Just five hours in May

What really happened to Madeleine Beth McCann?

User Tools

Site Tools


Index of Files

Non-English speaker may get help by Google Website translation. Translate to every language, like Portuguese, German or even Japanese:




js#bj-tango.png navbar


This is an old revision of the document!


McCann vs Bennet Libel Suit

The McCanns instruct Carter-Ruck to instigate contempt of Court proceedings against Tony Bennett.

They allege that Mr Bennett has breached an undertaking given to the High Court, on 25 November 2009, not to repeat “allegations that the Claimants are guilty of, or are to be suspected of, causing the death of their daughter Madeline McCann; and/or of disposing of her body and/or of lying about what happened and/or of seeking to cover up what they had done.”

  1. Part 1, McCanns vs. Bennett - Contempt of Court (1)
  2. Part 2, McCanns vs. Bennett - Contempt of Court (2)
  3. Part 3, McCanns vs. Bennett - Judgment & Sentencing Remarks of Judge

The Judge is Michael George →Tugendhat:

Sir Michael George Tugendhat, styled The Hon. Mr Justice Tugendhat, and in legal writing as Tugendhat J, is a High Court judge in England and Wales. He is the England and Wales's senior media judge, taking over that role from Mr Justice Eady on 1 October 2010. His appointment was welcomed by some journalists who believed he held “more enlightened beliefs” than did his predecessor….Tugendhat was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1986. He became a Recorder of the Crown Court in 1994 and a deputy judge sitting in the High Court of Justice in 1995. In 2000, he became a judge sitting in the appeal courts of Jersey and Guernsey. He was appointed a High Court Judge, Queen's Bench division, in 2003. In 2010 he was appointed to be the Judge in Charge of the Queen's Bench jury lists. He is a fellow of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. He was formerly on the management committee of the Advice on Individual Rights in Europe Centre. Described by The Guardian as “Britain's leading expert on privacy law”, Tugendhat told the Commons' select committee on Culture, Media and Sport: “We must never underestimate the asset we have in the free press and I am afraid a free press is bound to be one that occasionally gets it wrong either by malice or mistake.”

His brother is Baron →Christopher Tugendhat: Baron Christopher Samuel Tugendhat is a British politician belonging to the Conservative Party, businessman, company director and chairman, journalist and author. He was knighted in 1991 and was created a life peer as Baron Tugendhat, of Widdington in the County of Essex in 1993, and is the chancellor of the University of Bath. He announced his intention to stand down on the 31st of July 2013, when he will be replaced by His Royal Highness Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex. He was chairman of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, the UK's first academic health science centre, until December 2011.

See also →The Guardian, 19 Sep. 2010, Mr Justice Tugendhat the libel judge of our dreams?

“Let's wait and see. Mr Justice Tugendhat's rise to senior media judge will be welcomed, but it's too soon to greet him as a press hero. If only, as people have repeatedly said over the years, Mr Justice Eady didn't exist. If only some other judge were ruling the libel roost – say that nice Mr Justice Tugendhat, with his more enlightened views about media restrictions. Well, the dreams are coming true – in theory, at any rate. Judges' are all different, from crusty to liberal, sleepy to sharp. Their verdicts do differ hugely, as learned counsel (like the David Eady of long ago) are wont to tell their clients. But that isn't the way judges themselves want to see justice portrayed. They think consistency the better part of wisdom. Maybe Sir Michael Tugendhat will be a fine press hero in the end – but don't hang out the flags and the wigs just yet.”

See also →Why exactly was this particular fellow chosen to adjudicate in the McAlpine-Bercow case?, 25 May 2013.

and →Michael Tugendhat's comments form part of the spiked-report Restraint or Revelation? Free speech and privacy in a confessional age, 22 Oct. 2002.