Of all the self-serving, publicity seeking acts of "charity" committed by Richard Branson, this has to be the most cynical to date.
The coverage courted by the McCanns is forgiveable if one accepts that they are two devastated, desperate parents, seeking a loved one or, at worst, some kind of closure. The endless jaunts to sunny Praia da Luz, crass coverage and lack of proportion or balance by most media in covering the disappearance of this pretty, white, middle-class child is an inevitably queasy consequence of their campaign.
It's all pretty stomach-churning though. Especially when you consider that, according to one source, every year 77,000 children go missing in the UK. Sadly many are never found. To know this is to resent knowing about Madeleine - of knowing how to spell her name correctly, about her parents, where they live. Why should I know and care about her? I never knew or gave a damn about the other missing kids.
That Branson has played the cheap and lazy news bastards to buy himself £1 million of advertising for a lousy £100K is just another vomit-inducing turn in this depraved tale. He's not the first. Political and religious leaders, as well as brand-building capitalists, have sought to associate themselves with this horror. The Pope and Gordon Brown's manipulative motives are unarguable. If the Pope really gave a toss, why has his church been engaged in the routine cover-up of child-abuse over decades and why does he continue to preach against contraception and abortion? Given the regularity of such disappearances, why do we know that Gordon Brown has met with this child's parents, but no other before or since?
My distrust and disgust with those involved with, and those covering, this story have only been enhanced. Richard Branson is simply the latest on the list. These people have no dignity, no shame.
The McCanns may have calculated that it was worth courting these sleazy sods, so long as their daughter remained the focus. But today the photo is that of Richard Branson in front of a Virgin logo, and not that of their missing child.
