McCanns’ Mitchell moves on to new job

Clarence Mitchell, the man who gave up his British government role in 2007 to work as a spokesman for Gerry and Kate McCann, has a new job. Mitchell (pictured with Gerry McCann) has joined the PR and marketing agency Freud Communications. Mitchell will continue to work for the McCanns, whose daughter Madeleine went missing from a holiday flat in Portugal in May 2007, but only as an advisor.

"I am working on a freelance basis which will allow me to continue speaking for Kate and Gerry whenever Madeleine or the ongoing search for her is in the news", said Mitchell. "I am very happy to continue representing Kate and Gerry. This is not a parting of the waves. I need to expand and consolidate what I am doing," he added.

Mitchell has had a diverse career. Before he worked for the McCanns he worked first for the Central Office of Information and then the Foreign Office. Before that he was a journalist for 25 years - including a stint at the BBC where he covered the death of Princess Diana and the Soham murders.

When the McCanns hired Mitchell to act as their spokesman they faced criticism from the press for hiring a media-savvy PR man. However the man branded a "manipulative liar" by the Portuguese police proved his worth by quickly turning around the public perception of Gerry and Kate McCann, by aggressively combating negative stories about them in the British and Portuguese press.