Monday 18 February 2008

The family of Mari Luz threatens the McCanns with legal action

This is an addendum to the 15th February article about those posters, which appeared in Enfants Kidnappes.

ATTENTION!!!!

Famille de Mari Luz menace les McCann d'une action en justice

N° de téléphone est hors service

La famille de Mari Luz Cortés, la petite espagnole disparue depuis le 13 janvier à Huelva, a demandé que les affiches ou sa photo figure cote-à-cote avec Madeleine McCann ne soient plus distribués et considère même la possibilité d'intenter une action en justice à l'encontre de Kate et Gerry McCann si leur exigence n'est pas respecté.

Juan José Cortés, père de Mari Luz, à affirmé que mélanger la disparition de Madeleine à celle de sa fille "n'est pas une stratégie opportune," réaffirmant qu'il n'a jamais donné son accord aux affiches crées par la famille McCann.

"Ce sont deux cas totalement différents avec des voies d'investigation complètement distinctes," à dit le père de Mari Luz à la sortie d'une rencontre avec le Président du Gouvernement Autonome d'Andalousie.

De la taille A3, les 18.000 affiches annoncés par le responsable en relations publics du couple McCann, Clarence Mitchell, pour un cout total de plus de 4.000 euros, indiquent un numéro de contact pour signaler des informations à propos de Mari Luz qui n'est pas en service.”

The family of Mari Luz threatens the McCanns with legal action.

Telephone number is not in service.

The family of Mari Luz Cortes, the little Spanish girl, missing since January 13th in Huelva, has requested that the posters where her photo is shown side-by-side with Madeleine McCann are not distributed and is even considering the possibility of instigating legal action against Kate and Gerry McCann if their wish is not respected.

Juan Jose Cortes, father of Mari Luz, has stated that to mix the disappearance of Madeleine with that of his daughter, “is not an appropriate strategy,” reaffirming that he had never given his permission for the posters created by the McCann family.

“These are two totally different cases with completely distinct lines of investigation,” said Mari Luz’s father as he left a meeting with the President of the Autonomous Government of Andalusia.

The size A3 posters, presented by Clarence Mitchell, the public relations representative for the McCann couple, at a cost of over 4,ooo Euros, show a contact number for reporting information about Mari Luz which is not in service.

http://www.kidnapping.be/maddie/maddie.html

From the Daily Mail, Monday 18th February.

"McCann spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "We obviously regret if there is any confusion over these posters, however we did have the permission of the family to produce them following a conversation between them and a female friend of Kate's who speaks Spanish.

"Her father also said anything that can be done should be done. "The lady who spoke to him also tried to get hold of him after that to show him the artwork on the posters but he was in Madrid campaigning for his daughter."

Daily Mail 18/02/08

Not good enough Clarrie, is my opinion. You are supposed to be a professional PR person. That means you should know that you have a responsibility to make sure you have permission to use third party information. Saying that you thought you had permission, based on a conversation someone else reported to you, will not stand up in a court of law. And Clarrie, help that is neither requested nor wanted is not help at all. The family of a missing child has every right to decided where and when photos are used and distributed. To take that right from them and then claim that you were just trying to help is to attempt to disempower them. If anything here is shameful*, it is your behaviour and your pusillanimous attempts to wriggle out of the responsibility for your actions.

*Clarence is reported in the Portuguese press as saying that the reactions of the family of Mari Luz were, "surprising and shameful."