Operation Grange, the Metropolitan police investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has just been given a fresh cash-injection of €100,000 – after €14 million-worth of taxpayers’ money has been ploughed into it since 2011.
The new chunk of funding is expected to keep the inquiry alive until next April, say British tabloids.
It had been reported that Operation Grange was due to be wound up in October.
The Daily Mirror quoted a police source only last month saying the probe was “expected to be shelved amid concerns about its spiralling cost while other areas of policing face budget cuts”.
But between then and now, “a request for more cash was submitted to the Home Office” and signed off, says the Daily Star.
Thus, the hunt will “carry on until at least April”.
The Star quotes a spokesman for the Home Office saying: “The resources required will be reviewed again at this point.”
Grange’s manpower was vastly scaled down last year from 31 officers to four, and it is reported to be following “only one line of inquiry” – that centring on abduction following a botched burglary.
There are also apparently no plans for further forensic work (click here).
