And dozens of relatives and friends had been invited to share in what was to be a laughter-filled family celebration. Madeleine's fourth birthday party.
But instead of watching proudly as her daughter unwraps her presents, mum Kate will endure the ongoing nightmare of her little girl's abduction from Portugal's Praia da Luz resort.
Yesterday, the mum-of-three looked near collapse as she and husband Gerry made yet another appeal for the safe return of Madeleine, who went missing nine days ago.
They wore or laid items of green plants, trinkets and T-shirts to create a symbol of hope that she will be found. But instead, as Madeleine should be waking for her fourth birthday in a Leicestershire village, the search for her is looking increasingly hopeless. There were new leads in the Portuguese newspapers yesterday, as there have been all week. A man who fled with a blonde woman after photographing young girls, a few days before Madeleine vanished, drove a car with British number plates. They might be the same " British" couple caught on CCTV at a petrol station at Lagos, near Praia da Luz, hours after the abduction. Another couple, possibly British, from the McCanns' holiday complex the Mark Warner Ocean Village were said to have been taken to a nearby police station, perhaps for an identity parade in front of Madeleine's parents.
But neither of the unconfirmed reports really stacks up. Would abductors really stop at the first petrol station just out of the resort? And would suspects stay at Ocean Village, under the noses of police?
In an attempt to draw a line under damaging perceptions over sleaze and spin in the Blair era, the chancellor will seek consensus for the historic move to enshrine certain values and rights.
The convention will also look at new powers for parliament and a rebalancing of powers between Whitehall and local government, similar to those laid out in the US constitution of 1787 which has a central place in American law and culture.
Tony Blair led a clutch of Labour heavyweights, including some of Mr Brown’s political opponents, in finally endorsing the Chancellor as his successor.
Mr Blair said yesterday he was “absolutely delighted” to give Mr Brown his full support. He said his Chancellor had “got what it takes to lead the Labour Party and, indeed, the country with distinction”.
The Chancellor said he would govern Britain in a different way – “I want to lead a government humble enough to know its place” – as he lambasted the excessive use of spin and the cult of celebrity, and pledged to restore trust in Labour and politics.
But he also accepted for the first time that mistakes had been made in Iraq, saying that much more must be done to promote economic development and political reconciliation.
His decision to make an early visit to see army chiefs on the ground and the Iraqi Government will raise speculation that Mr Brown would like to speed up the timetable for British withdrawal. British forces are due to hand over control of Basra to Iraqi forces by the end of the year, when troop levels will be reduced from about 7,000 to 2,000.
The Chancellor, who will probably take over as Prime Minister on 27 June, put some distance between himself and Mr Blair over Iraq without issuing a formal apology. He said he would visit the Middle East in the next few weeks to "learn the lessons we have to learn from the last few years as we focus on the best ways to achieve greater stability."
HUMBLE Gordon Brown yesterday declared he was ready to become the “servant” of the British people.
The PM-in-waiting vowed to put the nation FIRST — but ensure he remained a family man with wife Sarah and their sons.
Mr Brown — who wore a yellow ribbon for missing holiday tot Maddie McCann — also pledged to put the Great back into Britain and make the UK the “success story” of the 21st century.
I WILL LISTEN ..AND LEARN says the Mirror
In a thinly veiled criticism of Tony Blair's showbusiness style, he said: "I have never believed presentation should be a substitute for policy. I do not believe politics is about celebrity."
Mr Brown also indicated there will be significant policy switches on Iraq, the NHS, housing and Parliamentary power.
The Mail chooses a different lead to the other papers
A jab that will cure high blood pressure
British scientists have developed a vaccine to control high blood pressure which could save tens of thousands of lives a year in the UK alone.
Based on a protein found in limpets, it would need a course of just three jabs, with a booster every six months.
Reminding us that
High blood pressure, which affects a third of all adults, doubles the risk of dying from heart disease or stroke and is blamed for 60,000 deaths a year in Britain.
It is currently treated with pills, but they can cause side-effects and some patients simply stop taking them.
