The spokesman also admitted that Gerry and Kate, when constituted as arguidos in the case, feared returning to Portugal, according to SIC.   The collaboration between the McCann couple and the British Channel 4 comes after the parents of Maddie proceeded with a new advertising campaign in the Lagos area to try to get more information about the girl.   OCEAN CLUB DISMISSES 21 EMPLOYES   The arrival of Gerry in Portugal comes shortly after 21 of the 48 Ocean Club employees have been dismissed, with the company claiming economic pressures.   However, the Ocean Club's financial situation worsened after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and the bad publicity that the case brought to that locality in the Algarve, said SIC.   One of the dismissed workers spoke to the TV channel and directly accused the McCann couple for the situation of the tourist complex and the dismissal of the employees.

Gerry McCann returns to resort where his daughter Madeleine disappeared, 04 April 2009

Gerry McCann returns to resort where his daughter Madeleine disappeared Telegraph   Gerry McCann, the father of missing Madeleine McCann, has returned to the Algarve resort where his daughter went missing almost two years ago to film a reconstruction of the fateful evening.   By Fiona Govan Last Updated: 3:22PM BST 04 Apr 2009   Gerry McCann, accompanied by a British film crew, arrived in Praia da Luz in southern Portugal on Saturday morning to advise on a reconstruction that will be aired in a Channel 4 documentary to mark the second anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance next month.   Actors have been hired to play the parts of the Madeleine, her family, the seven friends dining with her parents on the night of May 3 2007, and a suspect reportedly seen by one of the friends carrying a child away from the McCann's holiday apartment that evening.   Clarence Mitchell, the spokesman for the McCanns, said the reconstruction would contain elements of the investigation that had not been aired before in the hope of providing new clues in the hunt for Madeleine, who was almost four when she disappeared.   "There are new aspects of that night that have not yet been made public and hopefully they will generate new information that could offer the vital clue," he said.   The McCanns left Praia da Luz in September 2007 shortly after being made arguidos – official suspects – in their daughter's disappearance.   That status was lifted last July after prosecutors conceded there was no evidence to suggest their involvement.   "It is obviously difficult for Gerry to be back here in the place where his daughter disappeared but he is prepared to do anything that will help find her," Mr Mitchell added.   Kate McCann, 41, stayed behind at the family home in Rothley, Leicestershire, with twins Sean and Amelie.   Mr McCann and two of his friends, Jane Tanner and Matt Oldfield, who were holidaying with the family at the time of Madeleine's disappearance would be acting as advisors during the filming of the reconstruction.   "They will not be taking part but will be there to advise and ensure that events are portrayed as they remember," said Mr Mitchell.   Permission has been granted for filming within the Ocean Club resort and the holiday apartment where Madeleine and her twin siblings were left sleeping on the night she disappeared.   The Cutting Edge documentary is expected to be aired on May 7th, in the week of the second anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance. Madeleine's sixth birthday is on May 12th.   Mark Raphael, commissioning editor for documentaries at Channel 4, said: "The disappearance of Madeleine McCann is one of the most harrowing unsolved crimes of recent years.   "Two years on Kate and Gerry McCann are still searching for their daughter. We hope that this documentary and reconstruction may be able to provide vital new leads for the investigation."

