Madeleine McCann cops given £110k of government money to keep search going as divers scour lake in Portugal
BRITISH police searching for Madeleine McCann have been given an extra £110,000 in their painstaking hunt – signalling they could be on the verge of a breakthrough.
Scotland Yard’s cash boost from the Home Office comes as the first major search for Maddie in nine years has started today at a remote reservoir in Portugal.
The Met Police had asked for renewed funding this financial year to keep their investigation, codenamed Operation Grange, going.
A Home Office spokesperson said today: “Ministers have approved a request to provide up to £110,000 for Operation Grange in 2023-24.
“It was considered, as usual, in line with our Special Grant process which is approved on an annual basis.”
The Government aid will be warmly welcomed by , who faced the poignant 16th anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance three weeks ago.
But the sum approved has been cut by two thirds from the previous year under Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who was appointed in October last year.
Officials had previously approved a request for £302,470 during the financial year 2022-23.
The Maddie inquiry has cost taxpayers more than £13million since it was launched 12 years ago.
The McCann’s remain “on tenterhooks” as German detectives, supported by Portuguese cops, undergo a dramatic new search to find her body in a reservoir and dam 30 miles from where the holiday resort the three year-old girl vanished from in May 2006.
Kate and Gerry will be “kept informed every step of the way of any development” by Met officers who will be observing the latest hunt, a family source said.
The couple said on the latest sad anniversary: “The police investigation continues, and we await a breakthrough.”
As cops begin scouring the area described by prime suspect Christian B as his “little paradise”, they will remain at home in Rothley, Leicestershire, anxiously awaiting any news.
They refuse to believe their child is dead until her remains have been found.
Their former spokesperson Clarence Mitchell said: “Until a body is found and it is proved to be Madeleine’s, Kate and Gerry are not giving up hope.
“They will be made aware of the latest search and will be kept informed every step of the way of any development.
“It leaves Kate and Gerry on tenterhooks and in a state of limbo not knowing if there will be a breakthrough or not.
“It is another desperately difficult time for them.”
He added: “This reservoir has been searched before and German police can search it all they like but it doesn’t mean they will find anything.”
Police are expected to spend several days dredging the murky waters near Silves which has been put on a no-fly zone.
Jailed sex offender Christian B, 45, was named as the the key suspect in Maddie’s disappearance three years ago.
‘NEVER GIVE UP’
German authorities are convinced she is dead and have been intent on charging him with her kidnap and “no body” murder.
He has vehemently denied any involvement in the youngster’s kidnap.
After he was named as the prime suspect, former GP turned medical worker Kate, now 45, and renowned heart doctor Gerry, 44, said: “All we have ever wanted is to find her, uncover the truth and bring those responsible to justice.
“We will never give up hope of finding Madeleine alive but whatever the outcome may be, we need to know as we need to find peace.”
Maddie went missing from a holiday apartment while left sleeping alone with her younger twin siblings Sean and Amelie.
At the time her parents were dining in a nearby tapas restaurant with pals.
If alive, she would now be aged 20.
At the recent anniversary prayer gathering in the family’s home village Kate’s uncle Brian Kennedy said: “Sixteen years without someone and still not knowing where they are is a very long time.
“Even if it was bad news, in some ways, would give us some closure.
“But with no closure there is still hope.”
