Madeleine McCann's Father Calls for Stronger Media Regulation Following Recollections of Media "Hounding".

Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has urged for greater oversight for the UK media, detailing how sustained media attention made him feel that he was being "suffocated and buried".

The McCanns Tormented by Press "Abuses"

According to Gerry McCann, his family was deeply affected by press "abuses" and that the media had "frequently disrupted" the search for answers regarding his daughter's 2007 disappearance.

He noted that the media attention exacted a "huge toll" on his family. "We endured constant scrutiny and sensationalized stories for over a year that forced us to take legal action to stop it," he commented.

"We are lucky. We got through it. We had tremendous support. However, I assure you, there were times where I felt like I was drowning, and it was the media, mainly, not the situation we were in," he reflected.

An Appeal for Revive Press Regulation Review

McCann and his wife, Kate, are among a group of people who have endorsed a letter calling on ministers to revive the second phase of the Leveson inquiry, which was set up to look into the relationship between the media and the police.

McCann said it was not acceptable that over a year later, press regulation was "no longer a priority". He described how 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 the disappearance.

Recounting the Harassment

Detailing the events, he said: "Reporters arriving at our home, photographers literally ramming their cameras against our car window, when we had young twin children in the back who were frightened, and how distressing that is for you as a parent."

"It's the misleading narratives. It's the making up of stories to suit a narrative, rather than the facts, which causes immense harm," he emphasized.

A Demand for Stronger Oversight and Accountability

He said the conduct highlighted why there needed to be more robust press regulation. "We'd be getting ready for bed, we'd put on the news, and there'd be major reports about ourselves and what supposedly happened," he said.

"That feeling is overwhelming, and you can see how people are broken by it and think they can't get out of it. It's so damaging, and we need that protection. People deserve recourse. And at the minute, for most of the major publishers, there is no effective recourse," he concluded.

Official Response and Changing Media Landscape

A government minister stated that a follow-up part of the inquiry had been rejected and that the news environment was now profoundly changed.

"We agree that the landscape has transformed profoundly since the second part of Leveson was proposed: the public is now more likely to get their news from diverse digital platforms, which has thrown up new and different challenges," they stated.

The minister further stated that weighing the rights of victims 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 Answers

Madeleine McCann disappeared from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 when she was three years old. It was stated that it was "deeply disturbing" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.

"Leaked information which should have been confidential... So if you were the perpetrator, you knew much more than you should have done," he explained.

Regarding the ongoing search, he said the chance he would find his daughter was "small but still alive". "I'd love to find her alive, but we need to discover the truth and hold the perpetrator, and people are at risk while whoever is responsible is free," he stated.