McCann father returns to Portugal, 04 April 2009

McCann father returns to Portugal BBC News   Page last updated at 15:34 GMT, Saturday, 4 April 2009 16:34 UK   Madeleine McCann's father Gerry McCann has returned to Portugal to help detectives filming a reconstruction of her disappearance.   Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said Mr McCann and two family friends have returned to the resort area of Praia da Luz to help with the filming.   The reconstruction will be shown on Channel 4's Cutting Edge strand in May.   Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, vanished from a holiday flat in Praia da Luz, in the Algarve, on 3 May 2007.   The reconstruction will show what happened on the night, as described by witness statements.   Negotiations are under way for the reconstruction to be shown on Portuguese television and in other European countries, and it will be also be available on the Find Madeleine website.   Mr Mitchell said: "The aim of this is to get that critical piece of information that could still help to find Madeleine. Gerry has returned with that aim.   "Certain aspects of the witness testimony were hidden deep in the police files and these particular aspects have received very little attention. The private investigators feel that it is very important to highlight these things.   "It's being done simply in the hope that it will jog someone's memory."   'Harrowing'   The McCann's friends Jane Tanner and Matthew Oldfield, who were with them on the night Madeleine disappeared, will be interviewed on the programme, which is to be shown on 7 May.   A man was said to have been "acting suspiciously" two days before Madeleine disappeared, and Ms Tanner said she had seen a man carrying what may have been a sleeping child.   Channel Four commissioning editor for documentaries Mark Raphael said: "The disappearance of Madeleine McCann is one of the most harrowing unsolved crimes of recent years.   "Two years on, Kate and Gerry McCann are still searching for their daughter. We hope that this documentary and reconstruction may be able to provide vital new leads for the investigation."   *   The article above, with a grossly misleading lead-in paragraph, was subsequently re-written, as well as paragraph 5:   McCann father returns to Portugal BBC News   Page last updated at 20:55 GMT, Saturday, 4 April 2009 21:55 UK   Madeleine McCann's father Gerry McCann has returned to Portugal to advise private detectives filming a reconstruction of her disappearance.   Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said Mr McCann and two family friends have returned to the resort area of Praia da Luz to help with the filming.   The reconstruction will be shown in a Channel 4 Cutting Edge documentary.   Madeleine, of Rothley, Leicestershire, was three when she vanished from the Algarve holiday flat on 3 May 2007.   The reconstruction - being filmed by the McCanns' own private investigators - will focus on what happened on the night, as described by witness statements.   Negotiations are under way for the reconstruction to be shown on Portuguese television and in other European countries, and it will be also be available on the Find Madeleine website.   Mr Mitchell said: "The aim of this is to get that critical piece of information that could still help to find Madeleine. Gerry has returned with that aim.   "Certain aspects of the witness testimony were hidden deep in the police files and these particular aspects have received very little attention. The private investigators feel that it is very important to highlight these things.   "It's being done simply in the hope that it will jog someone's memory."   'Harrowing'   The McCann's friends Jane Tanner and Matthew Oldfield, who were with them on the night Madeleine disappeared, will be interviewed on the programme, to be aired on 7 May.   A man was said to have been "acting suspiciously" two days before Madeleine disappeared, and Ms Tanner said she had seen a man carrying what may have been a sleeping child.   Channel Four commissioning editor for documentaries Mark Raphael said: "The disappearance of Madeleine McCann is one of the most harrowing unsolved crimes of recent years.   "Two years on, Kate and Gerry McCann are still searching for their daughter. We hope that this documentary and reconstruction may be able to provide vital new leads for the investigation."

