Madeleine McCann police apply for another cash boost as £13m already spent

Investigators searching for Madeleine McCann are hoping to receive new funding to continue the search.

The Metropolitan Police requested fresh funds from the Home Office and, according to reports, the application is likely to be approved.

A source close to the investigation told The Sun: “This is excellent news. Maddie’s parents Kate and Gerry will be delighted. It gives fresh hope.”

Peter Bleksley, a former Met detective, said: “As long as there are unanswered questions I can see why there is a case.

“But, in this time of squeezed budgets, I can also see why eyebrows would be raised at further funding.

“I understand the frustrations of families that have missing children who do not have the luxury of such ongoing funding.”

So far their missing persons investigation, Operation Grange, has cost an estimated £13m since 2011. This year another £302,470 in funding was approved.

Madeleine went missing from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz on 3 May 2007 as her parents dined at a nearby restaurant.

In September, Gerry and Kate McCann said they were “disappointed” to have lost their legal battle over comments made by a former Portuguese detective.

Goncalo Amaral claimed in a book, a documentary and a newspaper interview that Mr and Mrs McCann were involved in their three-year-old daughter’s disappearance.

Lawyers for the McCanns had argued that Portuguese authorities had breached their right to respect for a private and family life. But in a judgement published late last year, the European Court of Human Rights rejected the couple’s arguments, finding that there was extensive publicity around the claims against them before Mr Amaral published his book in July 2008.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We have received an application from the Metropolitan Police Service for the funding of Operation Grange for the 2023/24 financial year.

“It will be considered, as usual, in line with our Special Grant process.”

The Metropolitan Police said it would not comment on finances for active cases.