Cameron under fire for involving Yard in Madeleine McCann inquiry

David Cameron’s controversial decision to involve Scotland Yard in a review of the Madeleine McCann case faced fierce criticism yesterday.

Metropolitan Police Authority member Lord Harris said the intervention undermined the independence of the force and the investigation would use up valuable resources.

Writing on his blog, he said: “Whilst no one doubts the desirability of doing what can sensibly be done to find out what has happened to Madeleine McCann, I can imagine that the senior leadership of the Metropolitan Police are not exactly happy about this.

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“It again embroils their officers in a high-profile investigation, where the chances of success are unclear, and which will divert limited investigative resources away from other matters.”

Lord Bradshaw, Liberal Democrat peer and vice-chairman of Thames Valley Police Authority, described Mr Cameron’s intervention in the McCann case as a “PR exercise”.

He told Channel 4 News: “I am mightily worried about the politicisation of the police force. What appears on the face of it to be fairly innocuous orders, it’s a fairly short step from there to telling the police they have got to investigate this rather than that.”

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Mr Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May asked for the review of evidence after the appeal from Kate and Gerry McCann because of the “exceptional” nature of the case.

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The full costs will be met by a special grant from the Home Office and kept under review.

Fears have been raised the review could take months or even years to complete, costing millions of pounds.

Gerry McCann said in Dublin last night the move would go a long way to addressing one of their key complaints about the inaction on the part of UK police.

“We welcome their involvement,” he said.

“We have been calling for a transparent, independent review. We have yet to see exactly the details of their involvement and what it will entail and I hope this does improve communication between the Home Office and ourselves.”