Gerry McCann makes first trip back to Madeleine McCann flat, 04 April 2009

Gerry McCann makes first trip back to Madeleine McCann flat Daily Mirror   By Gerard Couzens in Praia da Luz, Portugal 4/04/2009   Tapas Nine pals join him to relive night she vanished for TV reconstruction   Gerry McCann yesterday made an emotional trip back  to the Algarve holiday apartment where daughter Madeleine vanished two years ago.   The father of three looked distraught as he let himself into apartment 5A to help work on a TV reconstruction of her disappearance.   For the first time since  she disappeared, Gerry, 40, from Rothley, Leics, spent an hour inside the bedroom where Madeleine had slept with twins Sean and Amelie, now four.   He then retraced the few painful steps between the flat and the tapas bar where he and wife Kate enjoyed a meal with friends on the night Madeleine vanished.   The trip came after Gerry and Kate agreed to let a Channel 4 documentary film crew record a reconstruction of their last night with their daughter in a fresh bid to find her. His return to Praia da Luz was the first since he left Portugal after Madeleine vanished on May 3, 2007 – and only his second visit to the country since he and Kate were cleared of any involve- ment in her disappearance last July.   It is also a year since the McCanns and the "Tapas Nine" group of friends on their holiday declined a request to take part in a Portuguese police reconstruction.   The daughter of  a family friend will play Madeleine in the drama-documentary by director Emma Loach – daughter of award-winning director Ken Loach – to be screened on Channel 4 on May 7.   Actors will play the parts of Gerry, his wife and the rest of the Tapas Nine.   Kate decided against returning to Portugal for the reconstruction, but two of the Nine – Jane Tanner and Matthew Oldfield – made the trip to help Gerry.   The McCann's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "There are new elements in it that may generate that important piece of information that could lead to Madeleine being found. Gerry will stop at nothing to find Madeleine or at least discover what happened to her in that flat, no matter how difficult and painful it is."

Madeleine's Father Returns To Portugal, 04 April 2009

Madeleine's Father Returns To Portugal Sky News   9:56pm UK, Saturday April 04, 2009   The father of Madeleine McCann has returned to Portugal for the first time since she went missing. Gerry McCann travelled without his wife Kate Gerry McCann and friends Jane Tanner and Matthew Oldfield, who were with him and his wife Kate on the night their daughter vanished, are in Praia da Luz to advise private detectives filming a reconstruction of her disappearance.   The McCanns' own investigators are making the reconstruction, which is also being filmed as part of a Channel Four Cutting Edge documentary.   Viewers will see actors playing out what witnesses claim happened on the night of May 3, 2007 and witness statements will be read out.   Negotiations are under way for the film to be broadcast on Portuguese television and across Europe, and it will be available on the Find Madeleine website.   The McCann's spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "The aim of this is to get that critical piece of information that could still help to find Madeleine. Gerry has returned with that aim.   "Certain aspects of the witness testimony were hidden deep in the police files and these particular aspects have received very little attention. The private investigators feel that it is very important to highlight these things.   "It's being done simply in the hope that it will jog someone's memory."   He said a man was seen acting "suspiciously" in the area two days before Madeleine disappeared, and that Ms Tanner claimed she saw a man who could have been an abductor carrying a sleeping child.   But some of the locals maybe reluctant to help with the reconstruction.   Sky's crime correspondent says there have been signs of protest against the McCann's renewed campaign to find their daughter.   The Channel Four programme, which is due to be broadcast on May 7, will also feature interviews with Mr McCann, Ms Tanner and Dr Oldfield.   It will be aired five days before the youngster's sixth birthday.

Gerry McCann returns to Portugal apartment where Madeleine vanished to film TV reconstruction, 05 April 2009

Gerry McCann returns to  Portugal apartment where Madeleine vanished to film TV reconstruction Daily Mail   By DANIEL BOFFEY and JAMES TAPPER Last updated at 12:32 AM on 05th April 2009   Madeleine McCann's father returned yesterday to the Portuguese apartments from where his daughter disappeared to film a television reconstruction.   Gerry McCann was accompanied by Jane Tanner and Matt Oldfield – two of the so-called Tapas Seven who were holidaying with the McCanns in Praia da Luz when Madeleine went missing in May 2007.   The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said Madeleine's mother, Kate, was too upset to return to the area, although she supports the film. Reconstruction: The film will be screened on Channel Four on May 7, five days before Madeleine's fifth birthday   Mr McCann arrived in the country on Friday with 15 actors and a television crew to shoot the Crimewatch-style film of the events surrounding the toddler’s disappearance.   The reconstruction, set up by the family's team of private investigators, will be screened on Channel Four on May 7, five days before Madeleine’s fifth birthday.   Statements from Portuguese police files will be read out over the top of scenes showing how witnesses claim the night unfolded, including shots of a mysterious man Ms Tanner says she saw walking away from the McCanns' apartment block.   Mr McCann, Ms Tanner and Mr Oldfield are acting as advisers to the production, in which Madeleine will be played by the daughter of a family friend.   Dressed casually in a turquoise T-shirt, brown trousers and trainers, Mr McCann let himself into the apartment, followed by the crew and director Emma Loach, daughter of award-winning film-maker Ken Loach. He nodded to acknowledge tourists who had gathered outside as he emerged on the back balcony an hour later.   But the visit provoked the anger of some locals, who have criticised a fresh poster appeal in the area. One woman shouted in Portuguese: 'Go Home, leave Praia da Luz.'

