McCanns appeal for extra help

Published on Friday 6 August 2010 14:26

KATE and Gerry McCann have met Home Secretary Theresa May to discuss the search for their missing daughter Madeleine, officials said.

The couple used the meeting to appeal for extra help from the Coalition government to look for the little girl.

It is more than three years since Madeleine disappeared from a holiday resort in southern Portugal.

Mr and Mrs McCann, from Rothley, Leicestershire, want a full independent review of the police investigation into what happened to her. They complained in February that they encountered "reluctance" when they asked the British authorities to re-examine all the information held by law enforcement agencies around the world.

Mr McCann said: "I think people are reluctant to undertake a review because there's been difficult, sensitive issues.

"But Madeleine's rights should be put first. She's missing, she's innocent, and whoever's taken her is still out there, and that has to be of paramount importance."

A Home Office spokesman said: "The government's primary concern in this matter is the wellbeing of Madeleine McCann, and to ensure that everything feasible is being done to progress the search for her."