In answer to H.Power,Northampton.What would you call leaving three children alone in a flat while you dined out with friends which to me was further than leaving your children in a bedroom at home and you sitting in the garden.I call it irresponsible.What if Madeleine had woke up and left the flat looking for her mommy and daddy and not knowing where they were.She could have wandered off and got lost and then 2 other children would have been left on their own.Where are you coming from.I tell you I wouldn,t like you to look after any of my children for fear of them being left alone and being abducted.Get Real.Poor family more like POOR MADELEINE.

Teresa, Tipton, UK

How can Christopher Benjamin say the McCanns acted irresponsibly on the evening of Madeleine's abduction. As the McCanns said, it was no different than having dinner in their garden and leaving their children in the house asleep. The person or persons who took Madeleine are the irresponsible ones. I sincerely hope that Madeleine is found and that there can be a happy ending to this horrible, horrible nightmare. I am having trouble sleeping at night and so are many of my friends. This situation has affected a lot of people but no one more than her own parents - how dare anyone say that they are irresponsible.

H Power, Northampton, UK

My prayers and thoughts are with this poor family - may God be merciful and bring that beautiful child home safe to them.
Abduction of children is a vile act and something has to be done worldwide to stop this happening. In the UK we have had children snatched from their baths when people were in the home, so it is evident nowhere is safe any longer.
No blame should be attached to the parents - it is obvious that someone within that complex had easy access to these apartments or else they were easy to break into!
More care needs to be taken everywhere.
Again, my prayers are for Maddy to comehome safe and sound and totally unhurt.
God Bless and keep them and all children safe.

Chips Westwood, Sarlat La Caneda, France

Can not the British Embassy remind the Portuguese Government/Police that they have an obligation, under their commitment, as a full member of Interpol, who have a specialist Departments for child abduction and trafficking. They are surely particularly obliged to share their investigation of a lost foreign national?? see..
http://www.interpol.int/Public/THB/default.asp

Keith Baigrie, Dartmouth, England

The most chilling question for me is this:

Why have £2.6 million not been enough to persuade the abductor to return her?

What is the answer?

Dan Baynes, Barton Seagrave,

Lot of love to Madelein's parents and I sincerely hope they will find their beautiful child the soonest. YES, I AM SURE THEY WILL FIND HER!

from Roma
Cristina

Cristina, Roma, Italia

They are going through enough grief already, without anyone accusing them of being irresponsible
They seem like loving parents and I hope they find Madeleine and she comes home safe
Good luck and lots of love to everyone that is looking for her

C, England,

I dont think that the parents should feel guilty about what has happened to their daughter. Twenty years ago we were in Fiji for a holiday and did exactly the same thing to our then 2 year old son. Never for one moment did we think that anything would happen to him. It is terrible that parents cannot have some time to themselves especially when they are in a family like resort having dinner just 50 meters away. In todays evil world, parents have the extra burden of the threat of child abduction for whatever reason. What the parents are going through is unimaginable, someone somewhere must know where this girl is. To the person or persons responsible for this evil crime, your day will come where you will burn in hell for all eternity. My heartfelt prayers go to the family that your little girl will be found soon safe and well.

Virginia, Brisbane, Australia

What kind of people are so desperate to apportion blame, that they add insult to abject injury, by even thinking of pointing an accusatory finger at these two heartbroken parents?
Pushing a 4 yr old out into the sea 200 yards in an inflatable boat , and then turning to face the other way, could be deemed irresponsible... but tucking them up safely in a hotel room, walking 200 yards to get a bite to eat, and then checking every 15 minutes, is hardly the act of reckless parenting.
We live in a culture obsessed with "Blame". You trip on a curb and break an ankle? Sue the council. Somebody you love dies from cancer after smoking for 40 years, blame the tobacco companies.
We inhabit a world full of potential dangers, we cannot legislate for ALL. These lovely people, have had their world ripped apart in full public view. They are feeling pain you and I will never know. You want to blame anyone? Find who took Madeleine.. THEN start throwing rocks.
My heart is with you McCanns. God Bless!

Phil J N, Liverpool, England

You only have to look at the three beautiful children the McCanns have to see the type of parents they are. I admire them greatly for their stoicism and their faith. I hope Madeleine has inherited their strength. When I lost my child briefly in a crowded park I experienced terror in the few minutes before I found her so I can understand the hell they are going through. I am praying for Madeleine's safe return. She is constantly in my thoughts and prayers.

Jo, Sydney, Australia

I am sick of this mass hysteria!

Anabelle, London,

They are showing incredible endurance, not only in the immediacy of their daughter's disappearance, but also in their own feelings of guilt. I also believe that they are responsible parents, doing what many others would do in the same circumstances. They seem like intelligent people who weighed the possible risks to their children and didn't so much as make an error as got monumentally unlucky.

As Mrs McCann said, Madeleine could just as easily been taken from the room as they slept next door.

Dealing with this situation, and knowing that they are also being judged for their actions by strangers, must also be horrific for them. It's very easy to point the finger, and hindsight is a great thing!

May they continue to have strength, for themselves and their other children, and I hope that Madeleine is found soon.

Rachel, Bookham,

I feel so sorry for the McCanns, the worst part of it is the not knowing, I think. I hope they will solve the mystery, and I pray their daughter is safe and their family can be reunited. I think all parents would feel guilty given the circumstances, but I don't think they should beat themselves up; they seem to be such honest and good people. If more people were like that, the world would be a better place.

Annette, Copenhagen, Denmark

I can never say i understand how the McCanns feel and the hurt they are going through. I do agree they are responible parents but the night in question they acted irresponible. I hope they find there daughter. May God give them strength.

Christopher Benjamin, London,