From the Sunday Mirror
28 July 2013
By Carole Malone
Gerry Shows He Needs Us
Gerry McCann says he and his wife Kate try to keep the lives of their twins, eight-year-old Amelie and Sean. “as normal as possible”. Which seems at odds with his decision last week to do a big “exclusive” interview with a tabloid newspaper.
Even more odd that Gerry, a leading light in the Hacked-Off campaign, should choose to talk to papers in this particular branch of the media considering his claims that his family have been hounded and vilified by them
Even so he and his wife Kate never seem to miss an opportunity to court publicity when they need to raise money. This time it’s because Gerry is taking part in the Virgin Active London Triathlon which is raising money for the Missing People charity. Did the newspaper involved make a donation to the charity? If so, is Gerry McCann right to take money from newspapers he claims have caused his family distress?
Is it not hypocrisy to ask people, through those newspapers, to sponsor him and give money?
And while I understand why he wants to raise cash for Missing People it would be nice if at some point Gerry McCann acknowledged the media’s positive role in keeping the hunt for Madeleine in the news. Yes certain newspapers acted shamefully but the McCanns were compensated to the tune of £550,000 for that.
But the majority are - and always have been - on their side. And without the support of the media, without the constant stream of stories about the hunt for Madeleine the much needed funds to help find her would have dried up years ago.