Madeleine McCann's Parent Calls for Stronger Press Regulation Amid Recollections of Media "Hounding".

Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has demanded more robust oversight for the UK media, describing how intense press coverage made him feel as if he was being "drowning under the pressure".

The McCanns Subjected to Press "Abuses"

Gerry McCann stated that his family was tormented by press "abuses" and that the media had "repeatedly interfered with" the search for answers regarding his daughter's going missing in 2007.

He stated that the media attention exacted a "huge toll" on his family. "We had constant scrutiny and inaccurate reports for many months that compelled us to take legal action to stop it," he commented.

"We were fortunate. We got through it. We had tremendous support. However, I assure you, there were times where I felt like I was being suffocated, and it was the media, mostly, not the situation we were in," he reflected.

A Call to Restart Press Regulation Review

McCann and his wife, Kate, are among dozens of individuals who have endorsed a letter asking the government to revive the second phase of the Leveson inquiry, which was due to examine the relationship between the media and the police.

He expressed that it was unacceptable that over a year later, press regulation was "off the agenda". He said that his family had been victims of "monstering" by certain the media and that the press was "stationed" outside his home for an extended period after Madeleine went missing.

Recounting the Harassment

Describing the intrusion, he said: "Journalists coming to the house, photographers pushing their cameras against our car window, when we had our toddler twins in the back who were scared, and how traumatic that is for you as a parent."

"It's the misleading narratives. It's the making up of stories to fit the agenda, rather than reality, which destroys people's lives," he added.

A Demand for Tougher Oversight and Accountability

He said the conduct highlighted why there needed to be stricter press regulation. "At night, as we prepared for bed, we'd put on the news, and there'd be major reports about ourselves and unverified claims," he said.

"That feeling is overwhelming, and you can see how people succumb to it and think they can't get out of it. The impact is devastating, and we need that protection. There has to be redress. And at the minute, for most of these mainstream media, there is little accountability," he asserted.

Government Position and Evolving Media Landscape

The Culture Secretary said that a second phase of the inquiry had been discounted and that the news environment was now profoundly changed.

"We agree that the context has evolved profoundly from the time the Leveson's second phase was recommended: people now are more likely to get their news online from a whole variety of sources, which has thrown up new and different challenges," the minister said.

They added that weighing the needs of those affected with the need for a free press was a "really difficult thing to get right," but recognized that "action is needed in this area".

A Continued Search for Closure

The child went missing from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 when she was three years old. Gerry McCann said that it was "deeply disturbing" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.

"Published material which was meant for police only... So if you were the perpetrator, you knew much more than you should have done," he said.

On the prospect of finding Madeleine, he said the chance he would find his daughter was "slim but it's not extinguished". "Our wish is to find her alive, but we need to discover the truth and hold the perpetrator, and others are at risk while whoever is responsible is free," he stated.