Madeleine McCann's Parent Calls for Tougher Media Oversight Following Accounts of Press "Tormenting".

Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has urged for increased scrutiny of the UK media, describing how sustained media attention made him feel like he was being "suffocated and buried".

The McCanns Tormented by Media Intrusion

According to Gerry McCann, his family was deeply affected by press "excesses" and that the media had "repeatedly interfered with" the investigation into his daughter's going missing in 2007.

He stated that the media attention exacted a "heavy burden" on his family. "We faced sustained interest and misleading headlines for 15 months or more that forced us to take legal action to stop it," he commented.

"We were fortunate. We survived. We received tremendous support. But I can promise you, there were times where I felt like I was overwhelmed, and it was the media, primarily, not the situation we were in," he stated.

A Call to Revive Leveson Inquiry

McCann and his wife, Kate, are among dozens of individuals who have put their names to a letter urging the government to revive the second phase of the Leveson investigation, which was intended to examine the links 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 said that his family had been endured "monstering" by certain the media and that the press was "camped" outside his home for months after the disappearance.

Recounting the Intrusion

Recalling the harassment, he said: "Journalists coming to the house, cameras being shoved 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 half-truths. It's the making up of stories to suit a narrative, rather than reality, which causes immense harm," he stated.

The Need for Stronger Regulation and Accountability

He argued this behavior showed 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 splash stories about ourselves and alleged events," he told.

"That can drag you down, and you can see how people succumb to it and think they can't get out of it. It's so damaging, and we need that protection. There has to be redress. And at the minute, for most of the major publishers, there is little accountability," he concluded.

Official Position and Evolving Media Landscape

The Culture Secretary said that a second phase of the inquiry had been rejected and that the news environment was now very different.

"Our position aligns that the landscape has transformed dramatically since the Leveson's second phase was proposed: people now are more likely to get their news from diverse digital platforms, which has presented new and different challenges," they stated.

It was also noted that balancing the rights of victims with the principle of press freedom was a "challenging task to get right," but acknowledged that "steps must be taken in this area".

A Continued Search for Closure

Madeleine McCann disappeared from a family vacation apartment in 2007 as a three-year-old. Gerry McCann said that it was "absolutely dismaying" how the press had frequently obstructed with the investigation.

"Leaked information which ought to have remained private... This meant a potential culprit, you knew far more than you should have done," he explained.

Speaking about hope, he said the possibility he would find his daughter was "faint yet persistent". "I'd love to find her alive, but we need to establish the facts and see justice served, and other children are at risk while that perpetrator is free," he stated.