Madeleine McCann's dad to relive kidnap, 05 April 2009

Madeleine McCann's dad to relive kidnap The People   5 April 2009   MADELEINE McCann's dad Gerry was last night back at the spot where she vanished two years ago - to film a reconstruction of the mystery.   He hopes to spur a fresh wave of interest in the hunt for the tot, who would be six next month.   But heartbroken mum Kate will not be in the Channel 4 Cutting Edge documentary.   She cannot face returning to Praia da Luz, the Portuguese Algarve resort where Maddie disappeared on May 3, 2007.   Dad-of-three Gerry, 40, flew to Portugal on Friday. He looked distraught as he let himself into the apartment where the family was staying. Then he retraced the steps to the tapas bar where he was dining with friends when his daughter vanished.   Some locals in the resort shouted:" Go home. What are you doing here, Gerry? Leave us alone."   Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said of the film:" The objective is to jog someone's memory and get that critical bit of information that will help find Madeleine."   He added that Kate was 100 per cent behind the reconstruction but would stay at their home in Rothley, Leics, with four-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.   Maddie will be played by a McCann family friend in the film, made by independent production company Mentorn Media. Actors will play Kate, witnesses in the case and hotel staff.   Jane Tanner, one of the "Tapas Seven" who dined with Maddie's parents, also returned to the resort for the film. She says she saw a man carrying a sleeping child. There were also reports of a man acting suspiciously two days earlier.   It is hoped the film will be broadcast across Europe on May 7.   The McCanns rejected a call by Portuguese police to take part in a reconstruction last year, before they were cleared as suspects.   Cops have renewed their Maddie appeal, putting up posters and handing out 10, 000 leaflets.

