MADDY POLICE NEED MORE CASH
THE £12million British police probe into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann may be shelved this week.
Funding for the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Grange inquiry will have run out by Saturday.
Officers have applied to the Home Office for an extra £90,000 to keep the investigation going for another six months.
Policing Minister Nick Hurd was expected to sign it off but Home Secretary Amber Rudd has reportedly become involved and no decision has yet been taken.
If the Met’s bid for a further grant is rejected it is likely the four-strong team of detectives still working on the case will be wound down.
Though Scotland Yard could continue to pay for the probe from its own budget, the force has faced severe cutbacks.
Police union officials have called for the inquiry to be axed.
If the six-year investigation is halted it would be a bitter blow to parents Kate and Gerry.
Sources said they would pay for private detectives by dipping into a fund they set up after their threeyear-old daughter vanished on their Portuguese holiday in 2007.
But that cash pot has dwindled and the couple still have to pay Portuguese detective Goncalo Amaral’s legal costs after their bid to sue him for £1million in libel damages failed.
A source said: “If the Home Office doesn’t come through with the extra funds the police investigation will probably end. The police have asked for more money because they obviously believe there are still active leads to be followed up and there is progress to be made.
“It would be extremely frustrating if funding was to dry up without the police inquiry being allowed to reach a conclusion.” The Home Office is expected to make an announcement this week.
Madeleine vanished from the family’s apartment in Praia da Luz.
After the Portuguese police probe ended, the Met launched Operation Grange following an appeal from the McCanns to then Prime Minister David Cameron. More than 30 detectives were assigned to work on the case, funded by special Home Office grants. As part of the probe, officers went to Portugal to conduct searches. But as years passed funding and the size of the investigation team have been reduced.
The Met said: “There are no immediate plans to reduce officer numbers further at this time.”