Care-less testing

Even when there was only the tiniest flicker of hope they never gave up. There was always, just perhaps, a chance.

Now a dark reality presses in. And with the possibility that, at last, the harrowing, twisting search for Madeleine’s abductor may be over, comes an unwelcome relief.

While the pain of losing a three-year-old is unspeakable in any circumstances, Madeleine’s parents have also suffered the long awful agony of just not knowing.

The cruel torture of hope flailing against terrible probabilities.

The German police are conducting a murder hunt. Portuguese and British officers are officially keeping open minds about Madeleine’s fate.

There have been many heartstopping moments in the search for answers since Madeleine disappeared from the family’s holiday home in Portugal. Kate and Gerry’s suffering defies all description – accused of killing or selling their own child, libelled and disparaged.

Many questions still need answers – why has it taken so long, what was known about Christian Bruckner and why was he not investigated more thoroughly when he stood out as an early suspect?

For Gerry and Kate the pain will never end.

But the latest development offers the consolation of the one other thing they crave most – the truth, at last, about what happened to Madeleine.

TONY Robinson hit a nerve when he contrasted the celebration of Captain Tom’s fund-raising with the suffering of less fortunate heroes in our care homes.

Finally the Government is getting around to doing something about the scandal.

The promise made by Health Secretary Matt Hancock a month ago that all care home residents and staff would get coronavirus tests was due to be met yesterday. But care bosses say they are nowhere near the target.

Once again the Government is falling short of what is needed.