From Sky News Europe correspondent Greg Milam

Beware the travelling circus.

Gerry McCann says he fears the reconstruction Portuguese police want could turn into a "media circus."

He certainly speaks from bitter experience - but should he look closer to home?

Mr and Mrs McCann are being trailed by a documentary film crew at the moment. They were there when the couple came to Brussels.

The finished programme will be broadcast just ahead of the first anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance.

The McCann have obviously done what they believe is best for the campaign and no-one would criticise them for that.

But the constant presence of the documentary team has certainly raised eyebrows among the European media.

Today's stories from Spain show Europe still has a massive appetite for the Madeleine story. They are also all too aware of the problems the McCanns have had with some media organistions.

So they're surprised that the family should subject themselves to such  close-up media attention.

When broadcasters, including Sky News, were given a few minutes with the McCanns for interviews in Brussels, the documentary team hovered, filming us filming the McCanns.

Sadly it is not a reciprocal deal: we don't have access to THEIR interviews.

The interview room, the professional lighting, the entourage of people, the select list of who got an interview: it didn't feel like your usual 'campaigners visit European Parliament' event.

The McCanns have rightly defended their right to privacy since returning to the UK. Generally it has been observed.

But, our friends in Europe believe, there is a danger.

If you invite some media into your inner most circle, how do you ensure you can keep the rest from prying?

:: "Why didn't you come when we were crying last night" Madeleine asks her mother - read more here

Comments

[located ann-maria Apr 25, 2008 5:49:44 AM]

I would like to add and wondered if maddie have been missing? where is her passport? which school she goes to? which doctor she is been seen? has she had a passport to go to Portugal? has any one have her birth sertificate or her passport if these are little clue to the Portugese polise?

[Monty, The Shires Apr 22, 2008 3:57:40 AM]

Maybe we should all be quiet like the McCanns during Police questioning?

[Kylie Essex Apr 18, 2008 2:11:44 AM]

Gaye, I gladly will never find myself in the same situation as the McCanns because I would NEVER leave and neglect my children as they did! And no I will not be quiet if I have nothing nice to say! This is a free speach blog.

[SassyB Apr 17, 2008 9:29:55 AM]

Gaye, Father Christmas isn't real. Don't be so naive.

[Gaye Herne Bay Apr 17, 2008 8:13:08 AM]

What nasty people most of you are that have written on here. A little girl is missing. If you have nothing nice to say maybe you should keep quiet. I hope none of you ever have to go through what the McCanns are. I pray that she will be found soon and then you lot will have to eat your words.

[Mark Ripon Apr 17, 2008 4:57:01 AM]

I cant belive anyone out there has a scrap of sympathy for this couple. Lost in thier own self pity and consumed by self promotion they have turned their daughters "disappearence" into a money making PR industry. They are sad sad lonely selfish people who deserve each other. The act they are continuing to put on as the "distraught parents" is wearing thin.

I would like to know how they are living if neither of them has done a days work in the last year and who is paying and how much is being paid for Clarence Mitchell. I wish the media would stand up and question his carefully orchestrated PR spin which he puts on everything. Just because he was once one of them at the BBC doesnt mean he should be allowed to push his endless PR puffs without question. He is quite a repugnant character who was quite happy to reveal his predecessors costs to the press but is not so forthcoming with his own.

The press should boycott the 1st anniversary on principle as I doubt as they claimed last week that the McCanns will let it pass quietly.

I hope there is a massive alternate story on this date to wipe out any potential coverage.

[shirley, england Apr 16, 2008 1:20:37 AM]

You've hit the nail right on the head there Kylie! When people choose o have children, you accept that your life changes, and normal things like having meals is a 'family' event. When you take children away on holiday, isnt it meant to be a 'family holiday'? not a holiday for 2? Surely u arange your meals around your children and not the other way around? If a sick or wounded child/children were brought into where Kate or Gerry works, and they discovered that child had been left unattended for some time, wouldnt they automatically alert social services immdeiately? Why are they being treated differently?

[Kylie Essex Apr 15, 2008 5:44:01 AM]

I'm sorry they only have their selves to blame for this whole awful situation, from the disappearance of Maddie to the whole "media Circus" situation they are now in.
Again I'm sorry and I know people will think me harsh, but when are these so called parents going to be charged with neglect!
I would so love to be able to ask them if they would leave their car unlocked while they went shopping or left their front door unlocked when they went on holiday and the answer would obviously be No!
It's such a shame they couldn't find it in themselves to take the same care with their children. They might as well have left them at the side of the road with a sign around their necks saying "unwanted inconvienances-yours for the taking"!!!
Charge them now and maybe it will make others stop before considering doing the sanme. I just hope the "peaceful" meals and drinks were worth it on your "FAMILY" holiday!

