The father of the man at the centre of an alleged Australian Open betting scam is a senior Metropolitan Police murder detective investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Detective Inspector Tim Dobson, whose son Daniel, 22, has been charged with illegal gambling by sending information to a betting ring through a device stitched into his shorts, is a detective inspector of the Met’s Homicide Command.

DI Dobson is a member of the force’s ‘Gold Group’ dealing with the cold case review of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance.

Daniel Dobson is in Melbourne accused of helping gambling associates beat the time lag on TV images of the Australian Open.

He is accused of 'courtsiding' - taking advantage of delayed television coverage by transmitting live scores to a gambling syndicate in order to beat live betting odds.

He appeared last night in Australia alleged to have been one of six men part of a gambling ring.

The former Richard Challoner student currently works for a company called Sporting Data, which has fiercely defended its employee of any wrongdoing.