The disappearance of Madeleine McCann sparked a worldwide manhunt back in 2007 after she went missing in Portugal.
Madeleine was just three years old at the time and, some 16 years later, officers with the Met Police are still working on cracking the case as part of the Operation Grange inquiry.
But who funds it, and just how much has it cost over the years?
Disappearance of Madeleine McCann: How much has Operation Grange cost?
According to the Government website: “Funding for the investigation is provided by the Home Office through Special Grant funding which is usually available to police forces when they face significant or exceptional costs.”
These Special Grants need to be applied for every six months, with the latest – reportedly for £110,000 – said to have been signed off ahead of the recent search of a Portuguese reservoir.
A Home Office spokesperson said at the time: “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.”
Operation Grange started in 2011. Since then, according to the Independent, more than £13 million has been allocated to finding Madeleine.
‘The Home Office continues to fund Operation Grange’
According to the Operation Grange homepage on the Met Police website: “The Home Office continues to fund Operation Grange.”
And the Home Office is largely funded by the taxpayers – whether that’s through income tax, VAT or companies paying tax.
However, every time new funding is approved it is said to offer “fresh hope” to Madeleine’s parents. Kate and Gerry McCann also run a charity, and their fundraising has paid for private searches over the years.
Most expensive search in Portuguese history
The costs incurred by German and Portuguese authorities are unknown.
However, Lisbon’s then-attorney general Fernando Jose Pinto Monteiro previously said that the search for Madeleine had been the most expensive in the country’s history.
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