[Michael, Coatbridge Apr 15, 2008 5:18:53 AM]

Well done to the great British public for funding this charade. I chose not to donate at the beginning, I set up a monthly direct debit to the NSPCC instead.

[fed up/united states Apr 13, 2008 5:57:22 PM]

The reason that Kate and Gerry are furious is simply because something else has come to light that makes them look like even worse parents than thought before. How would have thought that to be possible? They are poor excuses for parents. Good parents don't leave their 3 babies to fend for themselves while they go out and enjoy themselves. If that poor little girl asked me why I had left her to cry, I'd feel so awful, I'd probably never leave her side again. How pitiful!!
Kate and Gerry: YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!!!!
If you did something to her or if someone took her away, I hope that you feel that shame for the rest of your lives.

[jerome webber, ramat gan, israel Apr 13, 2008 12:32:19 PM]

I sincerely believe that the McCanns are innocent. the real issue here is not the parents but finding the little girl, hopefully alive.
I think that it is time for the british govt. to give M.I.6. the job of finding out what happened to maddy. why M.I.6 ? because it is an overseas matter requiring a great deal of inteligence work & the u.k. police are not trained or equipped for the task & the portugese are determined to pin it on the parents come what may.the precedence for a security service being put on a civilian police matter can be traced to israels handling of a missing young child back in the late 50's - the child yossi schumacher disapearence went on for years & was never out of the news - eventualy the then prime minister david ben gurion gave the case to israels overseas inteligence agency - the mossad. in a short time they traced the boy & brought him back to israel alive. I am sure m.i.6.
are no less capable & despite being busy with islamic terror, russian & chinese espionage, they will have the people of the right caliber to solve the mystery. maybe sky could use its influence to get the govt. to act on this matter, its worth a try!

[Cambridge Apr 13, 2008 12:06:22 PM]

Seems like lots of bitter comments here. but i would like to say being a mother who did what is totally irrelevant, the fact of the matter is, their are two parents Gerry and Kate Mccan wanting their daughter home, so lets please forget the arrow slinging, and remember their pain.Lets do all we can to support them, and pray for them,instead of judging and critising them.

[John Apr 13, 2008 11:44:37 AM]

From day one I have insisted there was something "fishy" about this case. With each passing day, week, month, it becomes even more obvious to any individual, capable of thinking outside the box, that these two so called parents have much to hide. Why hire an expensive mouthpiece to spin issues? Why hire a team of top lawyers, one an expert on extradition?

And finally why leave your children home alone night after night even after they have complained you were neglecting them?

Disgraceful.

[cath evans Apr 13, 2008 8:01:20 AM]

This couple should be prosecuted for child neglect.They were angry that the stories about Madeline crying on her own were leaked to the media. Why? Is it because these leaks have helped to discredit their carefully choreographed public image and appearences? Unfortuately, I don't think this little girl will ever be found, but if she is, I hope that social services will step in. People should remember that their kids must come first, no matter how difficult that is, as most of us who are parents know only too well.

[charlotte london Apr 13, 2008 6:44:15 AM]

i respect the fact that the Mccanns are upset but they should know not to leave two 18 month olds and a three year old now four on their own, its disgusting. The only right time to leave a child is when they are 15, 16 maybe not even that! They may be higher classed than the Shannon's mother case but at least they havent given maddie to a family member to get money, what karen did was sick!!
the main story is maddie is missing and she may not come back dont you think she deserves to be found.
If the mccanns get charged maybe that will teach them a lesson.

[Carsten T Apr 12, 2008 11:49:23 PM]

Dear Greg Milam,
I urge you to keep on being a "real journalist".
I think you are helping to restore the image of British press. If you go further down this road you might end up in the Bernstein/Woodward league.
There MUST be a reason your collegues have decided to look so unintellignet when writing about this case. I accept if there is no "proof beyond reasonable doubt" in this case, but its hard to watch a situation where trying to manipulate and evade is so succesfull.
I am convinced the police and the social services know exactly what should be done. Your take on this case can help a lot and your bosses should promote you when you have delivered the real truth.
I whish you the best of luck!

