Madeleine McCann police granted more funding for ‘important final line of enquiry’

Madeleine McCann

by Emma Dodds |
Updated on

Police have been granted extra cash to continue the hunt for Madeleine McCann after her disappearance 11 years ago

The hunt for Madeleine McCann could be nearing its end, as the Metropolitan Police have been granted more funding to pursue what they are referring to as an "important final line of inquiry."

The Home Office confirmed today that they have allocated more funding to Operation Grange - the Met Police's investigation into Madeleine's whereabouts - and that it could be as much as another £150,000.

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Andy Cunningham

Andy Cunningham was best known as the main character and puppeteer on his well-loved children's TV show Bodger & Badger.

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John Heard

John Heard became a household name after starring as father Peter McAllister in the Home Alone films alongside Macaulay Culkin.

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Peter Sallis

Peter Sallis was a British actor, best known for being the voice of Wallace from the famous Aardman Studios duo Wallace & Gromit.

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Sir John Hurt

Sir John Hurt CBE was a well-known and well-loved British actor. Over his 56-year career, he appeared in over 129 films and many TV roles, with 40 of his characters dying – a record for a mainstream actor.

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Tony Haygarth was an actor from Liverpool. His career spanned 42 years and saw him star in many films and a lot of stage shows, for which he was nominated for Lauren Olivier Theatre Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

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Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell was a musician, best known for being the lead singer of rock bands Audioslave and Soundgarden. He also wrote and performed the theme song for Casino Royale, the 2006 James Bond film which was the first to star Daniel Craig as Bond.

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Bill Paxton

Bill Paxton was an American actor whose career spanned 42 years. Starring in big blockbuster films such as The Terminator alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, Aliens with Sigourney Weaver, True Lies again with Schwarzenegger and Apollo 13 with Tom Hanks.

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John Noakes

John Noakes was a TV presenter. He was best known as being the longest-serving presenter of children's TV show Blue Peter, hosting for 12 years and 6 months.

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Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is widely acknowledged as being the biggest pioneer of rock 'n' roll, having begun his career in the 50s when the genre was just beginning to come about.

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Joni Sledge was one of the founding members of 70s pop girl group, Sister Sledge, who were known for the massive hits We Are Family, He's The Greatest Dancer and Thinking Of You.

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Gordon Kaye

Gordon Kaye was an actor from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Although he enjoyed varying success throughout his career, it was in comedy series 'Allo! 'Allo! that he really became a household name.

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TPT was the original "It Girl" of our time - she was famous for being famous. She paved the way as a 90s socialite, and everyone loved her.

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Erin Moran was an American actress, best known for her role as Joanie Cunningham on US TV show Happy Days alongside Ron Howard and Henry Winkler.

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Sir Roger Moore

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Carol Lee Scott

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Chester Bennington was the lead singer of popular rock band Linkin Park. They enjoyed huge success, winning a multitude of awards.

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Hywel Bennett

Hywel Bennett was a Welsh film and TV actor, possibly best known as the title character in Shelley and as gangster Jack Dalton in EastEnders, who ordered the killing of Dirty Den Watts in 1989.

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Robert Hardy was a British actor whose career spanned 70 years. He has played Winston Churchill many times, was popular as vet Siegfried Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small – and also starred in the Harry Potter film series as Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge.

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Bruce Forsyth was arguably one of the most favoured national treasures that the UK has ever produced. His career spanned across 75 years, and the Guinness World Book of Records recognised him as having the longest television career for a male entertainer.

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Hugh Hefner

Hugh Hefner was an American businessman, magazine publisher and renowned playboy. He created the Playboy magazine in 1953, and stayed as its editor-in-chief.

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Tom Petty

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Sean Hughes

Sean Hughes was a stand-up comedian, comedy writer and actor. He had his own TV show, Sean's Show, and quite often appeared as a guest captain on Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

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Iain Rogerson

Iain Rogerson was a British soap actor, and had appeared in most of the big shows - having parts in Emmerdale, Doctors, Casualty, Heartbeat, The Bill and most prominently, Coronation Street as Harry Flagg, a love interest of Eileen Grimshaw between 2002 - 2004.

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Antonio Carluccio

Antonio Carluccio was a world-famous restauranteur who launched the Carluccio's restaurant chain. The celebrity chef, dubbed the "Godfather of Italian cooking", also helped launch the career of Jamie Oliver and was well-known for his appearances on British TV.

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Rodney Bewes

Rodney Bewes was a British TV actor best known starring in The Likely Lads as Bob Ferris with his friend James Bolam.

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Keith Chegwin

Keith Chegwin was a British TV presenter, well-loved throughout the UK for hosting several children's entertainment shows in the 70s and 80s.

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Heather North

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David Cassidy

David Cassidy was a world-famous musician and actor, best known for his role as Keith Partridge on musical sitcom The Partridge Family and his extensive musical career.

A representative for the Home Office told MailOnline that the Government is remaining "committed to the investigation," adding: "We have briefed the Metropolitan Police Service that its application for Special Grant funding for Operation Grange will be granted."

The publication also reports that detectives did not want to discuss details of an "important final line of inquiry," which suggests that the search for the little girl may be nearing its end.

A Scotland Yard told them: "We cannot give a running commentary on the investigation while it is ongoing."

READ MORE | Madeleine McCann: A timeline of her disappearance

Madeleine McCann
©REX/Shutterstock

The McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell told MailOnline that they're "incredibly grateful," to the Home Office for approving the funding request.

He added: "They are very encouraged that the Met Police still believe there is work left to be done and they are incredibly grateful to the Home Office for providing an extra budget for the investigation.

"It gives them hope that one day they may finally find out what happened to their daughter."

Madeleine McCann
©Facebook/ The Official Find Madeleine Campaign

This comes after Maddie's twin siblings, Sean and Amelie, turned 13 earlier this year, with a family member telling The Sun that the celebrations were "marred with a tinge of sadness" as Maddie would not be there to "join in the fun."

They added: "Their only wish is for their big sister to come home. There will be prayers to remember Madeleine as well wherever she is.

"Kate and Gerry want to give the twins a memorable occasion, they’re teenagers now and that’s a big deal."

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