Lively reconstruction, 05 April 2009

Lively reconstruction Correio da Manhã   Praia da Luz: Ocean Club is going to dismiss employees   Rui Pando Gomes 05 April 2009 - 00h30 Thanks to Astro for translation   On the day that Gerry McCann arrived in Portugal to record the private reconstruction about what happened to his daughter Maddie on the 3rd of May 2007, 21 workers from the Ocean Club, the resort where the little four-year-old girl disappeared from, were dismissed. The justification, apart from the effect of the global crisis: "As a result of the unfortunate Maddie McCann event", which has forever damaged the image of the resort in Praia da Luz and sent tourism away.   On the side of these problems, and despite the fact that neither he nor his group of friends collaborated with the police in a reconstruction of what happened that night, it was a smiling Gerry who presented himself in Praia da Luz yesterday – to record a documentary about the day when he mysteriously lost his daughter.   On the day that this media show took place, Greentrust, the company that runs the resort, advanced a collective dismissal action, which in a first phase includes 21 of the 48 Algarvian employees. The dismissal note mentions that the company's financial problems are serious and "the perspectives for 2009 render the firm inviable". The main fault is placed on the bad publicity that has been caused by the Maddie case. According to the firm, "the bad results of 2007 were caused by the abovementioned McCann case".   In May 2007, the firm had 130 employees. During the following year, several were discharged and only 60 remained. This year 48 has been left, and after the most recent collective dismissal, 27 are left, who "are also at risk", according to a source at the firm.   "I have a family and children to raise and now I'm out of work. We ask this McCann couple to leave us at peace, please", one of the workers told Correio da Manhã.   Daughter of McCanns' friends plays Madeleine   The reconstruction, which is being produced for British 'Channel 4', is being recorded with 15 actors. One of them represents Maddie, whose role will be played by "a child from a couple that are friends with Gerry and Kate", Clarence Mitchell, the couple's spokesman, revealed to the journalists.   Apart from Maddie, the rest of the cast plays the nine couple's friends, known as the 'Tapas 9', and an alleged abduction suspect, tourists and residents of Praia da Luz, and Ocean Club employees.   "Let us live in peace"   "Go home" and "let us live in peace" were some of the sentences that some residents of Praia da Luz shouted at Gerry and the team that is producing the documentary, which will be broadcast worldwide. "What are they doing here? They didn't help the police when they should have, and now they put on this show to ruin our lives even further", an upset resident who didn't wish to be identified told Correio da Manhã, fearing reprisals, because she realises that the couple "are very powerful".   "Police didn't accept reconstruction for TV"   The Polícia Judiciária tried twice to carry out a reconstruction of the night of the disappearance, but at no time did the couple and its friends show themselves available. Clarence Mitchell, the couple's spokesman, justified that the reconstruction was not made at an earlier time because back then "the police refused to broadcast it on television".   Now that the investigation process has been archived, the couple believe: "This documentary may generate new information to help find Madeleine", Mitchell referred.   The reconstruction will be available on the www.findmadeleine website, while the Channel 4 documentary is being negotiated with several European countries, including Portugal.   "They want to broadcast lies into the world" (Gonçalo Amaral, former Polícia Judiciária coordinator)   Correio da Manhã – The PJ wanted to carry out a reconstruction of Maddie's disappearance. The McCann couple and their friends didn't accept. What relevance does this media-exposed reconstruction have?   Gonçalo Amaral – None. It may be interesting to register the lies that these people want to broadcast into the world. It's another marketing operation.   CM - Are the Judiciária and the Public Ministry being ridiculed?   GA - I believe so. It's regrettable that the Portuguese authorities failed to force these persons to come to Portugal to carry out a judicial reconstruction, for the truth to be discovered.   CM - Only two of the friends are taking part in the reconstruction. Aren't the others important for the truth to be discovered?   GA - It would be interesting to know the reason why Mr David Payne is not taking part in the reconstruction. He might explain for how long he bathed the children and at what time. They're not interested in explaining that.   NOTES   GNR security – The documentary's production hired the security services of four members of the GNR [local police force]. Yesterday, two guards were in location until 6 p.m. They were substituted by a new team, that followed the recordings until midnight.   Two days of filming – The filming will stretch over two days. Gerry McCann was interviewed yesterday, and scenes were recorded at the Tapas restaurant, where the couple dined on the evening that their daughter disappeared. Today, filming will take place near the church of Praia da Luz.   Scene with suspect – One of the scenes that were recorded yesterday involved a man that one of the couple's friends, Jane Turner, says she saw walking by, carrying a child on the night when Maddie disappeared from the apartment.   Murat: No role in the movie – Anglo-Portuguese Robert Murat, who was one of the arguidos in the case, over suspicion of being linked to an abduction, is not taking part in the reconstruction movie, spokesman Clarence Mitchell revealed.   Gerry: Team consultant – Maddie's father, Gerry McCann, does not take part in the filming but is a team consultant, just like Jane Tanner and Matthew Oldfield, friends who were on holiday with the couple.   Kate: "Not ready" – Kate McCann, the missing girl's mother, "is not ready to return to Portugal yet", according to what Clarence Mitchell, the couple's spokesman, told the journalists.

