Madeleine ‘scam’ detective found dead

A private detective accused of siphoning off money donated to the hunt for Madeleine Mccann has been found dead in his “bloodied” house.

Kevin Halligen, 56, gained notoriety when he was accused of mis-using £300,000 donated by the public in the hunt for the toddler who vanished from an Algarve resort in May 2007.

Adrian Gatton, a TV director who knew Mr Halligen well, said the man had sunk into alcoholism, and the blood in his Surrey house was “probably caused by falls when he was either drunk or blacking out.” Surrey Police said the death was currently being treated as “unexplained”.