From: Anthony Bennett 66 Chippingfield
Tel: Harlow (01279) 635789 HARLOW
e-mail: ajsbennett@btinternet.com Essex
CM17 0DJ
Carter-Ruck Thursday 9 September 2010
Solicitors
6 St. Andrew Street
LONDON
EC4A 3AE
Your ref: Stevie Loughrey
AT/IH/SVL//13837.5
Sent by e-mail and hard copy by Certificate of Posting
Dear Sirs
re: Your clients Dr Gerald and Dr Kate McCann - The publication of information about websites which carry ‘60 Reasons’ and other Madeleine Foundation literature by the world-wide web forum ‘PFA2’ and the poster known as ‘Chicane’
As I have confirmed in my recent letters to you, most recently those of 16 and 20 August, neither I nor The Madeleine Foundation promote in any way links to the many websites, forums, blogs etc. where the entire content of my ‘60 Reasons’ book and The Madeleine Foundation’s ‘10 Reasons’ leaflet can be read.
I recently drew your attention to the activities of Mr Ian West of Norwich, a.k.a. ‘muratfan’, a strong supporter of your clients, who recently promoted two links where these could be read by the public on his blog. Since my letter to you, it appears he has removed those links.
However, my attention was drawn yesterday to further free publicity which was given to our literature earlier this week by a person known as ‘Chicane’, on an internet forum known as ‘PFA2’. ‘Chicane’, often referred to as ‘Chicanery’ on the internet, is another vehement supporter of your clients. S/he and other posters on the ‘PFA2’ site, as can clearly be seen from a brief view of it, spend most of their time in campaigning against The Madeleine Foundation, including much personal and often obscene criticism of myself.
‘Chicane’ did this in the form of ‘An Open Letter to Tony Bennett’, published on PFA2, in which s/he cited no fewer than three links to sites where s/he said our literature may be found. These were: (a) a Dutch web-site (b) Amazon Books and (c) a website known as ‘Let Amaral Speak’. I will not give the actual links here since, in accordance with my policy on correspondence with yourselves, I will circulate this letter - but I will not myself reproduce the actual links, as ‘Chicane’ has done. ‘Chicane’ states that s/he has sent you a copy of her/his ‘Open Letter’ to you by e-mail. The link for the thread on PFA2 begun by ‘Chicane’ is at:
http://www.pfa2.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=6599
Lest it be thought by yourselves and your clients that I am in breach of my undertaking in ‘allowing’ these links to continue, I will give the following details in response to each of the three links publicised by ‘Chicane’ and ‘PFA2’:
a) The Dutch website. I knew nothing about this until I was told about ‘Chicane’s posting yesterday. At 3.38pm yesterday, as soon as I found out about this further site publicising my book, I left a message via that site’s ‘Guestbook’, the only means I could find of contacting that site, warning them in clear terms that your clients regard the content of ‘60 Reasons’ as libellous. I believe that ‘Chicane’ is of Dutch origin.
b) Amazon’s listing of the German version of ‘60 Reasons’. ‘Chicane’ claims: “Amazon clearly advertises your ‘60 reasons’ book, translated in [the] German language, by Vera Steinke, and, though limited, is still available!” For your information, ‘Chicane’ is wrong. We have been in correspondence with Amazon in the past and they do not supply any of my books about Madeleine McCann. Indeed, when you click on the link for the German version of ‘60 Reasons’, the following message comes up: ‘Out of Print - Limited Availability’.
c) The publication of our leaflet on Gonçalo Amaral on the ‘Let Amaral Speak’ website. ‘Chicane’ says this: “The [Let Amaral Speak] website shows the full content of the Amaral leaflet of which you have agreed to remove any copy that comes to your knowledge, as it is plain libellous”. Chicane is of course incorrect in that we gave no such assurance or promise to you about this particular leaflet. What I wrote to you on 3 August 2010 was as follows:
“In addition to the actions mentioned in my previous e-mail that we have already taken in response to your letter of 15 July, we have made several further changes to the material on our website concerning Mr Gonçalo Amaral, Gonçalo Amaral Day etc. In specific response to the demands you made about our leaflet, The Madeleine Foundation has decided in addition not to distribute this leaflet any further nor print further copies of it. Several thousand copies had already been distributed in the weeks leading up to Saturday 17 July which we termed ‘Gonçalo Amaral Awareness Day’.”
I gave this assurance without conceding the claim by yourselves, your clients and ‘Chicane’ that our leaflet was ‘clearly libellous’.
Why first Ian West/‘muratfan’ and now ‘Chicane’ should, within a couple of weeks of each other, publicise no fewer than five websites where our material on Madeleine’s disappearance can be read, is a matter only they can answer. There are many more sites e.g. ‘torrent’ sites where our material is carried and wherever we are notified of a fresh occurrence, we attempt to contact the site owners informing them that your clients regard this material as libellous of themselves. The ‘banning’ of the ‘60 Reasons’ book and the ‘10 Reasons’ leaflet by your clients in November 2009 only drew further attention to them.
‘Chicane’s post comes up on Google Alerts, and maybe others, thus meaning that, potentially, thousands more people would for example be able to view the entire content of ‘60 Reasons’. Already that thread has been viewed by people.
You can, if your clients wish you to, contact the forum owner of the ‘PFA2’ site via the link given above, while ‘Chicane’ can be contacted at this e-mail address: chicane68@googlemail.com
Finally, you have elected not to acknowledge, to date, any of my letters sent to you on the following dates: 20 July, 3 August, 16 August and 20 August.
Yours faithfully
Anthony Bennett
