Shannon mother remanded by court
The mother of Shannon Matthews has been remanded in custody after appearing in court charged in connection with the nine-year-old's disappearance.
Karen Matthews, 32, of Moorside Road, Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire, faces charges of child neglect and perverting the course of justice.
Shannon vanished on 19 February and was found 24 days later after one of the county's largest missing person hunts.
Ms Matthews was remanded in custody until 16 April.
The details of the child neglect charge state that she "wilfully neglected or abandoned" Shannon "in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to her health", between 18 February and 15 March.
The second charge states that Ms Matthews "repeatedly concealed information in relation to the whereabouts of Shannon Matthews in interviews and other contacts with officers with the West Yorkshire Police and claimed to have no knowledge of her whereabouts."
'Fair trial'
During the 13-minute hearing, Matthews was flanked by four dock officers.
Earlier today, she was led out of Dewsbury police station in handcuffs and was then driven the short distance into the back of the town's magistrates' court.
More than a dozen police officers were stationed outside the vehicle entrance to the court as the white prison vehicle entered the complex.
Ms Matthews was arrested on Sunday and charged with the offences on Tuesday night.
Announcing the charges, Peter Mann, spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: "We have carefully considered all of the evidence in the file and decided there is sufficient evidence to charge Karen Matthews with perverting the course of justice and child neglect.
"We will continue to keep this case under constant review."
Mr Mann said despite huge interest in the events surrounding Shannon Matthews, her mother "has the right to a fair trial".
Michael Donovan, 39, of Lidgate Gardens, Batley Carr, is accused of abducting Shannon.
He faces charges of kidnap and false imprisonment and a provisional trial date for him has been set for 11 November.
Mr Donovan, who was formerly known as Paul Drake, is the uncle of Shannon's stepfather Craig Meehan.
He was arrested by West Yorkshire Police after Shannon was found at his flat on 14 March.
Mr Meehan's sister, 25-year-old Amanda Hyett, and his mother Alice Meehan were also arrested on Friday.
Ms Hyett was questioned on suspicion of assisting an offender while Ms Meehan, 49, was arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Both were released on police bail.
Madeleine McCann case to be 'dropped by police'
Portuguese police are closing their investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann due to a lack of evidence, according to local media reports.
The missing three-year-old’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, are both official suspects - "arguidos” - in the police inquiry, along with Robert Murat.
However, Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha claimed sources within Portugal's judicial police said they did "not have sufficient evidence to allow formal charges to be brought against the McCanns in the disappearance of their daughter".
The Jornal de Noticias also reported that the police did not have enough evidence to charge either the McCanns or third suspect Robert Murat with any wrongdoing.
Advertisement"The police have not found the guilty," the paper added.
Maddie had been on holiday in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz with her parents, from Rothley, Leicestershire, when she vanished from the family's apartment on May 3 last year.
The McCanns' spokesman, Clarence Mitchell, said today that the family would “never give up searching for their daughter''.
He said: "If the reports are true, it is to be welcomed that no charges are to be brought and it is entirely right because Kate and Gerry are innocent of any involvement in their daughter's disappearance and always have been.
"They have suffered for far too long in this process and the Portuguese authorities must now lift their arguido status."
He continued: "The police themselves must continue looking for Madeleine. We are concerned that if they are to simply shelve the case then what will happen to all of the information in their files?
"They must be made available to our investigators, who are working extremely hard to find Madeleine.
"If the police feel that they can no longer investigate the case that is a decision for them."
He added that the McCanns would give their view on the investigation after they had been told officially that it had been dropped.
A missing child must be every parent's worst nightmare. :( Wonder whether we shall ever find out whether she is still alive.
