Bill for Scotland Yard investigation into Madeleine McCann disappearance hits £11MILLION... but after no arrests are made former police chief calls for it to end
- Ex Flying Squad chief has suggested the probe should be wound down
- Comes after it was revealed £11million has been spent investigating case
- Met tasked with finding Madeleine in an inquiry called Operation Grange
- Team of 31 British detectives are exclusively working to find the girl
It has been reported that the bill of the Met Police inquiry to find Madeleine McCann, who went missing in Portugal eight years ago, has topped £11million
The search for Madeleine McCann has so far cost taxpayers almost £11million, it emerged last night.
Thirty-one police and support staff are still trying to find the missing child, who would now be 12.
The Metropolitan Police took over the hunt in 2011 after Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry made a personal plea to David Cameron.
A task force of 37 Scotland Yard detectives spent two years trawling through documents, witness statements and other evidence relating to Madeleine's disappearance from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.
No arrests have been made in four years and the Met is facing calls to wind down the inquiry.
'You can't keep chasing shadows, chasing sightings all over the world,' said John O'Connor, a former Flying Squad chief.
'It depends on whether the detectives are making any real progress. If there are no firm leads, and by that I mean no substantial operational things like active surveillance on suspects, then I'd have thought they should be considering winding it down now.
'Are there more recent cases that could be progressed with the right resources? It's about priorities.'
John Tully, who chairs the Met Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said: 'It is impacting on workloads – we have still got detectives with caseloads of up to 30 crimes each.
'It is laudable, but there are a number of detectives on it who could be tackling crimes in London that are solvable. It was never a Met crime. I'm not saying we should close it down, but someone in a senior position should look at it.'
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The Government set aside £5million for the Madeleine investigation, Operation Grange, but at the current rate of spending the bill will top £12million by next April.
It was initially set up as a review before being upgraded to a full-scale probe two years later.
Former Flying Squad commander John O'Connor, pictured, has spoken out saying the Met should consider winding their operation down
Last year, British police went to the Algarve a number of times to examine the scene and interviewed four local suspects and various witnesses.
They are said to have taken 67 return flights to Portugal at a cost of £16,000.
The bulk of the cost of the operation comes from salaries, overtime and property expenses.
A source close to the McCanns said: 'Kate and Gerry are eternally grateful to the Metropolitan Police for making Operation Grange possible. They are pleased so many officers are still looking for Madeleine.'
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'The Metropolitan Police commenced Operation Grange at the request of the Home Office who fully fund it.
'As such, it does not impact on other operations in London.'
A team of 31 British detectives are working exclusively to find the girl, who vanished from her parents' holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal. Pictured are police searching sewers in the area earlier this year
Police sniffer dogs search the area around Praia da Luz earlier this year. The Met have spent money on flights to Portugal, salaries, overtime and premises expenses but no arrests
Responding to grumbles about the cost of Scotland Yard's probe and fresh claims it should be wound down, a Portuguese source insisted: 'Nothing is going to be shelved.
'Co-operation right now between the British and the Portuguese police is at a moment of great synchronisation.'
Portugal's Attorney General's Office, which in May confirmed it had so far received five British requests for international cooperation on the Madeleine McCann case including one in January 2015, did not respond to emails yesterday.
But insiders said they were expecting to receive a new request shortly.
The Scotland Yard inquiry is running separately to a Portuguese probe into Madeleine's disappearance.
The Portuguese investigation was reopened in May 2014 at the request of the country's Policia Judiciaria police force - more than five years after their original probe had been shelved.
The reopening of the probe coincided with news a former employee at the Ocean Club holiday resort where Madeleine disappeared had been identified as a suspect.
Recovering heroin addict Euclides Monteiro, a convicted burglar, died in a tractor accident in 2009.
His widow Luisa Rodrigues was interviewed by Portuguese detectives but insisted he was an innocent man and has been fighting to get authorities to confirm they have now ruled him out as a suspect.
Even though Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry, pictured, live in Leicestershire, Scotland Yard was handed the investigation because of its expertise in investigating complex murder cases
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