Madeleine McCann vanished five years ago

 THE cost of a police review of the Madeleine McCann investigation is set to reach £2million in the year since it was launched. 

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s Homicide and Serious Crime Command are carrying out a re-examination of the original investigation into the girl’s disappearance in Portugal in May 2007.

The bill for 30 detectives, translation services and travel expenses has soared since David Cameron called in Scotland Yard following a request from Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann.

Since beginning work last May, the British officers have made at least four trips to Spain and Portugal to pursue lines of inquiry, meeting police and private investigators who were engaged in the original investigation.

When the Met probe was announced, it led to questions being asked about the use of public funds.

Labour peer Lord Harris said the case raised “very big questions”, adding: “There is clearly an issue about the resources being used.”

 Scotland Yard said it expected to recover £1.9million from the Home Office for the cost of the Madeleine case review up to the end of next month, of which it has already claimed £800,000. The bill is believed to include the cost of detectives’ salaries, translation and interpretation fees and travel expenses.

Madeleine was nearly four when she went missing from her family’s holiday apartment at Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3 2007 as her parents dined with friends nearby.

Since then, there have been hundreds of reported sightings of the missing girl around the world. None has been confirmed.

Portuguese detectives, helped by officers from Leicestershire Police, carried out a massive investigation into her disappearance.

The official inquiry was formally shelved in July 2008, and since then no police force has been actively looking for Madeleine.

Scotland Yard’s review of the case, called Operation Grange, was launched after a request from Home Secretary Theresa May, supported by the Prime Minister.

Officers are examining all the evidence connected to the case, including material gathered by a number of private investigators employed by the McCanns, from Rothley, Leicestershire, and their supporters.

A firm of private investigators in Spain handed the Met police team 30 boxes of evidence, which it claimed contained up to eight “important new leads”.

Commenting on reports that the investigation bill was approaching the £2million mark, a spokesman for Kate and Gerry McCann said the couple appreciated the help they were receiving.

He added: “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 ongoing.”

Critics have argued that the decision to bring in Met detectives to review the evidence about what happened to Madeleine has undermined the force’s independence and diverted resources from other crime victims.

Sources at Scotland Yard claim the inquiry could take years to ­complete and they have played down hopes of a major breakthrough in the review so far.