Detectives investigating Madeleine McCann disappearance have budget slashed by a fifth as search for missing girl enters 15th year
UK police have been granted funding to continue investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann for another year – but the budget has been slashed.
The specialist Metropolitan Police team has been given £86,000 for Operation Grange for 2026/27, a drop from £108,000 in the previous year,
It brings the total cost of the missing persons inquiry to around £13.3 million since it was launched 15 years ago in 2011.
Home Office ministers have approved a request from the Met to continue funding the probe, called Operation Grange, through 2026/27.
Madeleine was three when she vanished from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on the Algarve while on a break with her siblings and parents Kate and Gerry McCann.
The 19th anniversary of her disappearance will be on May 3.
Prime suspect and convicted rapist Christian Brueckner was released after serving a prison sentence in his native Germany last September.
He has never been charged with any crimes in connection with Madeleine.
Operation Grange consists of three police officers and one member of police staff who work on a part-time basis.
In 2024, one member of the team DC Mark Draycott, testified at Brueckner’s trial and said he had taken a call from a man called Helge Busching who had named Brueckner as a suspect in the Maddie case.
Retired Metropolitan Police detective Peter Bleksley said he could see why families of other missing children could be “angry” at the news funding was being continued despite the lack of further leads.
He said: ‘There will be parents of other missing children reading this and asking why the investigation into their child’s disappearance has not had the same level of funding and attention.
‘There’s possible confusion among them as to why there is still a dedicated team of officers looking at this. I can see why they would be angry when their child’s case has not had the same level of resources.
‘You have to ask, what have these millions achieved? The answer, sadly, is nothing.’
But another source said: ‘The (McCann) family will be pleased that the funding has been granted for another year. They have always had high hopes Maddie will be found.
‘Fifteen years since Grange launched, they still hope and pray for positive news.’
MORE: Newly unearthed footage challenges 18 years of claims in Madeleine McCann case
Earlier this month it was reported Bruckner had moved into a flat yards from a primary school near his home town of Braunschweig.
Officers said his Brueckner’s phone had pinged in the area on the night Madeleine disappeared.
German investigators say they believe Madeleine is dead but have no forensic proof tying Brueckner to the case.
Prosecutors have also pointed to evidence – including mobile phone data – indicating Brückner may have been in the area when Madeleine vanished.
MORE: SHE DIDN’T CALL HIM A MONSTER. SHE CALLED HIM “UNCLE CHRIS” WHO BROUGHT HER TOYS
Operation Grange began as an ‘investigative review’ of existing files but later upgraded to a full investigation in July 2013, allowing detectives to pursue new lines of enquiry alongside Portuguese and German authorities.
The Metropolitan Police drew up an initial list of 60 people of interest, 38 of whom it began investigating – but Portuguese authorities only allowed them to search one of three sites they had requested.
Last year, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said Brückner ‘remains a suspect for us’ in Madeleine’s case – which is still being treated as a missing person inquiry.
A Home Office source said Operation Grange was an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police but declined to comment further.
Last month, Channel 5 confirmed that they have commissioned a Madeleine McCann drama series that will focus on her mother Kate.
Actress Laura Bayston, who played Babs in season two of BBC’s Killing Eve, has taken on the role of Madeline’s mum for the new 90-minute film called Suspect: Kate McCann.
This is the first time that the missing case of Madeline has been made into a drama – although there have been many documentaries made for various television channels.
The McCanns are reportedly ‘aware of the film’ but ‘not involved editorially’.