The parents of Madeleine McCann are known to have friends in high places. In fact, this reach now extends right into the heart of government as Kate McCann's long standing friend
Esther McVey MP is currently the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Indeed, McVey helped the family set up the Madeleine McCann Fund, becoming a founding trustee and very vocal spokesperson after its launch in May 2007. Esther and Kate first met in 1986, when they were both 18, at the North East Technical College in West Derby, where they were studying A-levels together.
McVey joined the board of Madeleine's Fund on 20 June 2007 and continued her role as spokesperson for the Fund until her resignation was announced in January 2008. This followed a dispute over the decision to use the Fund to pay the McCann's legal costs after they were made official suspects. McVey had previously insisted that the Fund's money would be focussed on finding Madeleine and leaving no stone unturned.
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More recently, McVey resigned from the advisory board of the Samaritans after accusations of hypocrisy.
Under the Con-Dem government she worked as minister for disabled people, taking a leading role in ushering in the reviled bedroom tax and benefit sanctions blamed for driving desperate people to suicide.
Theresa May surprised many by promoting the Liverpool-born MP - who now represents Tatton - to the cabinet role. The move prompted an outpouring of anger from Merseyside MPs and members of the public - many of whom recalled Ms McVey’s actions during her last stint in the same department as Minister for Disabled People.
In the short time since the appointment was made public, more than 17,000 people have signed the petition calling for the former GMTV presenter to be sacked.
With friends like McVey in government, is it little wonder that the drip feed of funds to Scotland Yard continues with very little if anything coming back?