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30 murder squad detectives working on review ordered by David Cameron
last May
Probe could take YEARS to complete, senior figures have said
By Chris Greenwood
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Missing: Madeleine McCann vanished from the holiday
apartment she was staying in almost five years ago |
Scotland Yard’s review of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is on
course to cost £2million in its first year.
The team of 30 murder squad detectives has racked up a significant bill
since Prime Minister David Cameron called in the force last May.
They have made at least four trips to Portugal and Spain to gather
evidence, including a file of leads from private investigators.
The Metropolitan Police has already sent the Home Office a bill for
£800,000 but the figure is expected to rise to £1.9million by the end of
next month.
The cost includes the salaries of the detectives, translation and
interpretation fees, travel expenses and office staff.
Senior figures warned the inquiry, called Operation Grange, could take
years to complete and played down any hopes of a significant
breakthrough.
When the review was announced it sparked a row over the use of public
funds as the Government was accused of interfering with police
operations
Labour peer Lord Harris has said the case raises ‘very big questions’,
adding: ‘There is clearly an issue about the resources being used.’
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Pain: Kate and Gerry McCann mark the fourth
anniversary of the disapparance of their daughter last year.
As the book was released, David Cameron ordered Scotland
Yard to review all the evidence in the case |
But Kate and Gerry McCann, who personally asked Mr Cameron to intervene,
have welcomed the renewed police inquiry.
Madeleine disappeared from her parents’ holiday apartment in Praia da
Luz on the Algarve in Portugal on May 3 2007.
She vanished days before her fourth birthday as her parents dined with
friends just a few short distance away.
Since then the case has become one of the most infamous crime mysteries
in modern history with hundreds of ‘sightings’ of Madeleine worldwide.
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Snatching: The apartment Madeleine McCann was snatched from
in Praia de Luz, Portugal, in May 2007, while her parents
were at dinner nearby - and coming back regularly to check
on their children |
The official police inquiry into her disappearance was shelved in July
2008 but private detectives employed by the McCanns continued the
search.
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Holiday apartment: Portuguese police search
the apartment that Madeleine McCann vanished from |
Scotland Yard detectives, led by Detective Chief Inspector John Redwood,
have met police and private investigators engaged in the original
inquiry.
They have also had reams of paperwork, including statements, police
reports and forensic documents, translated.
In December detectives met Spanish colleagues in Barcelona to check on
reports that the toddler had been abducted and smuggled across the
border.
Private investigators in Spain also handed the Met police team 30 boxes
of evidence which they claimed contained up to eight ‘important new
leads’.
A spokesman for the McCanns said: ‘They have always been very
appreciative of the time and resources that the British police and Home
Office have committed to the search for Madeleine and they are grateful
that the review is on-going.’ |
