An objective consideration of all the known facts around the occasions that all the children were left unattended in an unfamiliar environment, their ages at the time and what the position of the law was the purpose of this thread.

The "circus" which followed exploited the media and the public's sympathy and drew attention away from any parental irresponsibility.

There was no attempt on my part to "gang-up" on the McCanns but I would have been very happy to deflect and expose their expensive and skilled publicity machine (not to mention the "dubious" Limited Company) which totally ignored any parental short comings and hurled suspicion and blame (including details of personal officers) onto the investigation - and instead focus upon the real "victim" in this case.