Yesterday I posted the news that Kate and Gerry McCann were going to run for Missing Persons again this year and gave a link to their fund-raising page.

Well today I just went onto their site and saw a donation from The International Family Law Group - this is the group that went to Portugal when Madeleine first went missing - to aid Kate and Gerry.  As per this press release of the 13th May 2007, it states that the McCanns had instructed them to act on their behalf the week before. 

Now for the life of me, why would any group (especially an International leading law firm) be prepared to make a donation of '100 if there was even an element of doubt that the parents of Madeleine McCann could be involved in a crime'  Nobody would, I know I wouldn't support someone if I thought they were involved.

After a quick google search, I came across the website for The International Family Law Group and after putting McCann into their search I came across documents relating to them being instructed by the McCanns and the High Court hearing, in which the McCanns wanted access to documents held by Leicester Police.

But one thing my search does clear up, once and for all, and that is the Ward of Court dates and when Madeleine was made a Ward of Court.  By reading this document on their site the proceedings started on the 17th May 2007 by the issuing of a summons in which Madeleine's parents applied to the Courts, under the Inherent Jurisdiction of the Court, and The Child Abduction and Custody Act, and the Hague Convention, asking for information regarding the possible whereabouts of Madeleine to be released to the Parents' Solicitors.

This order was granted on the 22nd May 2007 and according to the directions of Mrs Justice Hogg on the 7th July 2008 she explains, in her deliberations, that Madeleine was in fact made a Ward of the Court on the 2nd April 2008 and will remain a Ward of Court until a order is made by the Court releasing her from her Ward of Court status.

It is there in black and white, the dates, so I do hope that people can now stop this jumping to conclusions that Madeleine McCann must have been a WOC in 2006 and speculating as to the reasons why.

From what I can gather, this speculation arose because two cases were listed to be heard by the same Lord Justice on the same date.  One case relating to another family and the other case relating to Madeleine McCann. But as per usual some people put 2 +2 together and got the infamous 5.