'I KNEW SHE WASN'T MISSING'
Karen Matthews admits lying about Shannon kidnapping in chilling police interview
CHILLING footage shows Karen Matthews admit she lied about Shannon's disappearance in a police interview.
Matthews - dubbed "Britain's Most Hated Mum" - says she didn't tell police were Shannon was as she was scared "everybody would have a go at [her] for it".
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The mum-of-six's shocking admission came after her daughter Shannon was found drugged and tethered in a relative's grubby flat.
In the chilling interview Karen says she phoned police "so nobody would suspect her" after her daughter vanished.
At one point the detective asks Karen if she phones police as "part of an act to make it look like she was missing, when she really knew she wasn't missing"- and the mum agrees this is what she had done.
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When the detective asks why she didn't tell police where Shannon was when they came to the house, the bleary-eyed mum says: "Because I was in front of everybody and everybody would have had a go at me for it."
She then tries to backtrack, claiming she "knew Shannon was somewhere, but didn't know where".
Shannon Matthews disappeared on her way home from a swimming lesson at Westmoor primary school in 2008, in a case that shocked the nation.
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Hundreds of neighbours joined the search which cost West Yorkshire Police £3.2million and lasted 24 days.
Nine-year-old Shannon was eventually found in the base of a divan bed at Michael Donovan's flat after a three-week hunt, costing West Yorkshire Police £3.2million.
Donovan is the uncle of Karen Matthews' then-boyfriend Craig Meehan.
The pair devised the fake kidnapping in a bid to claim the £50,000 reward money for eventually "finding" Shannon.
They had planned to release the schoolgirl, "discover her" then take her to a police station and claim the reward before splitting.
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Matthews, now 40, finally confessed to her role in the despicable scheme to pal Natalie Brown, another neighbour Julie Bushby and a police officer.
Following the horrific ordeal Shannon was taken off Karen and placed in the care of her local authority after the trial.
She was given a new identity and is now living with a new family.
The family are now the focus of a BBC1 drama about Shannon’s abduction - the first part of which aired last Tuesday.
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When is The Moorside next on BBC and what is it about?
Episode two of The Moorside will air on Tuesday 14 February at 9pm.
For anyone who missed the first part of the show, you can catch up now using BBC's iPlayer.
The Moorside retells the story of the manhunt from the perspective of the friends of Karen Matthews.
Sheridan Smith plays neighbour Julie Bushby, the chair of the Moorside residents and tenants association that helped trace Shannon.
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