The McCann family Father Urges Stronger Press Regulation Following Accounts of Media "Hounding".

Gerry McCann, father to Madeleine McCann has issued a call for more robust oversight for the UK media, detailing how being "monstered" by the press made him feel as if he was being "drowning under the pressure".

The McCanns Tormented by Press "Abuses"

According to Gerry McCann, his family was tormented by press "excesses" and that the media had "frequently disrupted" the investigation into his daughter's going missing in 2007.

He noted that the media attention exacted a "significant emotional cost" on his family. "We endured sustained interest and sensationalized stories for over a year that compelled us to take legal action to stop it," he reportedly said.

"We are lucky. We survived. We had strong support. Yet, I must tell you, there were times where I felt like I was being suffocated, and it was the media, primarily, not the situation we were in," he recounted.

A Call to Revive Leveson Inquiry

The McCanns are among a group of people who have put their names to a letter urging the government to revive the second phase of the Leveson investigation, which was due to examine the dynamic between the media and the police.

He expressed that it was unacceptable that over a year later, press regulation was "no longer a priority". He described how his family had been endured "monstering" by sections of the media and that the press was "posted" outside his home for an extended period after the disappearance.

Describing the Harassment

Recalling the harassment, he said: "Reporters arriving at our home, cameras being shoved their cameras against our car window, when we had young twin children in the back who were frightened, and how traumatic that is for you as a parent."

"It's the half-truths. It's the invention of stories to fit the agenda, rather than reality, which causes immense harm," he added.

The Need for Stronger Oversight and Redress

He stated these actions highlighted why there needed to be stricter press regulation. "In the evenings, we'd put on the news, and there'd be front-page headlines about ourselves and what supposedly happened," he told.

"That can drag you down, and you can see how people give in 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 concluded.

Government Response and Changing News Environment

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

"We share the view that the landscape has transformed significantly since the Leveson's second phase was recommended: people now are more likely to get their news from diverse digital platforms, which has thrown up new and different challenges," the minister said.

It was also noted that balancing the rights of victims with the need for a free press was a "complex balance to get right," but acknowledged that "steps must be taken in this area".

A Continued Hope for Closure

The child went missing from a Portuguese holiday resort in 2007 at the age of three. Gerry McCann said that it was "profoundly disappointing" how the press had consistently meddled with the investigation.

"Leaked information which was meant for police only... This meant a potential culprit, you knew a lot more than you should have done," he explained.

Speaking about hope, he said the chance he would find his daughter was "slim but it's not extinguished". "I'd love to find her alive, but we need to establish the facts and bring whoever's responsible, and people are at risk while that person is free," he concluded.