Meanwhile in France reports the Telegraph
Paris meeting boosts Franco-British links
Tony Blair became the first foreign leader to see the newly-elected French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, when the two men met yesterday in Paris.The pair, who held talks at Mr Sarkozy's temporary offices and then dined together, are said to have focused on next month's EU summit in Brussels, where the future of the constitutional treaty will be discussed.
Adding
On a personal level, the two men both admitted to being "on the same wavelength", and a diplomatic source said Mr Sarkozy was simply keen to "pick his brains".
"There is a lot that Blair can tell Sarkozy that can help him in his first 100 days," the source said. "Sarkozy is really interested in Blair and sees him as an important world and European figure."
Police in tube killing will not be disciplined reports the Guardian
The family of Jean Charles de Menezes, the young Brazilian man mistakenly shot dead by police hunting a suicide bomber in south London two years ago, reacted angrily to the announcement yesterday that none of the officers involved in the operation would face disciplinary proceedings. One of his relatives said the police were being allowed "to get away with murder".
None of the 11 officers whose actions were investigated will face proceedings, the Independent Police Complaints Commission ruled yesterday. No decision has yet been made about the four senior officers who authorised the shooting at Stockwell underground station on July 22 2005 when Menezes was on his way to work.
CALL THIS JUSTICE? says the Mirror
THE police who shot dead Jean Charles de Menezes after mistaking him for a terrorist are "getting away with murder", his furious family said yesterday.
They hit out after it was announced that not one of the 11 frontline officers involved in the shooting will be disciplined.
His cousin Patricia da Silva Armani said: "It is a travesty of justice and another slap in the face for our family." The Independent Police Complaints Commission said there was "no realistic prospect of disciplinary charges being upheld".
The same paper reports on the
KIDNEY DEBT GAMBLER FREED
A SALESMAN who tried to sell one of his kidneys to pay off a £25,000 gambling debt walked free from court yesterday.
Daniel Tuck advertised his organ for sale in an internet chatroom and agreed a price of £24,000 with a man who turned out to be a reporter.
The 26-year-old became the first person in Britain to be successfully prosecuted for breaking the Human Tissue Act and could have been jailed for up to three But he was given a 12-month sentence suspended for two years after admitting offering to supply human material for transplantation.
The Times reports that
Higher interest rates expected to widen house price divide
The latest rise in interest rates is likely to accentuate the divide between house prices outside the capital and those in the most sought-after of London postcodes.
The haves (people who are merely rich) and the have-yachts (people who are rich beyond the dreams of avarice) are forecast to continue to drive up prices in Central London, the world’s most expensive residential zone, for the rest of the year.
Growth in Central London could be as high as 20 per cent this year, but elsewhere prices may falter as rate rises begin to bite. Only properties right at the top end of the market will retain their value, according to Yolande Barnes, of Savills, who said that the direction of the market was now all about which rung of the ladder you are on.
Paisley marks visit to Boyne with warm words and reconciliation reports the Independent
The new Ireland of good neighbourliness continued to assert itself over the old Ireland of historical dispute when the Rev Ian Paisley, Northern Ireland's new First Minister, ventured south of the border to one of the most hallowed sites of Protestantism and Unionism.
In the latest in a remarkable series of highly symbolic events, Mr Paisley visited the river Boyne, where in 1690 a Protestant king defeated a Catholic monarch in a major military clash. Each year in Northern Ireland, tens of thousands of Protestants still take to the streets to celebrate the victory of King William III over James II, in what many Catholics resent as provocative triumphalism.
But yesterday Mr Paisley introduced an entirely new tone by accompanying the Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, on a visit which stressed mutual respect and reconciliation rather than the enduring defeat of one tradition by another.
Paisley's unity call on Boyne battlefield says the Telegraph
A battlefield which for years has been synonymous with religious division in Ireland was yesterday the scene of a unique ceremony underlining the new spirit of reconciliation between Protestants and Catholics.
Some of the papers speculate about a new entrant into the US presidential race
Bloomberg readying for a run at White House says the same paper
The Daily Telegraph has established that a senior aide to Mr Bloomberg has held three lunch meetings with officials from the Independence Party, during which detailed discussions took place as to how a third-party bid could be launched. Kevin Sheekey, Mr Bloomberg's special adviser and chief political strategist, first met Frank MacKay, the New York chairman of the Independence Party, for talks in November at Manhattan's Four Seasons hotel. Two further lunch meetings took place in quick succession early last month over steak and seafood at the city's well-known Bobby Van's restaurant.
