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Mrs McCann: I felt violated when News of the World published my diary
Kate McCann felt 'worthless' and 'mentally raped' after her diary of the
days after her daughter vanished was published in the News of the World.
The mother of missing Madeleine told the Leveson Inquiry into press
standards yesterday that she wanted to 'climb into a hole and not come
out'.
Mrs McCann and her husband Gerry, both 43, said they felt some of the
coverage of Madeleine's disappearance was 'nothing short of disgusting'
and that they had faced a virtual trial by media.
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Ordeal: Kate and Gerry McCann described the media storm after
their daughter Madeleine vanished from a Portuguese holiday
apartment in May 2007 |
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Trauma: The McCanns yesterday said their experience at the hands
of the media had been 'disgusting' |
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The couple from Rothley, Leicestershire, revealed they had been called
by the editor of the now-defunct News of the World, Colin Myler, days
before the anniversary of Madeleine going missing from their rented
Portuguese holiday apartment.
Mrs McCann said he made her 'almost feel guilty' about giving an
interview to Hello! magazine, talking about their campaign for a
Europe-wide alert system for missing children.
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Witnesses: Gerry and Kate McCann arrived at the
Leveson Inquiry at London's High Court holding hands this
morning |
Her husband added: 'It's fair to say Mr Myler was irate when he learned
of the publication and was berating us for not doing an interview with
the News of the World.
'It was a time of stress for us on the first anniversary ? he basically
beat us into submission, verbally, and we agreed to do an interview the
day after.'
Four months later, in September 2008, a friend told Mrs McCann that her
private diary - probably leaked by Portuguese police -had been printed
in the same newspaper.
The mother of three said: 'I felt violated. I'd written these
words at the most desperate time of my life, and it was my only
way of communicating with Madeleine.
'I recently read through my diary entries at that point in that week and
I talk about climbing into a hole and not coming out because I just felt
so worthless that we'd been treated like that.'
Mr McCann said he had never read his wife's diary because it was
private, and was shocked by its publication.
He told the inquiry: 'Kate was distraught and in her words felt
"mentally raped".'
The couple said they initially received support from the media after
Madeleine's disappearance but the tone changed after 'leaks' from inside
the Portuguese police investigation falsely suggested the couple
were involved in Madeleine's disappearance.
The couple were unable to refute the allegations as they had been
threatened with a two-year jail sentence if they broke Portugal's laws
of judicial secrecy which surround any police investigation.
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Anger: On the first anniversary of the disappearance of
Madeleine (left), her parents said they had been verbally
attacked by the then editor of the News of the World Colin Myler
(right) fore giving an interview to a rival publication |
The McCanns eventually took legal action against the publishers of the
Daily Express and the Daily Star, who they described as the 'worst
offenders' among the British media, although they criticised every
newspaper and broadcaster.
Express Group Newspapers paid ?550,000 in damages to the Find Madeleine
fund and published a front-page apology.
Separate legal action against the Evening Standard and the Daily Mail
was settled out of court, the inquiry heard.
The News of the World also apologised and made a donation to the
Find Madeleine fund after it published Mrs McCann's diary.
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Experience: Mark Lewis (left) and Sheryl Gascoigne also talked
about their experiences with the press at the Leveson Inquiry
today |
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