To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Karen Matthews Has A Pop At The McCanns

Karen Matthews Has A Pop At The McCanns

She called Kate McCann a "dreadful mother."

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

Karen Matthews has had a go at Kate McCann, calling her a "dreadful mother" for leaving the toddler home alone on the night of her disappearance, according to her friend.

Matthews, who become infamous after faking the kidnap of her own daughter Shannon, nine, told friend Julie Bushby: "I've been judged and I'm paying for it but Maddie's mother was bad too.

"At least my daughter was never left alone!"

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Julie said Matthews' rant continued with her saying: "Don't get me onto the McCanns, we've all got something to say about them.

Credit: PA

"We're too lower class for them but we can still have an opinion. There seems to be one rule for them and another for us but she was a dreadful mum.

"She left one, two, three babies alone while she was out eating and drinking with her mates. My Shannon was kept away from her family but she was never left alone."

Matthews was jailed alongside partner-in-crime Michael Donovan for eight years each after her daughter was found drugged and hidden under a bed West Yorkshire, almost a month after she was reported missing from the family home.

The search efforts to find Shannon was one of the biggest ever to take place in Yorkshire and cost around £3.2 million.

She was released after four years in April 2012, and now lives in a secret location in the south of England; she is reported to be a tee-total, born again Christian.

Now 41, Matthews has changed her name to Kate, apparently after one of the favourite Hollywood stars, and has recently found herself back in the public eye after the BBC drama Moorside was aired, which told the story of the case and featured a fictionalised version of Julie Busby.

Since it was broadcast, Matthews has been on the receiving end of a death threats and also had some mushy peas dumped over her head in a chip shop, near where she now lives.

Shannon and Karen Matthews. Credit: PA

Julie believes that Matthews may have been coerced into the crime, due to her low IQ.

At court it was alleged that the pair, who were known to each other through Matthews' boyfriend Craig, who was the nephew of Donovan, were 'inspired' by the Madeleine McCann case and were hoping to split the reward money for 'finding' Shannon.

Three-year-old Madeleine McCann vanished from the Algarve holiday apartment the family were staying at in May 2007 while her parents Kate and Gerry McCann were out eating tapas with friends at a nearby restaurant.

Julie told the paper: "Karen talked about Maddie and her family, the difference and unfairness of their social situations.

"She's never understood why British and Portuguese police haven't taken it any further and asks in her simple almost child-like state if it's because 'they're rich and posh and she's poor and common'."

Credit: PA

Last week, model Jodie Marsh also decided to wade in and have a go at the McCanns. Taking to Twitter to share a bizarre rant, she wrote: "In my opinion it's all going to come crashing down for the Mccanns....

"I must admit, if it were my child I'd be on my hands & knees digging up the earth with my bare hands! Nothing else would matter.....

"My dog went missing for 10 mins the other night & I was running up the street screaming her name like a lunatic. I was beside myself...

Credit: Twitter

"And if I was so hysterical over my dog, the hysteria would be ten-fold if it were my child. I wouldn't be suing people. I'd be SEARCHING.

"If someone told me that a void in the earth had been found I would NOT dismiss it. I would dig the earth myself!!!"

"Why are the Mccanns so concerned with all this legal action? Surely they should concentrate on finding Maddie?????

"If my child was missing, I wouldn't care who said what about me. I would just want to FIND HER!!!!!

"@KTHopkins isn't buying it and I don't think the majority of the public are anymore..... what do you think?"

Credit: PA

She then went on about being 'silenced' by a national magazine for an article she wrote on the McCanns.

However, since her Twitter rant, an article about the McCanns written by Marsh has appeared in Closer magazine, in which she defends what she says about the couple.

After the outburst a source close to the McCann's told the Daily Mail: "Kate and Gerry won't be saying anything to fuel this whirlwind of nonsense. They don't want to give these peoples' egos even more exposure."

The McCanns have always strenuously denied any wrongdoing and maintain that they believe their daughter is still out there, alive.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Kate McCann, Gerry McCann, Madeleine McCann