Maddie's father's return disgusts Aldeia da Luz, 05 April 2009

Maddie's father's return disgusts Aldeia da Luz Jornal de Notícias   The documentary coincides with dismissals at the Ocean Club, where the little girl disappeared from.   by Alexandra Serôdio 05 April 2009 Thanks to Astro for translation Gerry McCann returned to Praia da Luz, in Lagos, yesterday, in the role of a villain to the eyes of the people and the workers that the Ocean Club dismissed. Without his wife, Kate, he is carrying out a reconstruction for an English television station.   Almost two years after Maddie's disappearance, the documentary will be centred on "leads that were undervalued by the police" and on "new data", although nobody reveals which ones. The couple says it believes that information about the little English girl's disappearance, almost two years ago, may still appear.   At 1.30 p.m., Madeleine's father arrived at the resort, surrounded by television cameras. Only some Portuguese and British journalists awaited him. The population, which used to support him some time ago, was nowhere to be seen. The campaign to find Madeleine, which was launched again approximately two weeks ago, was ill received, and the posters with the little girl's face that had been placed all over Praia da Luz were vandalised and torn off. Now, the residents are reacting even worse, because the filming coincides with a mass dismissal at the resort where the little girl disappeared from.   Besides Gerry, Jane Tanner and Mathew Oldfield, two of the friends that had been on holidays, also came. Nevertheless, none of them actively participates in the reconstruction. The roles have been attributed to 15 professional actors. In Madeleine's place, a child from friends of the couple. Clarence Mitchell justified Kate's absence with the fact that she is "not prepared to relive the tragic events".   In short steps, to give the cameras time to capture him, Gerry came out of the car and entered the apartment where the couple spent their holidays. Soon after, the "characters" Madeleine and Kate walked down the street towards the Ocean Club's reception. The scene follows a day of filming at various spots in Praia da Luz, which would end in the evening with the dinner and the moments that surrounded the disappearance. According to Clarence Mitchell, the documentary that will be broadcast on the 3rd of May will bring "no contribution" for the 'Find Madeleine' fund or for the family.   Steve Anderson, the documentary’s producer, asserts that "new data will be revealed", but declined to comment any further. In the opinion of Carlos Anjos, from the Criminal Investigation Workers' Union, the reconstruction is a "marketing manoeuvre".

Sacked Ocean Club employees are "hurt" at the couple, 05 April 2009

Sacked Ocean Club employees are "hurt" at the couple Jornal de Notícias   by Alexandra Serôdio 05 April 2009 Thanks to Astro for translation   The McCann couple are not welcome at the Ocean Club, that is dealing with a mass dismissal that affects 21 employees.   In the letter that they received last Friday, two clear references are made to the main motive: the Madeleine case. The indignant workers prefer not to show their faces, fearing to be hurt in their compensation payments. They all state that they are "hurt" and believe they were "fooled" by the couple.   "We worked from 8.30 a.m. until midnight just to protect them. We did everything, we helped with the searches, we looked everywhere, we never let the journalists in and this is how we are thanked", a former reception worker laments. She accuses Kate and Gerry of having created serious financial difficulties for the company by scaring tourists away with the media circus that they created, and of promoting a bad environment.   "Gerry didn't want to come here when the Polícia Judiciária contacted him. Why does he come now? Does he want to push this place even lower than it already is? Hasn't he realised yet that we live off tourism? There are 21 ruined families. It looks like he is mocking us", she accuses. As there are no doubts that the case has weakened tourism, they consider the possibility of suing the couple. "We hurt nobody, all we want is our work, to be left alone and that the tourists return. Mr McCann should disappear from here for good. We've had enough of him". In 2007, 130 persons worked at the Ocean Club. Two years later, the number was down to 48. Now, 21 have been dismissed, and the ones that remain fear a similar outcome.