Meanwhile on the Democratic side the Times reports
Glamour, grit and homespun charm: Mrs Obama gets another day job
Michelle Obama, the Harvard-educated African-American wife of the Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, announced yesterday that she was quitting her job to join her husband on the campaign trail.
Mrs Obama’s entrance on to the national stage is a careful ploy to cut into Hillary Clinton’s overwhelming strength among women voters – the dominant constituency in the Democratic primaries. It also served to accustom America to the idea that an Obama victory in 2008 would give the country its first black First Lady.
It also reports on a rising crisis in Pakistan
Pakistan set to declare state of emergency
President Musharraf could declare a state of emergency in Pakistan amid growing civil unrest against his increasingly embattled regime.
Security forces were placed on high alert yesterday, detaining hundreds of activists on the eve of an anti-government rally in Karachi. Rival demonstrations are planned by supporters of General Musharraf, raising fears of violent clashes in the southern port city today.
According to the Guardian
Google may use games to analyse net users
Internet giant Google has drawn up plans to compile psychological profiles of millions of web users by covertly monitoring the way they play online games.
The company thinks it can glean information about an individual's preferences and personality type by tracking their online behaviour, which could then be sold to advertisers. Details such as whether a person is more likely to be aggressive, hostile or dishonest could be obtained and stored for future use, it says.
The Express reminds us
TV AD TO REMIND SMOKERS OF JULY BAN
A new TV advert will remind people that the smoking ban which comes in on July 1 does not apply only to pubs and clubs.
The Government advert will be shown for the first time on Monday evening.It shows a man walking through a cafe, a pub, a garage and an office. He explains that from July 1 smoking will no longer be allowed in enclosed and substantially enclosed public places and workplaces.The campaign was announced on Saturday, 50 days before the ban comes into effect.
The Sun has one of those wonderful exclusives
Jail's luxury food scandal
PAMPERED murderers at Broadmoor Hospital have cooked up a row over the amount of CHICKEN in their tikka.
The patients demanded extra meat in the curry sauce, more expensive bread and their ham trimmed of fat by chefs.
And they moaned they sometimes went without their favourite fizzy drinks, as the vending machines were not refilled frequently enough.
Incredibly bosses at the topsecurity hospital in Berkshire — which houses some of Britain’s most notorious murderers and paedophiles — BOWED to the demands.
As does the Mail
£336,000 worth of travel expenses for civil servant paid to advise on saving money
The man who ensures that public money is spent properly faced uncomfortable questions after racking up an eye-watering £336,000 expenses bill for a string of trips around the world.
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, has travelled to over 43 countries in the last three years - including exotic destinations such as Mauritius and Bahamas - at the taxpayers' expense.
His wife Lady Bourn has accompanied him on 22 of the stays at a cost of £76,000 in travel expenses.
The Comptroller and Auditor General was forced to reveal details of his globetrotting under freedom of information laws.
Finally the Telegraph looks forward to tonight's annual event
Critics predict nil points for UK entry
Scooch, Britain's entry, have been mocked even more than usual for their song Flying the Flag, their high-camp, double-entendre-littered ditty about air stewards and stewardesses. One review said: "Assume Crash Position."
The boy-girl band which enjoyed brief success in the 1990s won the BBC competition Making Your Mind Up to become the UK's entry for the final tonight in Helsinki.
The Sun agrees
Scooch are plane awful
IT takes a special talent to be outstandingly bad in the notoriously cheesy Eurovision Song Contest.
First off, there is fierce opposition to beat from 41 other countries.
It’s simply not enough to belt out a routine of tacky and banal bubblegum pop while dressed in tasteless Eighties outfits.
But it adds
But to really set itself apart, a truly dire performance needs to offer something inspired.
Something like the following lyrics, sung with a straight face: “Ba-ba-da, Ba-ba-da, Ba-da-da-ba, ba-da. Duty free madam? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.”
These, then, are the lines of the UK’s 2007 Eurovision entry, as performed by Scooch.
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