Soham murder inquiry costs may reach £10m

The cost of the police investigation into the disappearance of the murdered 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman could reach £10m.

Cambridgeshire Police Authority has submitted an interim claim of £5m to the Home Office but it warned yesterday that the eventual cost of Operation Fincham could be twice that.

Cambridgeshire, Britain's second smallest force, launched the largest missing persons inquiry in recent history when the girls disappeared from their home town of Soham. Officers gave up holidays and days off, and specialists in forensic science, offender profiling and murder investigations were enlisted. At one point 426 officers, from 21 forces, were working 20-hour days, sifting 14,000 calls from members of the public.

An authority spokesman said reserves were low and if the claim was rejected either services would suffer or council taxes would have to rise.