Maddie: Cops' bill hits 6 million (The Sun)

by bristow 01.01.14 12:26

SCOTLAND Yard’s bill for its probe into Madeleine McCann’s disappearance has topped £6million, The Sun can reveal.
In the last three months a major public appeal for information has pushed the cost of Operation Grange up by £1.64million — and the total is now likely to rocket to £10million-plus.
A Freedom of Information request showed the bill for Grange — launched in May 2011 — had reached £6,343,116 by November 30.
It includes £88,199.652 on travel, with officers regularly flying to Praia da Luz, the Portuguese resort where Madeleine, then three, vanished in May 2007.
The probe was set up after her parents Kate and Gerry, both 45, of Rothley, Leics, wrote an open letter in The Sun asking the PM for help.
A two-year review identified 200 potential leads and a new investigation — including a Crimewatch reconstruction — prompted 5,000 calls.
Det Chief Insp Andy Redwood, in charge of Grange, said: “All this has produced a large volume of work.”

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by noddy100 01.01.14 12:35

What do you think the purpose of publishing this is?
I can't decide if its congratulatory or critical

by Smokeandmirrors 01.01.14 12:41

Timing is everything.

People generally feel a bit skint in January, winter fuel bills are rising exponentially, hundreds of thousands are heading this way as of now from Romania and Bulgaria, everyone is a bit hacked off.

It's the media trying to rally people to action to fight back.

by noddy100 01.01.14 12:46

Smokeandmirrors wrote:Timing is everything.

People generally feel a bit skint in January, winter fuel bills are rising exponentially, hundreds of thousands are heading this way as of now from Romania and Bulgaria, everyone is a bit hacked off.

It's the media trying to rally people to action to fight back.

But I thought The Sun was a big supporter?

by Okeydokey 01.01.14 12:46

Always good to remember that in all societies there is always conflict and dissension within the elites who run the societies. We know that Rebekkah Brooks was instrumental in getting this police inquiry set up via her Costwold chum David Cameron. We're not sure of the real reason though, whether it was really meant to be pro or anti-McCann. But either way the situation has now changed with RB being on trial. I can't help feeling it is a bit of a warning - as was the S Times article - that the Murdoch press can cause damage to as well as support Team McCann.

Incidentally I found quite compelling the suggestion from someone here that the pressure to open up Police inquiries here was all about the libel trial in Portugal and that ultimately this is all about preventing Amaral's book being published in the UK, where it would be sure to cause a media storm that would damage Team McCann.

by jeanmonroe 01.01.14 12:49

Det Chief Insp Andy Redwood, in charge of Grange, said: “All this has produced a large volume of work.”
________________________________________________________________________

And how much, 'volume of work' would it produce for the Met to just phone all of the T9 and ask "could we please just go over again all of the signed statements you have given, for clarification? Thankyou"

Oh, silly me, well paid doctors can only afford PAYG 'phones'!

They'd probably 'run out of credit' before 'hearing' the 'signed statements' bit.

by **PeterMac** 01.01.14 12:51

bristow wrote:In the last three months a major public appeal for information has pushed the cost of Operation Grange up by £1.64million — and the total is now likely to rocket to £10million-plus.

That is an awful lot of people ringing in saying
"That e-fit looks like Gerry"

by Smokeandmirrors 01.01.14 12:55

noddy100 wrote:
Smokeandmirrors wrote:Timing is everything.

People generally feel a bit skint in January, winter fuel bills are rising exponentially, hundreds of thousands are heading this way as of now from Romania and Bulgaria, everyone is a bit hacked off.

It's the media trying to rally people to action to fight back.
But I thought The Sun was a big supporter?

I don't think any paper supports the McCanns, but use them for profit.

The Sun being a paper of the lower working class, will always play to the concerns of their readership. The working classes are the ones who are going to be affected most by rising costs, immigration into cheaper housing areas etc. To hear of £6m being spent on a family who are substantially better off than themselves is going to be another outrage.

This year is going to be very interesting. The Government don't listen to the electorate, democracy is a myth, and people are getting poorer year on year. People are starting to wake up from the stupor.

by Smokeandmirrors 01.01.14 12:56

PeterMac wrote:
bristow wrote:In the last three months a major public appeal for information has pushed the cost of Operation Grange up by £1.64million — and the total is now likely to rocket to £10million-plus.
That is an awful lot of people ringing in saying
"That e-fit looks like Gerry"

They'll probably open a call centre in Delhi to cope with the volume.

by Doug D 01.01.14 12:56

Another 'old' story revamped it seems.
Funny how The Sun can get a reply to a FOI request when Tony's was turned down for being over the cost limit a couple of months before!

by Guest 01.01.14 12:57

Maybe, just maybe, someone wants the AR/SY review killed off, as GA's was?

Is AR/Sy discovering the truth, too, perhaps?

by Rasputin 01.01.14 13:01

Portia wrote:Maybe, just maybe, someone wants the AR/SY review killed off, as GA's was?

Is AR/Sy discovering the truth, too, perhaps?

They've been playing wackamole with the truth for years , now they are running out of hands to supress....( I hope )

by jeanmonroe 01.01.14 13:10

The McCanns still HAVE to 'sue' SY/MET for 'hampering the search' for a 'suspect' that could have led to finding Madeleine, by witholding an e-fit they received in August 2011 but didn't release into the public domain UNTIL October 2013.

by Guest 01.01.14 13:15

jeanmonroe wrote:The McCanns still HAVE to 'sue' SY/MET for 'hampering the search' for a 'suspect' that could have led to finding Madeleine, by witholding an e-fit they received in August 2011 but didn't release into the public domain UNTIL October 2013.