Gerry McCann prays for Madeleine in Portugal as he returns to resort where she vanished to film reconstruction, 05 April 2009

Gerry McCann prays for Madeleine in Portugal as he returns to resort where she vanished to film reconstruction Daily Mail   By DANIEL BOFFEY and JAMES TAPPER Last updated at 1:19 PM on 05th April 2009   Gerry McCann went to mass in Portugal this morning after returning to the country to film a television reconstruction of his daughter's disappearance.   Mr McCann assisted at the service in Praia da Laz where Madeleine, then three, disappeared almost two years ago.   His wife Kate has not travelled with him on the trip during which he will help film a reconstruction of the night their oldest child vanished.   Yesterday, the doctor returned to the apartments from where she disappeared during their holiday in May 2007. Gerry McCann leaves a church in Praia de Luz after assisting at a mass He was accompanied by Jane Tanner and Matt Oldfield - two of the so-called Tapas Seven who were holidaying with the McCanns in Praia da Luz when Madeleine went missing in May 2007.   The McCanns' spokesman Clarence Mitchell said Madeleine's mother, Kate, was too upset to return to the area, although she supports the film.   Mr McCann arrived in the country on Friday with 15 actors and a television crew to shoot the Crimewatch-style film of the events surrounding the toddler’s disappearance.   The reconstruction, set up by the family's team of private investigators, will be screened on Channel Four on May 7, five days before Madeleine's fifth birthday.   Statements from Portuguese police files will be read out over the top of scenes showing how witnesses claim the night unfolded, including shots of a mysterious man Ms Tanner says she saw walking away from the McCanns' apartment block.   Mr McCann, Ms Tanner and Mr Oldfield are acting as advisers to the production, in which Madeleine will be played by the daughter of a family friend.   Dressed casually in a turquoise T-shirt, brown trousers and trainers, Mr McCann let himself into the apartment, followed by the crew and director Emma Loach, daughter of award-winning film-maker Ken Loach. He nodded to acknowledge tourists who had gathered outside as he emerged on the back balcony an hour later.   But the visit provoked the anger of some locals, who have criticised a fresh poster appeal in the area. One woman shouted in Portuguese: 'Go Home, leave Praia da Luz.'

