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RIDDLE: Madeleine vanished in 2007 PHOTO: PA |
A NEW probe by British cops into missing
Madeleine
McCann is being held up in a row over funding, we can reveal.
Police forces face cuts of tens of millions of pounds to their budgets
leaving no spare cash to pay for what would be a costly
re-investigation.
Home Secretary
Theresa May held a meeting with
Kate and
Gerry McCann early this month to discuss the search for their
daughter.
Senior officers at Scotland Yard have been consulted about taking on the
case. But despite the apparent early progress we can reveal that there
are two key stumbling blocks.
No police force can afford to take on the job which could take at least
two detectives away from other duties for as long as a year.
A source said: "The real issue that needs to be resolved is who is going
to pay for it? No police force can afford to agree to take on the case
without knowing where the funding will come from.
"The other issue which is as important to resolve is to ensure that
British officers will have full access in Portugal.
"At the moment there is no agreement in place that the Portuguese
authorities are going to allow and co-operate with a British
re-investigation.
"The review has highlighted the need for a thorough re-investigation
starting from scratch. The Metropolitan Police have been consulted and
are likely to be given the job, but not until all the problems have been
ironed out."
The McCanns, from Rothley, Leicestershire, appealed directly to former
Home Secretary Alan Johnson and now Mrs May for extra help.
Madeleine was three when she went missing from her family's
holiday flat
in
Praia da Luz
in May 2007. This year we broke the news that the Met's Homicide Command
have been approached to discuss taking on the investigation.
Jim Gamble, head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre,
told Labour ministers there were huge holes in the original inquiry.The
treasury are set to slash eight per cent of the policing budget for the
next three years threatening jobs. |