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Freedom from suspicion is cold comfort for McCanns
KATE AND Gerry McCann will tomorrow be officially cleared of any involvement in the disappearance of their little girl.
I’d like to think that this will draw a line under the shameful accusations hurled at the bereft
couple.
They have not only had to live with the guilt of leaving Madeleine and their twins alone in their holiday apartment (which was undeniably stupid), but also the knowledge that the investigation into her disappearance was to say
the least inept and that the police suspected they had killed her.
Now the police have admitted their mistake, I hope all the mud slinging and conspiracy theories will stop.
I’ve said from the very beginning that the only thing this couple were guilty of was leaving their kids alone while they went off for a meal.
It’s something I’d never dream of doing. I still don’t understand why they didn’t hire a babysitter or simply take their children with them, but I’m sure there’s not a single hour of every day that Kate and Gerry don’t ask themselves the same questions.
Astounded
I was, however, astounded at people’s ability to believe the worst and assume that somehow Kate and Gerry murdered their daughter and hid her body.
Remember all those woolly theories about DNA in the back of their hired car and the speculation about possible blood droplets in the apartment?
It didn’t amount to a hill of beans, and the police must have known that there was no case to answer from a very early stage.
By going down the road of investigating Kate and Gerry, who knows what vital clue or piece of information they missed.
I’m also sure some people will continue to believe the worst and think that the McCanns were somehow involved.
Sadly they will always have to live with that suspicion, even though tomorrow sees them completely exonerated.
At the same time, though, they know the Portuguese police have closed the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance.
Eighteen months down the line and the police have no clue about what really happened and are no further forward.
I’m sure Kate and Gerry will continue their search with the
aid of private detectives, but so much time has gone that the likelihood of them ever finding
out what happened is virtually non-existent.
The worry is that whoever snatched her that night might strike again.
A KNIFE attack is now carried out every four minutes somewhere in England and Wales.
That’s 130,000 people stabbed or threatened by knife-wielding thugs
last year. Actually the total is even worse, because knife crimes by under-16s have not been included.
In Scotland, where blades have long been the weapon of choice going back to the razor gangs of 1940s and ’50s Glasgow, 1200 victims of knife crime were hospitalised and at the recent
T in the Park festival a young man was stabbed 11 times.
No wonder so many parents are fearful for their teenagers, especially if they have sons, because you don’t have to be in a gang
to get caught up in a fight or a stabbing incident.
Young men out for a quiet night with friends can find themselves the victim of a yob with a blade out to make a name for himself or impress his gang.
Distraught
Look at Ben Kinsella. The 16-year-old brother of ex-EastEnder Brooke Kinsella was stabbed and died in a pool of blood in the arms of his distraught friend last month.
Hundreds turned up for his funeral on Friday and his friends and family
are determined that he will not have died in vain.
They’re campaigning for a tough crackdown on knife crime.
Brooke is utterly distraught but knows that her profile means this case has had more publicity than most and is quite rightly using that to get her message across.
There has to be a real crackdown on those who carry knifes. First an amnesty and then a tough,
no-nonsense, zero-tolerance approach.
Those found carrying a knife get locked up. Simple as that.
And can we please completely forget the silly idea of having knife-wielding hoodies confronting their victims as proposed then unceremoniously dropped by the home secretary?
It’s a waste of time, money and will achieve nothing but upset victims even more.
THE NEWS that injured British servicemen and women are to
get double the compensation for their injuries is long overdue.
These brave squaddies risking their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan are underpaid, undervalued and the very least that can be done for them is to make sure that if they’re injured they receive enough cash to ensure they have no money worries.
Scandal
It’s a scandal that those who are badly maimed and wounded often find themselves short of cash and worried sick about paying bills while trying to recover from their injuries.
Obviously no money can ever make up for a man or woman losing a limb, or being hideously burned, disfigured or blinded, but at least a decent settlement might help them rebuild their lives.
I HAD to fly out of Heathrow’s Terminal Five last week. After all those horror stories at the ill-fated launch I was not looking forward to it at all.
But I was pleasantly surprised. It’s bright, airy, and stuffed full of staff to help you check in and find your way around.
As if that wasn’t enough, I spotted the ridiculously good-looking Keanu Reeves in WH Smith perusing the travel section and pottering around without minders, bodyguards or an entourage.
Although a few people did a double-take, he was left alone.
Most A-listers would send a minion to the shops while they languished in the first-class lounge, but Keanu proves you can have a normal life even if you are a Hollywood star.
RICHARD COLSON from Bellshill was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia in 2004 when he was 17.
The lethal disease means that his bone marrow produces insufficient blood cells.
Richard and his family have set up a fund to help other sufferers, and also to encourage people to register as bone marrow donors.
I think everyone in the country should be registered as it would help save countless lives and if you want to help, contact the Richard Colson Severe Aplastic
Anemia Fund at: richard.colson.s.a.a.fund@googlemail.com or visit
www.richardcolson.co.uk
 IT'S
LOOKING awfully like Gray O’Brien is turning into one of the most evil soap villains of all time.
His character Tony has slowly been transforming into Coronation Street’s man we love to hate.
Gray plays Tony with gusto and, without giving too much away, expect him to go from bad to worse.
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Lorraine
Kelly
