The budget for detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been slashed, we can reveal.
They have been granted a further £108,000 to carry on the search for her – a drop of £84,000 on the amount awarded last year, MailOnline has learned.
The money was approved earlier this month following a request from the Metropolitan Police‘s Operation Grange team who were specifically tasked to find the toddler.
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.
Next month will mark the 18th anniversary of her disappearance on May 3, and also her 22nd birthday but there has been no real breakthrough in the hunt.
Last year German rapist and paedophile Christian Brueckner, who was identified as a prime suspect, was cleared of unrelated sex attacks in the same area Madeleine vanished from.
It was hoped that he could provide some insight but despite a tumultuous announcement in June 2020 by German prosecutors of their suspicions he has not been charged with anything in relation to Madeleine.
Investigators said he was their ‘prime suspect’ and were certain of his involvement in her abduction, even going so far as to say she was dead, adding more heartache for her parents.
The budget for detectives investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (pictured) has been slashed, we can reveal
They have been granted a further £108,000 to carry on the search for her – a drop of £84,000 on the amount awarded last year, MailOnline has learned. Pictured: File photo
Last year German rapist and paedophile Christian Brueckner (pictured), who was identified as a prime suspect, was cleared of unrelated sex attacks in the same area Madeleine vanished from
Brueckner is currently serving seven years for raping an elderly American woman in the Algarve the year before Madeleine disappeared and he is due to be released later this year.
Prosecutors are awaiting a final judgement on his acquittal last October before deciding on an appeal, but Brueckner’s lawyers have told MailOnline it ‘only has a ten per cent chance of succeeding’.
With the latest £108,000 Operation Grange has spent almost £13.5million investigating the case – prompting some to question whether it is viable considering no arrests or charges have been made.
The money comes from a special Home Office fund and is reviewed annually with Operation Grange making a request which is submitted and then considered.
It is not known why the funding is considerably less for the financial year 2025-2026 or whether the Metropolitan Police had asked for more.
Operation Grange consists of three police officers and one member of police staff who work on a part-time basis.
Last year, one of the officers on 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.
He told the court he had taken a statement from Busching in 2017 after he had called the incident hotline.
Madeleine (pictured) 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
Last year, one of the officers on the team DC Mark Draycott, testified at Brueckner’s trial and said he had taken a call from a man called Helge Busching (pictured) who had named Brueckner as a suspect
Brueckner (pictured) is currently serving seven years for raping an elderly American woman in the Algarve the year before Madeleine disappeared and he is due to be released later this year
DC Draycott said: ‘One of my jobs was to check the answerphone on a daily basis, and on May 18 I checked the answerphone and there was a message.
‘It was from a male, by the sound of his voice, he spoke good English, and he asked to speak to Dave Edgar (private investigator), he said he had information, and he left a Greek mobile number.
‘I then rang this Greek mobile number and spoke to a male I now know to be Helge Busching, and he gave information in relation to the McCann investigation.
‘As a result of that information we conducted inquires and searches and this became a line of enquiry, and we worked with the BKA in Germany and the police in Portugal.
‘The line of enquiry continued which led us to go to Athens in Greece, where we spoke to him this trip had all been authorised through the official channels.
‘We spoke to him over two days and he gave us information in relation to the McCann case.’
DC Draycott was the first officer from Operation Grange to speak publicly about the unit and added that Busching had then come to London in 2018 to make a further statement.
He was asked by the trial judge if they had ever made any ‘promises’ to Busching for his help and DC Draycott replied:’ So, we don’t make promises to witnesses.’
Kate and Gerry McCann, Madeleine’s parents, hold up pyjamas similar to those of their daughter during a press conference in June 2007
Next month will mark the 18th anniversary of her disappearance on May 3, and also her 22nd birthday but there has been no real breakthrough in the hunt
A Home Office source told MailOnline: ‘The ongoing police investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, known as Operation Grange, is an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police Service’
But when asked if any money or incentives had been offered to Busching, a convicted people smuggler, DC Draycott denied the suggestion.
He said: ‘His incarceration has nothing to do with it. He had already been released on 12 April 2017, and he was on parole in Greece. He only contacted us on 18 May.
‘If at all then, we might be able to pay expenses, and we did pay some expenses, 35 Euros for him to get a catch to Athens and he provided a receipt for that.
‘And likewise, we gave him expenses to get back to where he lived, and we booked a cheap hotel for him to stay in the evening in Athens.’
Busching told Draycott that Brueckner had told him ‘it was strange Madeleine didn’t scream when she was taken’ and this was considered a vital piece of evidence but at his trial he and several other witnesses were discredited.
A Home Office source told MailOnline: ‘The ongoing police investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, known as Operation Grange, is an operational matter for the Metropolitan Police Service.
‘Ministers have approved a request to provide up to £108,000 for Operation Grange in 2025-2026, in line with our Special Grant processes, and funding is approved on an annual basis.’
Earlier this year Conservative peer Lord Black of Brentwood had asked for a breakdown of the funding and was told by Lord Hanson of Flint, Home Office minister, that this were ‘operational matters’ for the Metropolitan Police.
The Metropolitan Police have been contacted for comment.