[holly germany Apr 12, 2008 3:54:08 PM]

I don't think for a moment that the McCanns have anything to do with the disappearance of Madeleine. They have comitted a serious error of judgement by considering the appartment complex and the holiday resort a safe place, far from big city criminality, but they were wrong.And the slow handling of the case by the police as well as the language problems have also been an eyeopener to them. They were not in the UK and the local police did not react as the UK police would have done.
Together with Scarlett's murder in Goa, Meredith's murder in Perugia, Madeleine's disappearance should at last teach people to be less naive, or outright stupid, in their behaviour when they are abroad. How could a mother leave a 15 years old girl alone in a wellknown drugs paradise like Goa? How could Meredith be trusted to go abroad when she was so naive as to get into bad company from the start? And how could the McCanns think that a holiday resort was a crime-free environment?
Holly

[jo exeter Apr 12, 2008 3:30:16 PM]

I have followed this case since May 3 last year, I have read countless articles, blogs about everything everyone has had to say and feel about Madeleine and her parents.I have felt such anger,and sadness towards her parents that sometimes I have wished I could speak to them directly and ask them "why?"
Why can you not own up to the fact that Madeleine would have never gone missing if you had taken her with you that night, hired a baby sitter or not gone out that night? Especially after you knew she didn't want to be left alone at night. How could you do this? A mistake is something we do once, not 6 nights in a row - that is not a mistake - that is a conscious decision, and you both have to take responsibility for that.
Everyday I read the news, hoping Madeleine will be found, her face is etched into my head, just like all of us, and I cannot imagine the pain the Mccanns go through - but please Gerry and Kate stop this nonsense now.Realise that there are more possibilities than just abduction and help the police with all avenues of enquiry. I know that the thought she wandered off looking for you is too much to bear, but ultimately finding what happened to Madeleine is the only thing that matters?

[whitechurch, cork, ireland Apr 12, 2008 3:16:21 PM]

i have supported the mccanns since the start and all the way through until now....if one of my children said to me why did you not come to me last night when i way crying...i would be feel so guilty and feel so devestated that i would definately NEVER leave them again EVER...not to mention that same night...i feel it is the ultimate cruel action

[sandra rennie, south africa Apr 12, 2008 1:28:07 PM]

Hi there Greg

The McCanns and Company were never going back to Porugal in the first place for the re-enactment.

The so called 'leak' is just another smokescreen by Clarence.

The 'leak' probably came via themselves to have an excuse not to go back to Portugal.

Absolute cowards !!!!

They should be forced to go back and re-construct this event.

Who are they to tell the PJ how to do their job.

And demanding 5 star hotels , private jet etc is laughable.

Since when have they become celebrities? Oh yes, they made themselves celebs by courting all and sundry media.

They are not looking for Madeleine and why not?

Kind regards
Sandra Rennie

[Mohammed Kiani, Glasgow Apr 12, 2008 8:48:21 AM]

It is now evident how the McCanns are irresponsible and selfish parents. Even after knowing that their children were frightened and upset the previous night, being left alone, they did it again the following night.
Why are they afraid of admitting the truth, perhaps the lie is easier to live with.

[Claire Apr 12, 2008 7:41:40 AM]

These two are out of control and appear to be trying to place themselves above the law. If I had lost any of my children I would do anything, absolutely anything to get them back and if that meant taking part in a reconstruction at the request of the authorities I would do it, regardless of what may or may not be being said. I certainly would not be courting the publicity that these two selfish individuals are and as for Clarence Mitchell, he has just joined this circus to gain his own publicity. He goes on blasting the press for lies, the bottom line is he really doesn't know what happened to that poor little girl because like the rest of us, he wasn't there when Madeleine went missing and I think he should wind his neck in and get a proper job. As for the parents being guilty or innocent who knows...... if the press is correctly reporting what they said, what is the problem? They do nothing to help themselves. You have to ask the question do they have something to hide and if not really who cares what the press says, for the sake of that little girl why don't they stop shifting the focus of the story onto themselves. They are so hungry for fame for all the wrong reasons.

[tina uk Apr 12, 2008 6:03:13 AM]

Polandguy excellent work
I think worse than leaving the children alone, is the fact of how Madeleine's parents are still and always have put themselves first.
I hope when justice comes for Madeleine those who promoted the parents for their own gain, they know who they are, are aware the public know also

[Eric Lancaster Apr 12, 2008 5:57:50 AM]

Does anyone remember the story and interviews by G, he said "cuddle cat" was high up on a wardrobe that is why they knew she had been abducted.
now read the information that was leaked
"her cuddle cat and the blanket she had slept with were almost in the same place as i had seen them the last time"

is that not conformation that he is doing a PINOCCIHIO impression?

[mags Apr 12, 2008 2:17:24 AM]

Todays headlines "McCanns MAY pull out of reconstruction" Thought it had been decided they were not going to do it.
Couldnt believe what I have read today - they are furious, as usual, but in some of the papers it is reported...

'They are furious,' he added. It's just that revenge is a dish best served cold.'
Revenge what are they on about
it is really obvious now this has nothing to do with a missing child it is all about this selfish couple - who are they to talk about revenge - I think they have gone too far now they have totally lost the publics sympathy The sooner they co-operate with the Police the sooner we will all learn the truth - but thats probably what they dont want - the public to know the truth