Maybe they are preparing to do so.
Let's wait and see, with baited breath

by marconi 01.01.14 13:19

It could be that the Sun is inducing the whole UK against the McCanns. It is what I suspect.

by marconi 01.01.14 13:23

Any of you with an intuition??

I hope that the answer will come very soon. Will Redwood talk to us tomorrow?

by jeanmonroe 01.01.14 13:34

marconi wrote:It could be that the Sun is inducing the whole UK against the McCanns. It is what I suspect.

Cameron and May need this sorted before election time.

We all saw his face and reaction when he was asked at PMQ's about providing unlimited amounts of public money for supporting a single child, Madeleine, 'search' to the detriment of other 'missing' children, namely, Ben Needham.

Cameron will not like to be 'on the stump' getting awkward questions about him selectively giving vast, unlimited funds to one child's 'search' but not to any other child's 'search'

And pleading poverty when local kids 'play groups' are being closed due to 'lack of funding' from central government 'grants' to councils.

by noddy100 01.01.14 13:35

marconi wrote:It could be that the Sun is inducing the whole UK against the McCanns. It is what I suspect.

This is what I hope for because much as I hate murdoch it will take that level of power to finish them.

by Guest 01.01.14 13:36

Portia wrote:

Maybe they are preparing to do so.
Let's wait and see, with baited breath

But at the same time, don't hold your breath....

This is the story that just keeps on giving. Without it, there would have been about 50% less "news" since May '07.

by SixMillionQuid 01.01.14 14:55

Six million pound? Tsk. I would never have guessed. They really caught me by surprise with that figure. roll

by sallypelt 01.01.14 14:59

Messed up. See next post below.

by sallypelt 01.01.14 14:59

sallypelt wrote:£6 million to search for information and approximately the same amount used to suppress it.

It's a funny old world, isn't it?

by margaret 01.01.14 15:26

Portia wrote:Maybe, just maybe, someone wants the AR/SY review killed off, as GA's was?

Is AR/Sy discovering the truth, too, perhaps?

Agreed. It only benefits the Mccanns if the review is called off. There's your source IMO.

by **tigger** 01.01.14 15:27

Clay Regazzoni wrote:
Portia wrote:

Maybe they are preparing to do so.
Let's wait and see, with baited breath

But at the same time, don't hold your breath....

This is the story that just keeps on giving. Without it, there would have been about 50% less "news" since May '07.

No problem: Cameron can say they've done everything they could, even got the PJ to cooperate, re- open the case. So there you go, object achieved. Now the PJ finally understand how to a proper job. Would never have happened, thank you SY.

Tabloids have endless opportunities to reprint stories for the next seven years. Then there are some two thousnd sightings, Next a hunt for the soothing couple, the six British cleaners, the seven swans a-swimming, the one PR and ten lawyers piping... Twelve tapas dancing... spin

Got carried away there, would Murdich care to give me a fiver for those brilliant ideas?

by Okeydokey 01.01.14 15:29

jeanmonroe wrote:Det Chief Insp Andy Redwood, in charge of Grange, said: “All this has produced a large volume of work.”
________________________________________________________________________

And how much, 'volume of work' would it produce for the Met to just phone all of the T9 and ask "could we please just go over again all of the signed statements you have given, for clarification? Thankyou"

Oh, silly me, well paid doctors can only afford PAYG 'phones'!

They'd probably 'run out of credit' before 'hearing' the 'signed statements' bit.

Yes, amazing that hasn't taken place yet. And rather suggests this isn't a true inquiry.

by **Tony Bennett** 01.01.14 15:33

SixMillionQuid wrote:Six million pound? Tsk. I would never have guessed. They really caught me by surprise with that figure.

Is it time to change your name?

'TenMillionQuid' has been mentioned.

by Smokeandmirrors 01.01.14 15:38

Tony Bennett wrote:
SixMillionQuid wrote:Six million pound? Tsk. I would never have guessed. They really caught me by surprise with that figure.

Is it time to change your name?

'TenMillionQuid' has been mentioned.

Better still, change it to Bottomlesspit

by Bishop Brennan 01.01.14 15:41

I think the risk here is that having spent £6m and having absolutely nothing to show for it (apart from crecheman), SY starts to look like a crowd of useless buffoons endlessly chasing shadows down blind alleys. Pressure then rises on those at the top to produce a rabbit out of the hat. And with no likelihood of finding a genuine abductor, a whitewash becomes the easy way out.

Otherwise SY look incompetent. Cameron and May look foolish at wasting hard earned money on a politically-inspired wild goose chase. And the press will enjoy toasting all of them (today being just a warm-up).

SY now have 3 options:

1. Admit defeat. We cannot find an abductor.
2. Change tack. Investigate the T9.
3. Conjure up a (dead) whitewash abductor and the evidence to back it up. Try him in the media but never at court.

By now they must know that finding an abductor is never going to happen. Chasing down all the random leads from CW is pointless and they know it. They really have to decide how to close this out, as the papers will be keeping count from this point forward.

by **Tony Bennett** 01.01.14 15:48

Smokeandmirrors wrote:
Tony Bennett wrote:
SixMillionQuid wrote:Six million pound? Tsk. I would never have guessed. They really caught me by surprise with that figure.

Is it time to change your name?

'TenMillionQuid' has been mentioned.

Better still, change it to Bottomlesspit

Or maybe:

ThankYouRebekah

by Guest 01.01.14 15:53

Bishop, we don't know what's going on behind the scenes. I think the investigation is remarkably leak-proof, a good thing, and the team have made progress but it's not going to shout about every development. I'm choosing Option 2.