McCanns hire former Met Police officer

McCanns hire former Met Police officer for 'cold case' report

In a renewed attempt to review the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine, Kate and Gerry McCann have hired a former Met Police officer to perform a 'cold case' report.

Former CID detective, Noel Hogan, has spent hundreds of hours interviewing witnesses in the case to find the missing child and has gone over every existing witness statement with a finetooth comb.

Those who have been interviewed by Hogan include the 'Tapas seven', the group of friends holidaying with the McCanns at the time of Madeleine's disappearance last May. It is also believed he has rerun through Kate and Gerry's statements again in minute detail.

Hogan has run his own detective agency since 1986, Hogan International, and has a great deal of experience with missing person cases. His investigation will tie in with the enquiry conducted by the Spanish detective agency Metodo 3 in Barcelona.

Meanwhile Metodo 3 are currently trying to re-interview an Irish family who claim they saw a man carrying Madeleine away the night she disappeared.

Martin Smith and his family from County Louth described to police what they believe was Madeleine being snatched - and their statement bears a striking resemblance to that of the McCanns' friend, Jane Tanner.