Gerry McCann took 'false' Maddie to Praia da Luz, 05 April 2009

Gerry McCann took 'false' Maddie to Praia da Luz Duarte Levy Wordpress for 24horas   by Duarte Levy 05 April 2009 Thanks to Astro for translation   Gerry McCann, accompanied by Clarence Mitchell and by his friends Jane Turner and Matthew Oldfield, two members of the Tapas group, were in Praia da Luz yesterday to follow the first day of filming of a new television documentary where the English production team didn't hesitate to use the services of a child to play Maddie's role.   Maddie's father arrived at the Ocean Club in the company of Jane Tanner and returned to the same locations that the group of English people frequented when the little girl disappeared, having inspected the Tapas Bar, the tennis court and even apartment 5A, where cots just like the ones in which Sean and Amelie slept on the night of May 3, were brought in.   The documentary, in which 15 actors participate, intends to reconstruct the McCanns' version of an abduction that allegedly took place at around 9.30 p.m. on the evening of the 3rd of May 2007, and which gives the idea that the man who was seen by Jane Tanner, was the perpetrator.   In the presence of several members of the GNR [local police force], who were sent on location to guarantee the safety of the group of English citizens, the production team from Mentorn Media filmed inside and outside of the Ocean Club, including in the apartment where Madeleine was allegedly abducted from.   That documentary, which "is going to be centred on leads that were undervalued by the Portuguese police", may be broadcast in Portugal by SIC [tv channel], with which conditions are to be negotiated that may include a "contribution" to the financial fund that was created by the McCanns in 2007, a fact that Clarence Mitchell, the couple's spokesman, denied to 24horas: "there won't be any contribution to the 'Find Madeleine' fund or even to the family. The parents simply want to find further leads that help the private investigation to find Madeleine McCann, nothing else".   The members of the public that were present around the entry to the resort's reception didn't enjoy the presence of the English group, accusing Gerry McCann of carrying out "burnt land" politics in Praia da Luz: "Two years later, what do they want to prove?", a member of the public asked, stressing that it was incomprehensible that the Portuguese authorities permitted "to carry out this circus in a village that hasn't stopped suffering with this case yet".   According to the filming – that doesn't match the statements that were made by the nine English citizens when they were questioned in Portugal and in the United Kingdom – the documentary now intends to transmit the idea of a predator in Praia da Luz, who allegedly watched the group's steps, the reason why the filming includes the dinner at the Millennium restaurant, where the couple dined on the evening before the little girl's disappearance, near the Ocean Club swimming pool, and near the church of Praia da Luz.   Private investigations continue   Just like 24horas had reported yesterday, the McCann couple's spokesman confirmed to journalists that two private investigators are in Praia da Luz working on still unexplored leads, without specifying any further.   The two men were even observed in terrains not too far from the Ocean Club, where they inspected a cane field under the attentive look of members of the PJ.   During the filming, which continues today (Sunday), those investigators will observe the reconstruction of the case "according to the description that was given by Gerry and his friends", which according to the couple's spokesman, "may help to understand where Madeleine went to".   Among various key scenes of this documentary, large emphasis is placed on the witness testimony of Jane Tanner, who states that she observed a man carrying a child, but which she was incapable, since the outset of the official inquiry, to describe in a coherent manner.   When questioned by 24horas, Clarence justified the decision by the couple and their friends not to participate in the reconstruction that was requested by the Polícia Judiciária, explaining the fact that by not being broadcast on television, it couldn't help the McCanns.   "Now we believe that this documentary may generate new information that help us to find Madeleine", Clarence Mitchell added, explaining that after being negotiated with several countries – including Portugal – the video will be available on the webpage that was created by the couple: www.findmadeleine.com.   During the course of the filming, the GNR will keep teams on location to maintain the tranquillity of the film crew's work and to keep the population away, which is openly unhappy about Gerry McCann's presence.   McCanns may return by the end of the month   A source close to the couple confirmed once more that Gerry McCann and some relatives may return to our country as early as the end of April in order to be in Praia da Luz in time for the second anniversary of Maddie's disappearance, but that "Kate is not prepared yet" to face a return to our country, which was confirmed by Clarence Mitchell.   Priest doesn't want the McCanns in church   Father Pacheco has informed Gerry McCann that he doesn't want him in the little church of Praia da Luz this Sunday, neither him nor any of his friends.   The false 'Maddie', dressed thoroughly like Madeleine at the moment when she disappeared, cried to avoid walking the steps of the real one…   (continues)

Disgusting rascals, 05 April 2009

Disgusting rascals Gazeta Digital   Paulo Reis 05 April 2009 16:04:00   The scoundrels who swarm editorial offices of British rags have already started to bark again, almost certainly following the orders of the advisers of the neglectful couple who left three children alone while they were gulping bottles of read and white during their holidays in Portugal. Gerry and Kate are now willing to do a 'reconstruction' of what happened that night, after having refused the PJ's request to do it.   The why is understandable. The neglectful parents feared – and they were clear about it – that the reconstruction requested by the PJ was intended to confirm the statements of the nine friends who allegedly had dinner at the Ocean Club that night. This 'initiative' by the couple of neglectful parents is mentioned by the obedient English press, namely by "The People", which takes the opportunity to release false information. These idiots say that the Police have renewed public appeals by displaying and handing out around 10 thousand leaflets in which information about the missing child is requested.   This could be the opportunity to ask these fools from "The People": who is paying you to release false information? The new campaign mentioned was launched by the neglectful parents and not by the Police. As always, the pink appendix who accompanies the couple of neglectful parents vents out some innuendo aimed at causing tears to the gullible. The pink thing says that there are new elements which could lead to important leads. Yeah.. But no telling the Polícia Judiciária about that information, right?