Police investigating the disappearance of schoolgirl Madeleine McCann have reportedly asked for more money in order to continue their search for the girl, which has cost over £11million so far.
The Metropolitan Police - in charge of police activity across London - are believed to have approached the Home Office to appeal for extra funds, the Daily Mirror has reported today.
The Home Office has confirmed that an application for further funding made by the Metropolitan Police is currently being considered. The Metropolitan Police declined to comment when the Mirror asked them about the application.
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WATCH A DEBATE ON WHETHER TO STOP FUNDING THE MADDIE SEARCH:
In 2007, McCann disappeared from the resort of Praia da Luz in Portugal while her parents Kate and Gerry were out having a meal with friends.
According to the Mirror, Kate and Gerry have access to almost £750,000 to continue funding the search for their daughter even without the police, thanks to their 'Find Maddie Fund'.
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The money in the Find Maddie Fund is mainly made up of donations from the public and profits made from Kate's bestselling book.
The fund is believed to have grown over the past financial year, according to the latest accounts.
The funds that the Met Police have requested will allow the search for Madeleine - known as Operation Grange - to carry on for another six months after the current funding runs out at the end of March 2018.
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So far, government funding for the investigation has been agreed every six months. The last funding given to the Met Police in relation to the investigation saw £154,000 being granted from October last year until the end of March this year.
A Home Office spokesperson said: "The Home Office has provided funding to the Metropolitan Police for Operation Grange and the resources required are reviewed regularly with careful consideration given before any new funding is allocated."
Speaking on behalf of Madeleine's parents, Clarence Mitchell said: "The Met Police will put in a further request for funds if they feel work still needs to be done.
"Money in the Madeleine Fund gives Kate and Gerry the option to pick up their own inquiries again, if they choose, with private investigators."
Just last month, police launched an investigation into the death of a private detective who allegedly conned the McCanns after the body of Kevin Halligen was found at his Surrey mansion.
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A spokesperson for Surrey Police has told the Daily Mail: "We were called to an address in Guildford, on Monday following a report of a man in his 50s having been taken unwell, who subsequently died.
"The death is being treated as unexplained and a file will be passed to the coroner's office in due course."
Halligen was dubbed a 'cloak and dagger' 'James Bond' styled private detective, and was hired after British toddler Madeleine McCann disappeared in Portugal.
The Mirror says during his investigation, he boasted about being able to produce satellite imagery and telephone information from the night young Maddie went missing. Halligen also claimed to have ties with former FBI, CIA and Special Forces employees.
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However, when he handed over his elite 'satellite imagery', the McCanns found out it was just Google Earth screenshots.
Halligen's reputation was disgraced when it was alleged he spent between £300-500,000 from the fund set up to help track Maddie down on useless tactics and personal items.
One of those methods was reportedly hiring an actor to pretend to be a drunk priest, who would walk around Praia da Luz and see if anyone wanted to confess. Sure: the whole world is hellbent on finding this girl, yet the perpetrator will confide in a random priest no one has seen before?
He also allegedly used the huge fund to hire a personal chauffeur, buy expensive clothes and handbags, delicious meals and overseas holidays with his girlfriend.
Unsurprisingly, Halligen was eventually dumped by the family in the late 2000s, and was arrested in the UK and extradited to America for unrelated fraud charges.
He was convicted of defrauding a multinational corporation who had hired him to help secure the rescue of two employees taken into custody in the Ivory Coast in 2006.
Halligen was eventually sentenced to 41 months in jail. However, he had already served 42 months in prison during the trial and was sent back to Ireland.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: UK News, News, Madeleine McCann